A special education teacher flipped the inclusion model by inviting general education students into the special ed classroom instead of moving special ed students out. Her students felt safer in their familiar space, formed friendships with peers, and gen‑ed students developed empathy by seeing their classmates in a comfortable setting.
I want to talk about reverse inclusion. Reverse inclusion is where kids from the gen ed classroom come into the special ed classroom. When I was in the classroom, I had students that really struggled to push out of our classroom into the gen ed rooms. They felt more comfortable and safe and secure in our class, which I totally got. So for those students, we did reverse inclusion where kids from the gen ed classrooms came into our special ed room. This was truly amazing. My students had the benefit of that inclusion opportunity and the opportunities to make friendships while feeling safe and secure within their classroom with their tools and all the stuff that they knew and felt comfortable with, right? And it was mutually beneficial for everyone. The kids in the gen ed classrooms loved coming into our room. They got to know my students really well. My students got to know them. They could hang out in the hallway and at recess and know each other. But again, it happened in a setting where everyone felt comfortable and secure. We got to do really fun activities, and this was a great way to give those opportunities to those students that might have struggled with it otherwise.
