Inclusive Education — how can it be a reality?

It’s amusing how many of us believe that technology or teachers alone can make inclusive education possible.

There’s so much focus on pedagogy: play based, project based, constructive, hands on, application based, personalized, etc.

And the technology: various edtech tools for LMS, curriculum development, pedagogy, etc., tools for disability, etc.

While pedagogy and technology are important instruments, I think we miss the most basic/fundamental instrument to inclusive education, that is, the students themselves.

Out of all the international/national schools I have visited, there’s only one school that I found in the midst of a forest in Tamil Nadu that showed how to envision inclusive education.

I found that students with or without physical/intellectual disability sat together in the same classroom, and were taught by the same teacher; after all, how do you find special schools in a forest? Intriguingly, unlike modern classrooms, I observed that it was not the sole responsibility of the teacher that every student understands the concept. Teacher didn’t use “personalized pedagogy” or “differentiated instruction”. In fact, after teacher was done explaining a certain concept, students took it on themselves that each one of them learn. They were having discussions in their local language and explaining to each other in their own ways. Students had their own conversation mechanisms. They were not afraid of explaining a certain concept to a fellow mate for n number of times. They believed in each other and didn’t care if the other student had disability or not. I saw that they played together, celebrated together and themselves knew how to get everyone involved. Teacher didn’t have to be on top of them to teach them basic humanity.

I usually see schools where students are only competing to get higher marks, to get a higher position. And then we’re advocating for a better pedagogy and advanced technology. But in that forest, they didn’t have the technology or an out of the box pedagogy; all they had was trust and a sense of community and they did their part without even knowing that it was something Extraordinary !

PS: Next time, when you get into your class, don’t just praise the one who got 100%, ask the class, how could they “as a class” let a fellow mate to get 40%.

Looking for more tips, happy to help!