This week we got to hear from Tracy Humphreys, the Chair and Executive Director at BCEd Access. She talked to us about the organization, and the importance of considering accessibility and inclusivity in the classroom. I appreciated getting to hear from her, as this is something I know will be a critical priority, and also a real challenge. This semester has mostly been focused on creating unit and lesson plans that are exciting but I realize I didn’t often have a wide diversity of students in my mind when making them. Sure, I always try to include different forms of engagement (such as videos, writing, moving, etc.), but what happens when one student is miles ahead and another is struggling with the basics? I realized I have been designing for a monolithic classroom, and have not built in much UDL or differentiation.

This is a good learning for me. I already know that I have a tendency to want to cram in an unrealistic amount of activities into short periods of time, and this approach would be a big disservice to many students. That tendency of mine probably has roots in capitalist, ableist ideas that tries to squeeze every ounce of “productivity” from the moment. Yet it is the opportunity to pause, reflect, ask questions, and struggle with the content that leads to deeper learning, and helps those who may otherwise fall behind catch up. I will try to reframe the issue to myself as one of equity, and hopefully this helps me step back and be okay with “going slow.”

I imagine supporting diverse learners is often pushed to the side for new teachers, who spend so much of their time just gathering and creating lessons and units for their classes. I hope that any opportunity I have to prepare and plan ahead of a semester starting I take it; I want to be able to give my energy and presence to the students, and be receptive to their needs and interests. I can already picture how difficult this would be when I am feeling overworked and anxious about the half-planned lessons that I need to finish. Yet in a world that is already so challenging for people with diverse abilities, I hope to meet all my students where they’re at, and help them to get wherever they want to go.