Chapter 2: Todays Students

In the Joy of Teaching the authors (Hall, Quinn, and Gollnick) discuss the integration of students with disabilities. In 1975 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed making it so individuals with disabilities were able to receive a free education, since then it has been updated, making it required for classrooms to be integrated whenever possible. According to the U.S. Census Bureau thirteen percent of students in the US are living with a disability. These Disabilities range from ADHD to Autism but the majority of disabilities are specific to the individual and the way they learn. The main way students are integrated is with the aid of an Individual Education Plan or IEP, which is a document that describes learning techniques discussed and agreed on by teachers, parents, and specialists. The inclusion process is said to only be semi-functional, as teachers often do not want to take on the extra work provided by integrated, stating that it takes time away from the other students, and the whole integration process has a lot of room left for improvement.