Giving Compass' Take:

• Ryan Hoag shares how educators and coaches can engage with students with disabilities to authentically connect with them and identify their unique abilities. 

• How can funders help schools and organizations connect with these values? 

• Learn about preparing students with disabilities for success.

While the formal website description for Upstream Arts does use the term “disability” (Upstream’s mission is to “use the power of the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities”), that language is largely used externally to provide clarity to the common reader.

When Ryan Hoag says one of his favorite things to do is to serve as a teacher at Upstream Arts, he’s not kidding around. When I asked him if there are common threads he finds to be true across all of his teaching and coaching, he replied with:

  1. Assume ability for every single kid. When you have the moniker of disability, people assume you can’t or you don’t know an answer, even if you can or do.
  2. Help every student find and share his/her voice. Ryan says, “Give a student a voice even if he or she does not use traditional means of communication.”
  3. Give the best you can. Ryan’s coaching philosophy is the same as his teaching philosophy, and it boils down to taking the time you have to do the best you can for every single person.
  4. Show mutual respect. If you are a teacher the kids’ respect, they feel a sense of security and even an obligation.
  5. See the possibility in people. For kids to ascend to a level they’re capable, we need to help them look forward and find the avenues where they can succeed.
  6. Recognize that we all respond differently to different people. Be ready for them to respond differently to you than the other teacher down the hall. Let each student make his or her own connection with you.
  7. Empower people. The concept of empowering aligns with the Upstream mission that focuses on activating and amplifying all voices.
  8. Start where your students are and practice empathy.

Read the full article about recognizing ability by Mary Ryerse at Getting Smart.