INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN THE NEW NORMAL
Janet Brigida A. Catipon
How does inclusive education can be facilitated in the new normal? As far as we know, inclusive education is designed to cater children with special needs. It requires a learning environment where children with and without disabilities are taught together, as equals.
Inclusive education is an initiative that caters learners with visual impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, communication disorder, physical disability, emotional and behavioral disorder, multiple disability with visual impairment, and to those who are orthopedically handicapped, chronically ill, and gifted and talented. They will be given their individual and unique learning needs (Deped Philippines, 2017).
With this core definition of the Deped on Inclusive Education, how this can be realized in the “Education in the New Normal”. The unprecedented crisis brought about by the pandemic, Covid-19 greatly affected the whole whole world. The opening of classes will be on October 05, 2020. Many schools especially in the public institutions opted for Distance Modular Learning wherein printed modules will be given to all Filipino Learners. How can this be possible for the Filipino learners with special needs? How does the Deped address their needs in this time of pandemic? Maybe in the private sectors especially to those students belong to the elite families, their parents can afford to have special arrangement with teachers with SPED specialization, what about those who could not?
As aforementioned in the 1st paragraph, there should equality in the learning environment for both children with or without disabilities. If modular distance learning is the only way to have the continuity of learning among learners, it is not possible for children with special needs. If both the parents and teachers have their full attention and support to their children/learners, it may be possible with proper guidance and communication. Otherwise, there would be “academic freeze” among children with special needs.
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The author is SST-III/TIC at Macabebe High School