'Nowhere to turn': Teachers left alone to deal with special needs, fed up with system

Mary Foley lived in a bubble for 38 years.

Her tiny school in Conche, a small town on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula,wasa heaven on earth, where all community members took a vested interest in the children and fostered their growth.

When the school closed thisyear, Foley began substituting in the region. Her bubble quickly exploded.

"These students are coming in with a multitude of concerns and issues," she said.

"And I'm sorry, the regular classroom teacher cannot provide what they need."

Inclusive education amethod that sees students of various needs in the same classroom has openedFoley's eyes to a different side of her profession.

Inclusive education not working: teacher panel

During the first segment of the three-part series, Inside the Classroom, 30 educators from across Newfoundland and Labrador discussed issues they face.

• When teachers talk: Why CBC gathered 30 teachers to take us Inside the Classroom

• Inside the Classroom: Schools not staffed to deal with behavioural issues, teachers say

The teacherswere askedif they thought inclusive education was working in their respective schools.

Silence fell across the room as host RamonaDearing finished the question. Not one hand went up.

The ideaof inclusive education was introduced to the Newfoundland and Labrador school system in the 1990s. The goal was to reform special education, end the segregation of special needs childrenand encourage socialization amongst their peers.

While many teachers on the panel agreed with the goal of inclusive education, they said the realities do not match theintentions.

"I can't possiblydivide myself 31 ways," said Angela Dawe, a junior highteacher on the northeast Avalon.

"I leave my classroom many days, I go home, and I feel defeated That's a horrible way to feel as a professional that deeply cares about the well-being of my students."

Resources major issue

Several teachers described classrooms with multiple students on individualized educationprograms (IEPs) and noadditional staff to assist them.

They are mandated to deal with themost intensive needs first, before moving down the line.

I could not address the needs of that class because the support was not there.- Russell Stockley, elementary school teacher

Some children, however, have issues that can take up a teacher's full attention.

Russell Stockley, an elementary school teacherin central Newfoundland, said he's been in situations where, in a class of 20 or more, nearly half of thosestudents wereon IEPs.

Some of those kids deal with behavioural issues that demand his full attention.And yet,Stockleyisthe only staff member in the classroom.

"I could not physically do it on my own," he said.

"I could not address the needs of that class because the support was not there. The resourcing was not there."

Job is no longer about teaching

While the other teachers' complaints echo one another, Foley's situation is unique.

She now substitutesat a different school on Newfoundland'sNorthern Peninsula, in a class where more than half her students arein foster care.

• Inside the Classroom: Read more about our series on education

The children come with a litanyof emotional and behavioural problems, taken from dysfunctional homes in Labrador and resettled on the island.

The inclusive education model means the foster children, who require extra attention, are in a regular classroom with otherstudents.

As a substitute teacher, Foley said she sometimesfeelslike a social workerthrown intoajob with dire consequences.

She saidshe feels it isno longer possible to be a teacher without the proper resources being added to theclassroom trained professionals who could help deliver the educational, behavioural, and emotional supportthe children need.

"I'm telling you, there's nothing worse than to sit in a classroom and be a teacher to children who are hurting, who miss their home, who miss their motherand every other need along with it," she said.

"But you know something?You have nowhere to turn. And that's not right."