EMBRACING INCLUSIVE VALUES THE NEXT CHAPTER AT SFS

By Rafael Jimenez

Support Specialist

Inclusion is when in my class, all students feel valued for who they are regardless of how they learn, look, or of their personal life choices. Inclusion is when all students feel respected and see the classroom as a place where they can be themselves, try their best without fear of making mistakes, and feel confident that their voices will be heard.

Inclusive communities are continually exposed to challenging conversations, academic excellence, and social-emotional development. Although some may say it’s better to stick with what you have than risk it for something greater, it is undeniable that the next chapter of inclusion at Seoul Foreign School will require us to have difficult conversations we sometimes leave to private settings in fear of being misconceived, revamp some teaching practices to benefit all students, and take action to meet the social-emotional needs the generation, thirsty for fresh content, faces daily. By doing this, we ensure that SFS continues its journey to become a thriving, inclusive school.

Allow me to take the first risk to tell you what inclusion means to me as an educator; inclusion is when in my class, all students feel valued for who they are regardless of how they learn, look, or of their personal life choices. Inclusion is when all students feel respected and see the classroom as a place where they can be themselves, try their best without fear of making mistakes, and feel confident that their voices will be heard. But these beliefs do not mean that in my classroom, we won't have disagreements or that I will always be the superior moral compass for everyone. On the contrary, hopefully, these values help all students find common ground when having different opinions or fundamentally disagreeing with each other's approach to meet a goal.

With this being said, these inclusion values are unattainable without revamping traditional teaching methods that have historically excluded students who learn differently, face social-emotional challenges, or don't fit any definition of what a learner "should look or be like." Although a long list of practices have disadvantaged students in the past, there are also approaches like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that urge educators to purposely design flexible learning environments that accommodate all students' learning abilities, styles, and backgrounds. This approach encourages all teachers to maximize all student's potential by providing multiple means of engagement (students can engage with the materials in multiple ways), multiple means of representation (introducing information in different ways), and multiple means of action and expression (students can show mastery in numerous ways). In other words, students can be the protagonists of their learning while teachers are the directors who guide this process, or as the leading expert in UDL Katie Novak would say, "firm goals and flexible means."

As a result of challenging and evolving curriculums, a rapidly changing society with high expectations, and being part of a generation with an insatiable appetite for fresh content, our students continue facing challenges that we need to be equipped to support. Therefore, all educators should embrace the lifelong learning values we daily teach all students and get acquainted with strategies and best approaches to support students with depression, anxiety and stress, cyberbullying, eating and sleeping disorders, and specific learning disorders – issues we are finding to be more prevalent than ever in schools. In conclusion, we need to strive to embody the traits we hope to instill in our students, and start gaining a deeper understanding of our students’ realities and unique experiences, so we can provide them with the tailored support they need to reach their full potential.

Taking all these variables into consideration may sound daunting. However, educators are known to be flexible, caring and tenacious leaders who want what's best for their students. Let us remember that we won't be alone in the next inclusion chapter; our community will guide and support us in this journey. Furthermore, let's continue to embrace the values and challenges that neurodiverse, inclusive schools like SFS will face in the upcoming years, by welcoming those difficult conversations with humility, universally designing our classes, and embarking on a lifelong learning journey to understand all students' social and emotional uniqueness. Finally, I am optimistic that with each person who reads and incorporates these ideas, we can create a ripple effect that inspires small but meaningful changes to our daily practices and mindset. As a result, SFS can hopefully emerge as a shining example of inclusivity and open the way for sustainable growth in a more equitable and welcoming community.

References:

• Jung, L. A. (2019). Your students, my students, our students: Rethinking equitable and inclusive classrooms. ASCD.

• Novak, K., & Couros, G. (2022). UDL now!: A teacher's guide to applying universal design for learning (3rd ed.). CAST Professional.

• Practical Tools to Help You Implement Universal Design For Learning. (2020). Novakeducation. https://www.novakeducation.com/resources

• The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines. (2008). Cast UDL Guidelines. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/