Inclusive education is something that is very near and dear to my heart. When I plan each lesson, I take the time to ensure all of my students will feel included and represented!
During my Practicum 491, I joined my school’s SOGI club. Through joining this club, I learned how to authentically include SOGI learning in my classroom. I also had the amazing opportunity to meet some other students in the school and build a community. One day, I even led the SOGI meeting when the usual educator was sick (originally the principal was going to have to cancel it, but I made sure the principal knew I could run the meeting).
During my time with the SOGI club, we had a lot of great discussions and made posters for the staff room. The posters included gender inclusive ways to say hello to the class. Instead of “you guys” we recommended “hey folks” or “okay friends”. The use of language can make all the difference for making our students feel welcome, safe, and included. We also did fun activities to spread positivity and inclusivity! One day we took food colouring and went to the freshly fallen snow and painted rainbows all around the school grounds! Another day we froze water ballons full of colour to create a rainbow walk of ice orbs! It was so much fun and really got the entire community of the school involved! We also codeveloped a list of SOGI meeting rules as seen below:
