Introduction

Introduction

If you have never experienced something, you probably don't know much about it. If you have lived in the tropics all your life, how can you really know about frost? If do not suffer from a disease, how can you really know how difficult it can be? If you have never been discriminated against, how can you really know how much it hurts? You may not know how hard things can be, but even worse, you may not know that some hardships exist at all.

I used to be frustrated by people who shuffled down stairs, clutching railings. I used to sigh with impatience as someone on crutches "hogged" the sidewalk. I silently disparaged people on the bus in wheelchairs, who took so much time to be safely buckled in. I am not proud of my behaviour, and I am thankful for the chance to turn myself around and really understand.

Two years ago, on a fateful ice skating trip, I lost my balance and fell, ripping apart my ankle joint. Three days later, after an x-ray and a cat scan and a lot of time sitting being wheeled around in a wheel chair, doctors cut open my leg, screwed my tibia back together, and sent me home on crutches.

The next 8 weeks were the longest of my life. Living in Canada, I had to contend with a snowy January and February with only one functional leg and two crutches which represented at once my difficulties and offered my only means of escaping the confines of a chair. Distances which I could have covered on two legs in 30 seconds seemed to stretch long and treacherous as the Fundy Footpath. Climbing stairs looked about as safe as climbing Mount Everest without a rope. I was at the mercy of people who often didn't know that I needed help, or how to help at all.

Slowly, I learnt to walk again, at first clutching everything in reach, and then proudly adding a whole new meaning to "Look, Mom, no hands!" I am grateful every day for the ability to walk, and with my gratefulness I also remember how difficult it was for me when I couldn't walk. My opinions of people with disabilities have radically changed, and so has my attitude towards other equity issues. I am painfully aware of other issues which I may not know enough about and people who I may not treat with the respect they deserve.

I hope that my class on exceptional learners and equity issues in the classroom will help me not just to be more aware and accommodating of exceptional students, but also more aware and accommodating of equity issues in the world around me.

My first readings for the class were Realizing the Promise of Diversity: Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy and Equity and Inclusive Education in Ontario Schools: Guidelines for Policy Development and Implementation. These two policy documents outlined the Ontario Ministry of Education's policies on equity and inclusive education, which helped explain relevant equity issues in the classroom and suggested ways I could target equity issues within my classroom and the larger school community. 

Both of these were fairly lengthy papers, so I tried to condense them into my main "takeaway" after reading and taking notes: 

We need to work to reduce gaps in student achievement, particularly those caused by equity issues, and increase overall student achievement. Furthermore, we need to increase general confidence in public education. 

I was impressed by the methods these documents suggested: teamwork and collaboration on every level, with students, teachers, the school board, and the wider community all contributing and making an effort to increase equity in the classroom and welcome exceptional learners. Making a big change in the school community is not something you can do alone; you need everyone on board. 

This link is a short clip which summarizes what I will be learning this year and why it is so important. Essentially, I need to make sure that I am catering to all the students in my class, making sure that they are getting the best education possible. Over the course of the year, I will learn how to cater to different needs--every student is unique, and I cannot try to wedge all my students into a cookie cutter scheme of how they should be and how they should learn. 

When I first started thinking about differentiated instruction and equity issues in the classroom, I have to admit that my heart sank. More work?! More planning?! Couldn't students just learn to adapt?

Then, I remembered by high school biology teacher, Miss S. (You'll hear a lot about Miss S. in this blog) I was in a challenging biology class which was fast-paced and required students to work hard to understand material. Everyone in the class was expecting to pursue a science-related career. None of the students had an IEP. However, Miss S. differentiated her instruction as a matter of course. Every homework assignment had three options: one for people who learned by getting creative, one for people who liked to ponder the deeper implications, and one for people who valued practicality. For example, an assignment about Carbon Dioxide in respiration had these options:
1. write a poem about Carbon Dioxide use in respiration (creative!)
2. a case study about a situation where several people are in a confined space with limited oxygen. Students should consider the implications of this situation (deeper implications!)
3. Make a chart which illustrated Carbon Dioxide use (practical!)

Though this was not an IEP, Miss S. was differentiating her teaching to suit different learners so that everybody could learn best. Hopefully, with a little work, I'll be able to do it as naturally as she did.

Here are details on the two Ontario Ministry of Education policy papers I mentioned:

Canada. Ontario Ministry of Education. Realizing the Promise of Diversity: Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009. Web. 23 Sep. 2012.

Canada. Ontario Ministry of Education. Equity and Inclusive Education in Ontario Schools: Guidelines for Policy Development and Implementation. Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009. Web. 23 Sep. 2012.