Dealing with "differently abled" students

Yesterday in diversity class and today in foundations of education we spent a lot of time discussing how we would deal with students that have problems learning in the classroom. We touched on the whole range, from ESL students to students with physical maladies to students who have diminished mental faculties and more. As I was thinking about this tough issue, I was concerned not with how I would be able to reach these "differently abled" students (I have, over these few weeks realized that the use of the term 'disabled' isn't fair to these students), but with how I would divide my time so that I could reach these students without leaving out the rest of my classroom. I know that I won't face these issues in all of my classrooms, but they will come up. Is it fair to the 'normal' (for lack of a better word) students to spend so much time trying to keep the challenged students up to speed with the rest of the class? Are we being fair to general education teachers by asking them to take on these additional responsibilities? I'm not trying to say that there's no place for differently abled students in the general education classroom. I just think that there needs to be a support system in place for the teachers that have these students in their classrooms. That way normal students will also get the time and attention they need in the classroom.

Also, we can't just throw these students willy nilly into classrooms and think that they will get the education that they need. Teachers need to be informed about when they will have a student with a learning impairment in their classroom. Teachers should be at least introduced to the idea of differentiated instruction before they enter the classroom so that they can reach these students. Even these measures don't guarantee an equitable education for differently abled students, but at least it is a start.

I'm trying to see a way that differently abled students can have an equitable education without forcing the entire burden onto the shoulders of teachers that have not studied specifically how to handle them. It seems like were are moving toward classrooms in which differently abled students are fully integrated into the instruction without a need for a special education instructor. However, I don't believe that we will ever get there, because a general education teacher just doesn't have the skills or the time to give differently abled students the instruction they need without some outside help.

Finally I want to say that I know there are many different types of students that I am lumping into this category. Some are easier to integrate into the classroom than others and that's ok. But it's not fair to the general education teacher to put that burden solely on his shoulders. I will do the best that I can with this issue, and I know we will be talking a lot more about it this fall in the diversity class. I challenge educators everywhere to really think about this issue and try to help their administrators come up with a satisfying solution that takes into account everybody, including those students with full mental and physical faculties.