Giving Compass' Take:

• Making students feel included is key to their overall well-being and academic success. 

• How can teachers be better empowered to include all of their students? How can curriculum be designed to foster inclusion? 

• Find out why diversity and inclusion are essential to philanthropy. 

Nearly a year ago, a student who had been transitioning from a boy to a girl brought the book “I am Jazz” to class and asked that Ms. Swaney read it out loud. The autobiographical children’s book describes the life of a young transgender child. Just like she had for other students who had brought books for her to read, Ms. Swaney read the book to the class. Following the reading, she closed the book and the class went about their normal routine.

This simple act created a firestorm of unwanted attention for the student and her parents as some used it to push broader agendas around transgender issues.

A public school teacher’s job is to provide a safe learning environment for every single student in their classroom. No matter the students’ backgrounds, experiences, situations, or beliefs, a great teacher creates a place where each student is included, supported, and able to learn, grow, and thrive.

Some have suggested that the schools’ role should be to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, and that everything else should be taught at home. To do so would reduce teachers to content-delivery mechanisms and deprive students of so much that makes teachers often among the most positive influences in our lives, the people we remember fondly when we think of the people who set us on paths to success.

Read the full article on making students feel included by Jillayne Antoon at EdSource