Awakening the Learner

Silence, ah yes, at times the dreaded nemesis of the teacher. We work to involve the students and we prepare brilliant questions to inspire participation in classroom discussions. But alas, we are met with silence or hear from a few students who love to talk. So how do we inspire those who are too shy or even worse, seem not to care? We must lay the foundation of the inclusive classroom by inspiring a family atmosphere with our students. We must seek to attain an attitude of, “we are all in this together.” This may seem like it will take pain staking effort but it will be rewarding in the end.

The Individual

We must first get to know our students and help them get to know each other. This is most successful if it begins at the start of the year but is never too late. It is important to teach the students to be proud of who they are and what they have to offer. What are their qualities as an individual? Can they connect with their pride in ethnicity or how about their strength in disability? One year, during language arts one of my students spoke with a strong accent while reading aloud. Another child laughingly commented and I took this opportunity to point out that this student had an amazing ability to speak two languages. While making an effort to speak in a strong Southern accent, I explained that I came to Washington from North Carolina. This inspired a conversation about accents and we all took turns reading aloud in our favorite accents (this included a few science fiction accents as well).

One day when a child was struggling with her wheelchair we talked about how “cool” it was that she was able to drive a vehicle everywhere. I was truly inspired by a teacher who had a “disability day” when each child drew a disability card and was required to go through the day living in someone else’s shoes. This included reading disabilities (she printed their work backwards for the day).  At the end of the day the class talked about each student’s given assignment and how strong a person had to be to live with each disability.

I was also amazed by a PTA sponsored parent night when each family brought food from their native origins. They also set up mini workshops in the gym where they taught their “students” (kids, parents, and teachers) their own special talents such as knitting, playing guitar, origami, dance, etc.  

Creating a Team Spirit

Use these techniques to teach the students to appreciate each other and the strengths that each person offers to the team (class). For about 5 years I organized and directed a summer camp. I started off each summer by incorporating team building in everything we did. The campers were taught that they were not in competition with each other but had an attitude of “we are the best group in the county and we attained this together.” This was not to create an adversarial attitude towards other camps but created an attitude which helped them believe in themselves as successful and an example to the rest of the campers in the county. This can easily be adapted in the classroom. 

Curriculum and Discussions

Now we can begin to create a curriculum which is inclusive to all students. What inspires them? How can they connect?  Note: If you are provided a required curriculum it is relatively simple to work with what you are given as you can see with my “accent example.” Soon I will be posting some helpful links for this in the resource section of my blog. Remember, every incident can be used as a learning opportunity. Through the development of an inclusive classroom and curriculum you can build a strong team spirit. You will soon find that more and more students feel comfortable sharing their own thoughts and attitudes in the classroom.

I hope you found this helpful. As always feel free to contact me with questions and comments.