Inclusion

A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members. ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Many people when they think of Inclusion their thoughts go to Students with Special Needs. In an ideal world we think of Inclusion on a grander scheme where we think of those individuals that are disenfranchised in any way and as Ghandi indicates or as in one of the key phrases in Manitoba’s Philosophy of Inclusion that ‘Everyone feels safe, valued and accepted.’ How do we create a society where each person has some control over their own life and a way to determine their outcomes? Almost 20 years ago Angus Reid wrote a book called ‘Shakedown’ . It talked about the role of Government not always needing to be bigger but better. Finding a way to develop our Social Capital. Canada still has a large number of disenfranchised individuals.

What role can each of us play in creating a society where we work to provide all our citizen’s the opportunity to be contributing members of our society.

In my work as as an educator I was involved in the development and implememtnation of ‘Appropriate Education for All Students’. I was able to work on the development of a number of support documents that help guide practice as we moved to a more Inclusive Educational System.

Towards Inclusion- Documents

Tapping Hidden Strengths:

From Challenges to Possibilities – Planning for Behaviour 

Planning for Inclusive Schools