My friend Alex, ho now works as a teacher in Jakarta, wrote to me about inclusion. I think I’ll post my reply here too, as it sums up my attitude to that debate these days.

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Dear Alex. Good to hear from you again.

You know, my opinion on the issue of inclusion has changed since we left uni. To be honest I’m not sure what to believe anymore; I certainly don’t believe it’s an issue one can afford to be dogmatic about, and I was indeed dogmatic about it in the past. I think a lot of people in the disabled community are. Mind you, I suspect they have every right to be. However, since moving to Charlton (slightly less exotic than Indonesia, I know, but it has it’s fair share of wildlife) I’ve been volunteering at a local special school, and that has made me question my opinions. A result of the inclusion policy is that whoever can be included in mainstream schools now is, so now only the most severely disabled kids are segregated. I’ve thus been working with kids with very severe cognitive and behavioural proems – much more severe than me and my classmates; it’s hard for me to see how many of them could be included in a mainstream environment.

Yet that, I suppose, is part of the problem. For inclusion to work – and I still think it would be great if it did – the mainstream environment must change: most comprehensives are set up for ‘normal’ kid with ‘normal’ minds and bodies. As yet there aren’t the systems in place which would enable such schools to accommodate the type of student I encounter in Charlton park. Forcing such kids into a rough and ready comprehensive would be inhumane. I know one young man with quite severe autism; he’s very intelligent, but has a childlike fascination with clowns. I dread to think what would happen if he was put into a classroom with thirty adolescent thugs. Indeed I have friends who were included, and were bullied mercilessly. On the other hand, to segregate kids from their able-bodied peers, like monsters to be kept away from society, is often just as reprehensible.

Thus I don’t think we have found the answer yet. Indeed I’m not sure there is one. I think, though, that Charlton Park is the most suitable type of school for most of the kids there. To find a better solution would require a hell of a lot more resources, resources which, at the moment, we do not have. The problem is balancing the needs of the individual child against the need in society for inclusiveness and equality. Again, above all, it’s not something one can be dogmatic about.

I hope I have answered your question. Please don’t hesitate to ask me more, and if you have time, tell me more about things in Indonesia – it sounds fascinating. If you don’t mind, dude, I’m thinking about posting this on my blog, too – is that okay? Peace Matt