Episode 3: Mindfulness and Inclusive Education
On this episode of the Inclusion Think Tank Podcast we welcome our guest Brittany Seeley. Brittany is an Inclusion Facilitator with NJCIE. Our conversation on this episode will provide insight into how educators and students can practice mindfulness
Episode Transcript
Arthur: Welcome to the Inclusion Think Tank Podcast brought to you by New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, NJCIE. As the name suggests, this podcast will discuss inclusive education and most importantly, why it works. On today's episode, we welcome our guest, Brittany Seeley.
Brittany is an inclusion facilitator with NJCIE. During our conversation, we will discuss mindfulness as it relates to inclusive education.
Arthur: I would like to welcome everyone back to another episode of the Inclusion Think Tank podcast presented by New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education. On today's episode, I welcome my guest, Brittany Seeley, who is an inclusion facilitator with NJCIE.
So welcome to the podcast today and I'm happy to have you, and I'm looking forward to our conversation Brittany.
Brittany: Hi, Arthur. I am looking forward to it as well. Thanks for having me.
Arthur: Can you share with us what led you to become an inclusion facilitator with NJCIE?
Brittany: Sure. So, again, my name's Brittney Seeley. I was hired to work on the grant side with technical assistance in the northern part of New Jersey.
So prior to that, I was a special education teacher. I taught with emotional behavioral students with significant mental health needs over in Pennsylvania. I live in New Jersey, so I was looking for something that is a little closer to home, and this really aligned with my values and morals with including all students into New Jersey school districts.
Arthur: I'm really excited to have these conversations and myself learn a lot more about inclusive education as I was born with a disability.
So being included in classrooms was something that I was always a part of. So I'm glad to be a part of NJCIE, and the work that they're doing to make education better for all students for sure.
Brittany: Excellent.
Arthur: Yes. So the first question I have for you is, can you tell us what does inclusive education mean to you? And how would you define inclusive education?
Brittany: So first and foremost, I mean, inclusion is a human right. I mean, it's a human right to be fully included in our society. And, when you look back at the history in the legislation with Americans with Disabilities Act or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, these are requiring schools and agencies to provide that equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities.
So I guess for myself, inclusion means all students belonging, being a part of that mainstream, not feeling different or being excluded. If I could define inclusion, I would say all students that, are accepted and a valued member of their schools there being no labels.
Students having access to high-quality education standards and expectations and getting their needs met by all staff with the appropriate accommodations and modifications. So I often think to myself what some of our secondary high school students that are ready to graduate and transition into the community.
There are no separate grocery stores or malls or restaurants just for adults with disabilities. That's not the world we live in. So schools should be no different. We live in a world that allows access for all people, regardless of their disability, race, sexual orientation, to go about their lives and schools should really be no different and should include all.
Arthur: I love what you said, that there are no special stores, grocery stores just for people with disabilities.
But yet, oftentimes they are kept separate in schools. So it's like how do the students with disabilities and even the students without disabilities, how do they know how to interact with each other when they don't have that experience in the classroom?
Where you're supposed to be learning life skills and things like that, so it's really important that you mention that and make note of the importance of creating that inclusion, that inclusive environment in the schools so we can be more accepting of others when we're out in the public.
Brittany: Yes, absolutely.
Arthur: So the next question I have for you is, what would you say an inclusive classroom looks like? What does that look like to you?
Brittany: Sure. I would say an inclusive classroom, is a classroom where all learners are engaged.
They're being treated with respect. The staff in the building are building relationships, that sense of community. They're circulating and meeting the needs of students, even if it's individually, the individual has unique and different needs.
Everybody can accommodate them and meet these needs. Collaboration is definitely key among staff members, using universal design of learning, multi-sensory instruction, use of accommodations and modifications or station teaching, having peers work together. So just really a cohesive, flowing, well-oiled machine is our goal.
I don't know if we're there yet everywhere, but I think that that is the long-term goal is to walk into a classroom and see it just all working cohesively.
Arthur: You mentioned everybody working together because you have to do the team. Everybody has to work together and collaboratively and that’s really so true.
And I know for myself, I've learned a lot from my peers, as you mentioned as well, where the teacher didn't always make sense to me. But, the other students in the classroom were able to say 'OK, here's how I think of it.'
And it actually made sense to me. So, having the peers engage with each other, the students engage with each other and learning from each other. I think that's a very key and important piece as well.
What would you say are some of the challenges that are associated with inclusive education?
Brittany: So some challenges, I think that our staff and districts are faced with is the training. That professional development around inclusion may not be at the forefront. I think fitting it in is tough.
This can be creative divide, I think, among educators and not create for that cohesive, inclusive classroom. So collaboration and time for collaboration is another thing. Just having that time to meet with regular ed, special ed, specials areas teachers.
