Lesson 09 Reflection

This week our readings focused on students with "other disabilities" and UDL, Universal Design for Learning. UDL works to design learning for students who have been marginalized and/or are struggling with average curriculum that is geared towards the illusory "average" student. I was so impressed by the efforts of many of the teachers that we saw in the content videos who were working to do everything in their power to reach the students under their care who struggled with various difficulties from homelessness to neglect or abuse to symptoms of ADHD and other cognitive or physical challenges. These teachers absolutely lit up when they were talking about their jobs and how they felt a sense of purpose and were dedicated to serving the children with integrity and purpose. I was inspired when I saw the classrooms that were as inclusive as they could be, with students who have special needs seated next to and working with their typically developing peers. It was powerful to watch the peer to peer teaching that happened with the students, and to hear that when students are in an inclusive classroom, all students benefit and experience deeper learning. This was an eye opening experience for me and one that I would love to be able to enact in my own classroom. Thinking back to my own elementary experience, I do remember special needs student being included in our classroom and it was just a normal thing for us; we did not expect them to be separated, we wanted to know how we could interact with them and share our learning experiences with them.