Chapter Three, everyone's an inclusive educator. I think now would be a great time for a quick recap. We are three chapters in with our podcast series. And I hope that you have a little bit better understanding what I mean when we're talking about inclusive education. So here goes. In chapter one, we met the Shams who were so tired of fighting with their school district, that they removed special education services, just so that their daughter Natalia could attend her home school. And then we visited Cecil County Public Schools in Maryland, which includes all learners starting in pre K. In chapter two, we met the berries who advocated for their daughter Harper, to be taken out of her segregated special education classroom and be placed in a general education classroom with her peers. And then, with the help of our friend Bree, we learned about how Westland Wilsonville school district was building a culture of inclusion. For chapter three, I'm taking you with me on my visit across the state of Washington to observe schools, who are fully committed to inclusive education for all learners. And this time, you are going to hear directly from some students. Now there are a lot of school districts out there that are trying to be more inclusive, which is amazing, and I don't want to take anything away from their efforts. But what is exceptional about the schools you're going to hear from in this chapter, and in the whole series, is that they have a shared understanding of what inclusive education really means. For instance, does your school district have inclusion classrooms, or inclusion teachers, or an inclusion program? Well, then they may not actually be inclusive. When we at MCIE II talk about inclusive education, we essentially mean for things that learners with disabilities are present in classrooms with non disabled peers, that they are members of that classroom and experiencing belonging, just like every learner should, that they are participating in the same classroom rituals, routines and activities as every learner does, and that they are learning the same things as every other learner It seems simple, right? But you would be amazed at how many learners with disabilities are left out and excluded in the biggest way they are left out, is by being separated into multi grade classrooms where it is impossible for educators to teach even one set of grade level standards. There's this classic article written by Julie Causton. Called does self contained Special Education deliver on his promises? The short answer is no. Well, the long answer is no to. But the article starts off with a quote from a student, Victor, who was educated in a self contained classroom for much of his life. And here's the quote, please know that self deadening spaces are hard spaces to make progress and learn stuff. They don't have people wanting you to really learn anything except person, place or things, nouns I know. That's my take, but I'm just one person. I know lots of people love those rooms. More often they just play games like Uno. A school should be what we all love. The my experiences about broke my freaking soul. Wow, Tim, you are really going hard after special education classrooms. Yeah, I am. And one of the reasons why is because I know exactly what goes on in these classrooms because I taught in them. And on my best day, it wasn't ideal. As you're listening to this episode, take note of how the school leaders talk about educating all learners. And I want you to notice how incompatible having special education classrooms are with this philosophy and practice. After a short break, we visit mcmicken Elementary School. Catch you on the other side.