Inclusive Philosophy for Teaching

Literacy instruction is at the forefront of my passion as an educator.  Reading comprehension and the ability to communicate effectively can open innumerable doors for students in the academic world that exists after high school and the professional world beyond that.  My goal is to provide students with opportunities to read, and to encourage them to refine the necessary skills to do so proficiently.  Proficient mastery of a skill like reading means something different for every student.  Gifted students for whom reading comes easily require access to numerous and increasingly complex materials with which to hone their comprehension.  Students who struggle to read or hate to do so need an impetus to read, but they also need the right type of books in order to find success.  Those students who have special or additional needs may require a more universally aligned approach to reading, or a teacher who chooses to think outside the box.  For me, this will mean an adherence to the principles of universal design.  Each student’s pace for reading will be individualized, as well as his or her methods for reading achievement.  Students will have access to a variety of materials that encompass all reading levels.  They will also have the option to select graphic novels and books on tape. 

Inclusion will be the foundation of my classroom.  This term extends to students with special or additional needs, those with particularly gifted young minds, and most importantly students who bear invisible scars from life experiences foreign to their peers.  Each of these students is struggling to navigate the world in their own way, and they need a place where they feel safe and accepted.  As a majority of our classroom activities will be discussion based, it is essential that each student feel valued for their unique opinions and backgrounds.  I will not tolerate mockery or exclusion of any kind.  I want each student to enter my classroom and see it as a space where they are free to express themselves and their viewpoint without fear of their peers or me.  According to Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed: “The pursuit of full humanity cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and solidarity; therefore, it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relationship between the aggressors and the oppressed.  No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so.”  Our classroom will be a community dedicated to the unlimited exploration of literature and its impact upon our interpretation of the human experience through in depth discussion and freedom from judgment. 

Students know best what makes a classroom functional for their personal needs and safety, both physically and in a mental capacity.  In order to help students be more mindful of inclusion, we will decide the rules of our classroom as a group at the end of the first week of classes.  While there will be basic rules in place, I will open a forum for students to share what rules they most want to see enforced in our class.  Much of the content that is imparted in literature classes is discussion based, and our rules will specifically reflect the atmosphere in which we will discuss.  I do not seek to define or limit my students ability to think for themselves, but will rely on Bandura’s theory of observational learning to model problem solving and critical thinking strategies for my students.  Ultimately, I may have knowledge my students do not, but they will have had unique experiences to share.  Our classroom is a forum for sharing knowledge in the interest of growth for everyone.