All Aboard! (a story of inclusion)



A friend and colleague told me a wonderful story about a celebration for her cousin Michael's 21st birthday. Michael has a pervasive developmental disorder and a fascination with trains. The family contacted Amtrak and arranged to have a club car just for family and friends and to travel together from New Jersey to Baltimore, MD. Michael was thrilled with the whole experience which included special gifts of a conductor's hat and tie and hand-made village houses to go with his own train set. A highlight was a special cake made like the engine, log car and coal car with wheels made of Oreo cookies.


Michael's family went out of their way to give him something he would never forget and something perhaps others would not consider because he is "different." They embraced what makes him unique and highlighted his strengths. Kudos to the family and to Amtrak for giving Michael such a special 21st birthday.

We Are All the Same Inside

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest in Timothy Bellavia's graduate class in general and special education at Touro College in New York City. I enjoyed speaking about my career in special education and giving the students an overview of It's OK to be Different.

Most importantly, I have been honored to connect with Mr. Bellavia and his amazing work to promote tolerance. Not only is he an assistant professor at Touro College, but he is the author of the award winning, We Are all the Same Inside children's book and corresponding Sage doll-making workshop that teaches tolerance. In addition, he serves as the curriculum specialist and creative art director for Touro's Project Aspire public health and education program at P.S. 197 in Harlem.

Mr. Bellavia and I met on Facebook! The philosophy behind both our programs brought us together. I look forward to future collaboration and I will be including a lesson in the Be a Buddy curriculum that involves the Sage doll-making. For more information about his program visit: www.weareallthesameinside.com

Building Friendships: Be a Buddy - not a Bully Event

On Tuesday, April 17th we had an event to promote the It's OK to be Different program, Be a Buddy - not a Bully. Thanks to Change (Center for Holocaust Human Rights & Genocide Education)at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ,we were able to demonstrate our efforts to provide young children with a comprehensive and preventative curriculum that promotes respect for individuals and encourages inclusiveness. A highlight of the evening was our guest speaker, Cheryl Kilodavis, author of My Princess Boy. Her inspiring presentation was empowering to all the educators and parents in the room. We learned from her that "we need to accept and support our children for whomever they are and however they wish to look." My special thanks to all the wonderful people who were involved in preparing for and participating in this event. Our journey to acceptance and respect for the uniqueness in us all continues.

Teaching Tolerance - Southern Poverty Law Center

Listed as a resource on this site, The Southern Poverty Law Center publishes a magazine for educators called, Teaching Tolerance. Without a doubt this is the most important publication I have used in the development of It's OK to be Different. I am therefore very proud that one of the lessons for the Be a Buddy - not a Bully program was featured in the latest edition. The lesson, "Toys and Clothes: Gender Expression" involves the reading of two books, William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis.Each book involves the choice the characters make about a toy or something to wear. A description of the lesson is on an earlier post under, Perfect Duo.
I urge every educator and parent to subscribe to Teaching Tolerance. The best part is that it is FREE! You can reach their site from this blog.

Honk for "Honk!"

During the holidays, I had the pleasure of taking my 5 year old grandson,Cyrus to a production of "Honk," the musical based on Hans Christian Anderen's, "The Ugly Duckling." It was such an entertaining and meaningful production for children and adults. It was especially rewarding for me as the message was the same as it is for It's OK to be Different. Everyone needs to be accepted for who they are and not ridiculed for being different. I loved the words from one of the songs:
"Different isn't spiteful,
Different isn't wrong
So why is it so hard to get along?
I only want to get along.
Different isn't hateful,
Different could be swell.
Different is just...
Well...
Different"

Let's all embrace difference and model it for our children.

Sherlock Washington, Speaker for Visually Impaired

A few weeks ago our friend, Sherlock Washington, visited the kindergarten class at Tower Hill School. Always a popular visitor to the school, Sherlock came loaded down with his "tools" to show the kids that although he cannot see, he CAN do many things. Thanks in part to the technology we have today, he can live a relatively independent life. This year he brought his "beep ball" which is used in his games of softball. The kids loved hearing about how he and his visually impaired friends play ball every week. He explained that the pitcher and catcher are sighted and the beep ball allows the other players to hear the ball when it is coming! There is a pin in the ball and when it is released, a piercing sound is made. Just imagine the kid's reaction when Sherlock pulled the pin. He also has a device that tells the color of his clothing when he presses it on the piece of clothing. But, most importantly, Mr. Washington has a great sense of humor and is very engaging with the students. They always talk about him and I know they think of him now as a friend not just a man who is blind. That's what it is all about!

R for Respect

Hanging in my classroom, is a large R decorated by a former student. The first day of school I refer to it as the good R because everything we do for ourselves and others should be about Respect. It's amazing how quickly this message is accepted. Some examples:

From a student - It is 4 year old Will's first school experience so his Mom has been asking him every day to talk about school. Will said it was fine and that's all he would contribute until last week. Then he said, "I went to the It's OK to be Different class today and we talked about Respect and being kind to one another."

From a teacher - "When school starts, I spend several weeks on listening skills, consideration of others and cooperation before I delve into the curriculum. Without Respect for ourselves and others, we cannot learn."