3 big take away ideas…
- Schools reflect the society we WANT to live in NOT the society that is (Dr. Timmons says this so much better, see video below).
- We have structures and systems that have been built to segregate, which need to be dismantled and changed in order to get to where we NEED to be–this takes time and being proactive.
- In the past, speaking up about issues was something that did not exist, if they did not exist then they were not seen as issues, and if they were not an issue then they did not get addressed, nor get better. Therefore, we need to learn what issues are acceptable and/or not acceptable, as well as learn how to speak up and address them so that they can get better.
2 connections I made…
- Our education system is one of the many systems that is structurally set up to segregate. Teachers are educated within this system and then go out and teach in the same system, with the same pedagogy and curriculum that continues to recycle the segregation within the system which is then reflected within our society. The change needs to happen from the top-down. As a future educator, I can be apart of the change I want to see built into society.
- In order to bring the change of being inclusive into our future society, inclusiveness must first be addressed within our education system–today. This includes a change in attitude and better equipped educators in becoming more inclusive in our education system, so that it will then be reflected within our society. As a future educator I will continue to equip myself to be inclusive in the classroom and society, as well as reflect a positive acceptance towards differences.
1 question I have…
- How am I as a future educator learning to become inclusive today, to later go into a system to teach that continues to be limited and binding towards certain issues and practices? What about dealing with parents that do not agree? As educators we are still limited by the restrictions the government places on both educators and education.
Videos that impacted my understanding the most:
.
Words are powerful and hurtful–choice yours wisely!
Instead of:
- Confined to a wheel chair
- The disabled
- Handicapped
- Cognitive impairment
- Birth defect
- The blind
- Autistic children
- Mentally retarded
- Crippled
- Midget
Try:
- Wheelchair user
- People with disabilities
- Person with a disability
- Cognitive disability
- Person with a congenital disability
- Children with autism
- Developmental disability
- Person with a mobility disability
- Person of short stature of little person
The above was taken from Using Words with Dignity by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education