Background Checks and Students

Educational Challenges For inclusion to be effective as intended, beginning teachers should make preparations by getting to know their students beforehand -- by going over the list of the those who will be in their class, knowing something about their backgrounds, and devising ways in which topics that will be taught can be used to incorporate the various students by relating something about it to their individual experiences. In an inclusive classroom, students with disabilities or special needs learn alongside those students who are without disability.

For this environment to work effectively, a new teacher must be ready to deal with the different needs and understand how to incorporate all students into a particular area of study. Emphasizing diversity, safe studies, pro-activity, and universal design principles can be effective ways to prepare (Koonce, 2016). For veteran teachers in-service via technical support, moral support and evaluation support should be available to help maintain the classroom order (Inclusive Teaching Strategies, n.d.).

I am not personally aware of instances where a school cannot adequately accommodate the needs of severely challenged student, as the schools I have been in have all been able to meet these needs. Some of the contributions of teachers unions in schools is that they help to increase productivity and relationship-building -- both of which are essential for success in today's business world.

They also help to positively impact the core strategies of teachers looking to more deeply engage students by offering suggestions, guides, and assistance in the form of educational material (Koonce, 2016, p. 198). However, some of the problems created by teachers unions include the monopolization of time, with meetings and networking, which leads to a decrease in productivity -- which is, ironically, difficult to reconcile with the concept of unions increasing productivity as noted by proponents of the unions.

Thus, the benefits and challenges of unions are largely the result of perception and where one's needs are (Koonce, 2016). I think unions can be a good thing for schools if they are not forced; but teachers should have the freedom to attend or join and not feel coerced especially if they find it is not for them or that it eats too much into their time, which could be better spent preparing for class. The two sides of the issue on licensing are based stated by Cibulka and Chard.

Chibulka of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation suggests that making tighter and more restrictive licensure regulation would ensure that only quality teachers are getting licensed. Chard, however, suggests that the regulatory practices are no guarantee of quality and even as they are today do not ensure quality teachers get through (Koonce, 2016). My own feeling on this is that licensure is not a very good system and that many potentially good teachers are turned off or turned away because of the system that is in place.

My thought is that if a person knows a subject well and has the ability or skill to convey it to a class, then he/she should be able to teach, regardless of whether the individual has a license. If one wants to protect students, the same background checks can be performed -- so that is not an issue. If I were a superintendent of a large school district, my approach to tolerance for student rights would be one based on respect. I would want.