Fairness and Equality

Many teachers, principals, and even some parents use equality as an arguing point against including all students in the general education setting. "It's not fair to the general education students". "It's not fair to the teachers to have to do more work". "More attention will be put on the students who have IEPs and the typical students will fall behind".

Fair is getting what you need.

Fair is getting a shot.

Fair is not getting the exact same thing.



These are such important notions to discuss with students as you embark including all students with all types of needs in the classroom.  Open, frequent discussions need to be had as a classroom community to ensure that all students understand why and how they learn.

I'm so excited to be discussing this very topic with a group of teachers who are embarking on the inclusion journey this week at our first cohort meeting.  At the advice of a colleague, we are going to be doing this activity! It is my hope that teachers will take this activity back to their own classrooms to facilitate these discussions.

Having the language be part of the daily school culture will help students to understand how they learn, how their classmates learn, and why their classroom is a place that welcomes and celebrates all learners!

Inclusion is Not a Location

Your school decides that it's going to "try inclusion".  Binders with the word "Inclusion" are made, schedules that include students at recess and lunch are created, and everyone feels warm and fuzzy that students are getting to enjoy inclusion.... This is the reality in our schools in 2015.

In my brain, I want to scream, "This is not okay! What is happening?!".  But even though I come from a Utopian land of a fully inclusive school, I know that this IS okay.  This IS the starting place for many (okay most) schools as they begin to think about how they will use better practices for their students with diverse needs.

Everyone needs to start somewhere.  I want to start changing peoples' ideas about inclusion. It is not a place. It is not a location. It is not a schedule.  It is a belief system.  And you have to start somewhere. This blog will serve as diary of several urban public and charter schools as they start their journeys towards inclusion and using best practices for ALL learners.

Thanks for joining the journey!