From "Four Runner"
(A publication of the SD TAC at Virginia Commonwealth Univ)
Acceptance, Belonging and Community:  Where do you stand?
Belonging, the need for relationships and friends, is a basic human
need (Maslow, 1970).   How we look at the issues of acceptance,
belonging, and community is closely associated with our values.  In
order to develop caring school communities we need to be accepting of
differences.  Where there is acceptance, a sense of belonging can be
cultivated.  Do all school employees have equal value?  Are special
education teachers as valuable as general education teachers?  What
about paraprofessionals?  In successful schools all people feel like
they belong.
Creating a climate where everyone feels they belong must begin with
the adults in the building (i.e., educators, paraprofessionals,
administrators, cafeteria staff) and then transfer to the students
(Malatchi, in press).  In school-life as well as home-life, children
will reflect the attitudes of the adults and their peers.  How do the
adults really feel about working with students with different
abilities?  Lets look at several examples and then some strategies for
changing attitudes and creating school communities that value
acceptance and belonging.  Keep in mind the following definition of
belonging, by Wilkins (1995), an "advocate extraordinare" for
acceptance and belonging.
     "Belong:  v. 1: to feel and be a part of...
     i.e. a community, a workplace, a neighborhood,
     or school 2: to enjoy a sense of contribution,
     value, self-worth 3: to truly believe one is
     a natural and equal part of the whole
     4: comfortable, safe, cared for, welcome".
Example #1
One general education teacher, who had taught for 15 years in the same
school system, left in June and returned in the fall to pursue her
dream as a special education teacher, working with children labeled
"severe and profoundly handicapped".  Within one week the teacher was
questioning what had happened during the summer vacation.  She felt
left out and ignored, as if she were no longer part of the school
staff.  Teachers avoided her students in the hallways and seemed to
have difficulty maintaining eye contact with her.  The previous year,
as a general education teacher, she had a duty-free lunch, a planning
period once a day, and other daily opportunities for "non student
contact" time.  She, like other general education teachers, was not
assigned any before or after school duties.  As a special education
teacher (in the same school system) she found she had no scheduled
lunch time away from her students, no planning time during school
hours, a bus duty assignment before school, and a classroom located as
far from the center of the school as possible.  Other staff members,
including administrators, avoided her classroom (personal
conversation, 1994).  Questioning other special education teachers
across the United States, it was discovered that many special
education teachers were having similar experiences.  Why?  Are special
education teachers, often with advanced degrees, not as smart or as
important as the other teachers?  Are the learners they teach not as
valuable as other learners?
Example #2
One educator found it disturbing to enter a school, ask for the
classroom location of a child (who has a disability) and have an
administrator respond that the "zoo classroom is over there" (personal
conversation, 1996).  Adults in schools need to discover where they
stand on recognizing the value of everyone and his or her right to
feel a sense of acceptance and belonging.
Strategies
Given the importance of creating a school community where everyone is
accepted and belongs, consider the following ideas:
        1.  Make acceptance, belonging, and community priorities in
        your building.
        2.  Volunteer to facilitate an activity where your colleagues
        share a) a time in school when they felt excluded and b) a
        story of a teacher who made a difference in their life.  Have
        some discussion time regarding these experiences.
        3.  volunteer to speak about acceptance, belonging, and
        community (with a colleague) at a staff or team meeting.
        4.  Look for short articles on acceptance, belonging, and
        community to share with your colleagues.
        5.  Copy this article and place it in the mailboxes at your
        school.
        6.  Practice what you preach, i.e., "walk the walk, talk the
        talk".
References:
Malatchi, A. (In Press).  Family partnerships, belonging, and
diversity.  In L. Power-Dufur & F. Orelove (Eds), Inclusive schools: A
comprehensive guide for successful implementation.  Gaithersburg, MD:
Aspen Publishers, Inc
Maslow, A. (1970) Motivation and personality.  New York: Harper & Row.
Wilkins, D. (1995).  Nth Degree T-shirt Company
... Leave me alone. I'm playing with my mental blocks
--- PPoint 2.00
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