As an educator, I believe all students should be given the chance to have a sense of belonging and be respected and valued for who they are through opportunities to learn within a supportive community. Recently , I had the opportunity to see Julie Causton-Theoharis at a session, speaking about inclusive schools and classrooms. She was incredibly eloquent and powerful in her message on inclusion. She spoke about inclusion being all about creativity. I reflected on this as well as her comment on the number of minutes students are in the classroom directly affecting how well students do in general education. When she was talking, I was thinking of students who find things in the classroom challenging - some with autism, some with severe physical needs, and some with behavioural difficulties. I thought about the comments I have heard around students "just being disrespectful" and how perhaps with some creativity we could change the path for their education and instill purpose, dignity, and hope in learning with these students as we work towards this vision in our division. Are they engaged? What would hook these students and be purposeful learning for them? What adaptations do they need in the classroom to help them succeed? What is the trigger for the behaviour? She spoke of fair being everyone getting what they need. Is there a difference between a student having glasses to read or a student needing a fidget to help focus attention on their learning?
Can we re-frame our way of thinking to look at student differences as attributes?
Below is a video trailer for Autism is a World. It is a wonderful movie about a women with autism who did not speak until she was 13. A truly amazing individual.
