Happy Holidays to You from KIT!

Wishing you and your family a holiday season filled with love and peace. 

What Can You Learn from Jury Duty?

 I just finished my jury duty service. I seem to get jury duty a lot (I had federal jury duty this past summer), and yet I have never been selected to sit as a juror in a trial. I’ve heard it is a good experience and while I am not at all opposed to doing it, I do admit to feeling a little put out when I am forced to miss work to appear in the jury pool. Each time I hope that I will be sent home just before lunch so I can make it to the office without missing too much. This time my name was called as a prospective juror at 2:00pm. As I rode up in the elevator to Department 48 I still hoped that I would not be selected and would be relieved by 4:00pm or so. As it happens, I had quite a moving experience as I walked into the courtroom and took my seat. My perspective completely shifted due to something that happened in my own family.

A number of years ago my younger brother was run over by an 18-wheeler while on a motorcycle. He was air lifted to the trauma center and remained in the ICU for some time. His recovery was slow and painful, and the physical effects will be with him for his lifetime. He sued the oil company whose driver had not followed the rules of the road, leading to the accident. I spent many hours in the courtroom during the trial. It was an emotional and disturbing process. I remember hoping every day for a jury of reasonable citizens who would do the right thing when presented with the evidence. As I walked into the courtroom yesterday all of those feelings came flooding back to me. I realized that the people involved in this trial deserved thoughtful, reasonable people to actively listen to everything presented and with a clear and open mind make the best decision possible. I realized that it was my duty to be that person, if selected as a juror. I had a much greater understanding that these were people involved in this unfortunate situation and what was decided would have a real impact on their lives. My personal experience created a sense of empathy for others.

As I reflect I realize that in our work at KIT we often help people connect their own experience in their families with the philosophy of inclusion. When people can imagine how they would like someone in their own family who has a disability to be welcomed and accepted by the community, that is often what helps them become more accepting of people with disabilities.  One of my great mentors and a KIT co-founder, Dr. Mary Shea, often says that disability is one of the only minority groups with open enrollment. Thus, you can join the population of people with disabilities at any time, and so can any of your friends or family members. In training sessions this is often when we see the spark of connection in the participants. This is the “ah-ha” moment for many as they resolve to treat others the way they would want their own family members to be treated. I have also had many people tell me that after enduring a temporary disability, for instance a broken leg that requires them to use a wheelchair or walker, they have a greater sense of what it is to live in the world with a disability. They always say, “I get it. I get what you do now.” And while it is true that a temporary disability cannot truly simulate the experience of a lifelong disability, it is a powerful empathy-builder.

And that is what it is about, right? We are humans here on this earth, having life experiences all the time that shape who we are and how we interact in the world. At KIT we realize that changing attitudes towards disability, and helping people understand that disability is a natural part of life is critical to our work. Once attitudes have changed and people are more accepting they will find ways to ensure that everyone in their child development center or after school program is welcomed and supported. It becomes intuitive. I was grateful this week to see how personal experience affected perception in my own life. I will never look at jury duty in the same way again. 

Celebrating Inclusive Schools Week

                                 I am wearing my I Am Norm tag- get yours here and wear to celebrate Inclusive Schools Week!

This week we are almost in the middle of celebration season. Sure, we celebrate year round, but when else is celebrating so apparent? Lights everywhere, music, catalogs and cards filling your mailbox and certain foods that we only indulge in at this time of year. Celebrating is an important part of our culture. This week, I am going to spend some time and effort celebrating something else that I think is very important to our culture now and in the future, and I encourage you to do the same. “Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event which is held each year during the first week in December. Since its inception in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors. The Week also provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.”

If you follow KIT’s work then you know that our focus is inclusion in the out-of-school hours. We teach people who work in early childhood, before and after school and enrichment programs how to include children with and without disabilities. But that does not mean that we are not huge advocates for inclusive schools. KIT’s vision is that children with disabilities are welcomed and supported in all aspects of community life. The school is the centerpiece of the community. Outside of the family it may be the first place a child with a disability has to experience being included. It is the place where a child can understand and begin to know who they are in the world. It is where we as a society begin to support them in their journey to becoming an adult that contributes back to their community. Being included sends a powerful message. Being excluded or segregated or whatever you want to call it also sends a message to a child. Believe me, I know the state of education as it stands. I know that we are all about standardized tests and increasing achievement. I know that inclusion requires teachers to be prepared and given additional support and that we are operating with less money than we have in the past. But I believe that by promoting inclusive schools, we are encouraging what we know is best for children. We are making a statement that every child can learn and giving every child the chance to experience true diversity.

Won’t you join in me in promoting and celebrating Inclusive Schools Week? Visit the Inclusive Schools Week website for ideas and planning tools, or check out what our friends at I Am Norm are doing to celebrate. Or watch Malia describe it for herself.

Inclusion is...in school and out of school, and in every part of community life.