Inclusivity

standing up; a place for high challenge and enrichment learning—the options are many, but the availability of choices for students will be conducive to an inclusive classroom where student needs are honored and respected.

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studies, global studies, regional and geographic differences on the planet. When teachers value differences within the content of their subjects, and equally apply appreciation of differences among the students in the classroom, that’s a recipe for establishing a mutually respectful atmosphere.

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such as small group problem-solving; others work best independently and quietly; still others will like to fashion a story in order to make the lesson come alive. Going back to my emphasis in several locations on this site, I put the responsibility on the teacher to know her/his students well, and an important part of that knowledge will be how that student learns best, what traditions their family may be committed to, what their background and home environment is like. It takes time and effort to become a culturally responsive teacher.

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Failure to make this sincere effort each and every day is tantamount to malpractice. This is a matter of inclusivity because no matter what the capability, teachers must approach their profession with the mindset of having high expectations for all students, but this doesn’t mean having uniform expectations. The bar needs to be set above those highly capable students, just like it needs to be set above those who need accommodations or methods that address their learning profile—yet the absolute elevation of that bar is different, of course, for these student types. Unfortunately, in schools the energy, resources, teacher team meetings, and such are typically geared around supporting those students with learning challenges of one kind or another—I think this focus is laudable, but often the highly capable children get ignored in the frenzy to help the other end of the spectrum. This should not be a zero sum game—all students need our effort and attention.

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when it comes to opportunities to be welcoming: for example, immediately following an episode of teacher correction of a student behavior, that student should be welcomed back into the lesson and the activity and embraced fully; likewise, the tardy student need not be reprimanded upon walking into the room (that issue can be dealt with later via one to one communication), but should be promptly settled in and welcomed into the flow of the classroom proceedings. Creating a welcoming tone means honoring all voices and questions in the classroom; it means welcoming all perspectives; it means seeking out contrasting opinions when students all seem to be on the same page with a point of view. It can also mean communicating value to each and every student, so that the chess player will get the same kudos that the star athlete gets. Brain research tells us that a welcoming, supportive tone in one’s classroom environment will keep anxieties at bay and will allow the right components of the brain to be firing. The tone of welcoming also includes establishing a sense of belonging for each student—this takes skill on the part of the teacher, but it is definitely possible to establish social norms inside the classroom that can cut through the cliques and tensions that form outside the classroom.

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This is why sex education, or what some schools call human growth and development courses, in the middle school years becomes so vital for preparing students to embrace diversity as they head into high school and beyond, because these phases of schooling will be the time these issues play out most prominently. I recognize that school cultures will be at very different stages in their cultivation of diversity and in their willingness to openly educate the community on LGBTQ+ awareness and issues, but it is vital that we don’t ignore this element of identity when it comes to establishing a welcoming environment for all.

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While it takes superb teacher expertise to create a fully embracing atmosphere in the classroom where differences are celebrated, one way all teachers can advance the teaching of tolerance is by leveraging the curriculum that already have in place—the literature through the years, the social studies projects, or even classroom discussion on scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs. The opportunities are almost always right there in front of teachers to angle their instruction in ways to teach tolerance and to educate children about racial and ethnic or religious experiences or achievements among characters in literature and real people from history. Inclusivity is not just a teacher’s attitude toward students; rather, it should be an overarching goal of how content and knowledge is treated and made manifest in the classroom.

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corner of the classroom, but some form of the safe place can still be valid for many years throughout the K8 sector of schools.  Alone time, quiet time, decompression time—you name it; some call it an inappropriate indulgence, but emotional stresses are real and they can mount quickly among children, leading to disastrous results if not tended to. Adopting mindfulness strategies—breathing exercises, kinesthetic preparation and breaks, relaxation exercises—will calm the air and allow students to re-enter the field of positive engagement. Mindfulness is not a curriculum, and it is not a time-consumer, as many consider it. Mindfulness is meant to increase the time of effective learning throughout the day.

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I don’t see celebration as a reward or a carrot at all; celebrations have to be woven into the classroom without fanfare. The teacher just needs to determine when the time is ripe to take a few minutes to celebrate each other. And this doesn’t mean snacks and treats and party hats; it means switching gears and trying out some game playing, role playing, something out of the ordinary that is fun and engages all students, and that may still be delivering on the skills and content of the class. I’ll leave this up to the imagination of the teachers, and even the imagination of the students to come up with games or activities that can be invoked from time to time, when things are going well, and everyone is in the mood for some playful learning.

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