A deeper look at inclusion (courtesy of Dr. Richard Villa)

My second semester kicked off with two exceptional days of inservice facilitated by international educational expert Dr. Richard Villa. He worked with our faculty on building an inclusive culture. I could have gladly spent the whole week listening and learning from him. He greatly challenged my thinking, convincing me that inclusion isn't merely an option or one strategy but is rather a right to which all students are entitled. Inclusion goes far beyond "taking care of the special ed. students"; it is cultivating a culture in which all members are valued---learning and growing together. 

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Villa pointed out that many schools define themselves as inclusive when they are not because they operate with a flipped hierarchy of needs. When you look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, he places belonging before achievement. But some cultures flip the hierarchy by sending a message directly (or indirectly) that only when you achieve can you belong. We send that message when we insist on homogeneous groupings of students, when co-teachers designate "your students" and "my students", when we label classes or groups by ability, and when we insist on planning "one size fits all" lessons. The basic need of belonging should never have to be earned. 

One way to address this hierarchal flip is to stop labeling students as "problems". Dr. Villa walked our faculty through the process of pro-active, strength-based brainstorming to address when a student is struggling. He emphasized that when a student has difficulties in a classroom, it is not due to a bad teacher or a bad student, but merely a mismatch between the student's strengths and learning preferences and the teacher's methods, materials, and processes. He taught us how to collaboratively identify the mismatches and brainstorm many possible solutions. The conversation resulted not only in solutions for this particular student, but also strategies that could be utilized to meet the needs of all learners. 

After these two days of inservice, I came away with a revitalized understanding of co-teaching and differentiation and how they support the essential element of inclusion in a school culture. As educators we can not condone the practice of sorting students by ability. The key to effective education is not found in academic segregation. According to Villa, 'as long as you can send away anyone who challenges the status quo, then you never change the status quo." Inclusion makes us better and keeps us moving forward. Ultimately it causes all of us----teachers and students to embrace and celebrate our differences as we support and compel one another's growth. 

BOOKS BY VILLA

• A Guide to Co-Teaching: New Lessons and Strategies to Facilitate Student Learning
• Differentiated Instruction: Planning for Universal Design and Teaching for College and Career Readiness
• Collaborating with Students in Instruction and Decision Making