If this is not had, and communication is not open, I don't think that we will see a successful outcome. Another challenge could be the lack of resources to meet each unique learner’s needs. Some schools may not have access to that.
So I definitely say, first and foremost, the training, of professional development around what inclusive is what it should look like, that collaboration and time for collaboration, and then just the lack of resources.
Arthur: Yeah, a lack of resources is key. You often hear that a lot of times when referring to school districts and teachers also saying, a lot of times mentioning that, if they had more resources, they could do a lot more. So, yeah, it's important to mention that.
Arthur: I was really excited. As I prepared for this interview. I looked at your bio on the website, and saw some of the great things that you're involved in. And you mentioned that mindfulness training is one of those things. I'm really interested in the mind.
I graduated with degrees in psychology, and so mindfulness is something that I'm really interested in personally. And I thought that would be a good topic to mention during this interview.
So can you talk a little bit about mindfulness training and how it can be used in a classroom for inclusive education?
Brittany: Sure. Yeah, this is an area that I've just always been passionate about. I've seen it implemented and I have seen the positive effects from it. And I think there's a lot of people that may not understand what mindfulness is.
I didn't at first I thought it was more of that meditation. You're sitting in the yoga pose and meditating, and I know I can't get my mind to do those things. So when I had training in mindfulness, you know, it really opened up my eyes to see what more it is.
When you ask in the classroom, what does it look like with inclusive education? The use of mindful practices can reduce anxiety. It can reduce stress, which can be interfering with a student's ability to achieve success.
So you're really helping to train the students’ attention to the moment and not the past or the future. And this can provide multiple benefits for all of our students. I think practicing this together can build community relationships with other peers and just being aware of one's thoughts and feelings.
Mindfulness can build emotional social intelligence. It helps with that focus and attention and can improve our memory, especially with coming out of a pandemic. Our thoughts are everywhere, including staff. So I've always encouraged staff to participate in mindfulness.
And it can be a few times during their day. It could be in the morning, the afternoon, right after lunch. But it is effective. I think it regroups everybody. It gets everybody back on task and focused and ready to learn.
Arthur: Yes, and the stress reduction piece of that is so true, and I've never been a teacher and it's not for me. And I knew that very early on in life that teaching was not for me.
But I can't imagine the stress that's associated with teaching and knowing that you're responsible for so many human beings at one time, and so it's important that, yes, the students can also practice the mindfulness techniques and then also teachers and staff practice it as well, because it really has a way of calming you and really just, preparing you for your day and for the tasks that you're about to face in the classroom, which, again, can be very stressful for sure, as a student and as a staff member.
People always told me that I should be a teacher, but I'm like, that's not for me. There are people that it is for, but I'm not one of them. So, yes, I'm really glad that we brought that up.
And hopefully, someone who is listening can really, look more into that, and as you mentioned as well, coming out of this pandemic, and students have been virtual learning for, you know, for most of the last school year.
And they're in New Jersey, hopefully going back to in-person learning in the fall. And, it's another change for the students and for the staff, like everybody's back to in-person learning. So that can provide some unexpected stressors, I guess you could say.
And, so a way to just get everybody back and centered and all of that could be very beneficial to the learning environment.
Arthur: So, to wrap up, can you share with us what is one thing that you feel that could be done in every school to better improve the inclusive education setting?
Brittany: Sure. I think just modeling, ourselves, modeling fairness and inclusivity in our own behavior on a day-to-day basis, whether we're an administrator or a teacher or paraprofessional, maybe I work in the cafeteria or part of the custodial staff team, or I'm a secretary.
Just modeling what it looks like so that students and other staff can really see that and start applying it themselves. Educating staff and giving them that opportunity to collaborate and work together for the betterment of their students, and building those relationships.
It's all about that school climate and the more positive, and, we build it like a community where you have everyone engaging with each other, the better I think we will all be. We're all together on this.
Arthur: Yes, we are! We are all together, and this. That is such a great way to wrap up this conversation. And, I really am excited that you have joined me today and have shared your knowledge in this area of inclusive education and how mindfulness can be beneficial in the classroom, and just offering your piece of information about how we all can be more inclusive in the classroom and not just in the classroom, beyond the classroom, outside of the classroom and the community. And it all does connect together in some kind of way.
So, I really appreciate you taking the time to join me today. And thank you again.
Brittany: Thank you, Arthur. Thanks for having me. This is great.
Arthur: We thank you for listening to this episode of the Inclusion Think Tank podcast. This podcast is brought to you by New Jersey Coalition For Inclusive Education. Be sure to subscribe on YouTube or Spotify. And don't forget to follow us on social media @NJCIE. Until next time.