Sailboat as a Simile for Inclusion
Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.
-George Evans
During my time at McGill, I attended a class called Teaching Students with Exceptionalities. I gained a lot of tools and strategies that will be useful in my future teaching career, in order to effectively teach students with various learning styles and disabilities. Although I will take all of these useful strategies with me, I have to say that the strongest and most important message I took away from this course was that we have to look at our classroom environment as we would a sailboat on an open sea; full of potential obstacles, but endless possibilities and wonders as well. Although we cannot direct the wind, we can adjust our sails to continue to move forward, regardless of the weather. Much like our inability to change the weather, we cannot change a person or how they learn, but we can adjust our classroom environment, our strategies and our techniques in order to allow each individual to move forward and succeed, regardless of the obstacles or their exceptionality. I will carry this quote with me always, reminding me that it is
my job, as a teacher, to keep an open mind and see each child as a deserving and valuable being. I must know my students, reconfigure my classroom, and adapt or change my teaching strategies and techniques, to fit the needs of each of my student and create an environment where every child can succeed and reach their utmost potential.
my job, as a teacher, to keep an open mind and see each child as a deserving and valuable being. I must know my students, reconfigure my classroom, and adapt or change my teaching strategies and techniques, to fit the needs of each of my student and create an environment where every child can succeed and reach their utmost potential.