Episode 44: The Benefits of Inclusive Education, Part 2

Transcript

Arthur: This is the inclusion think tank podcast, where we talk about inclusive education, why it works and how to make it happen. In this episode, I continue my conversation with Arvin Arjona. Arvin shares how he can adapt his dance classes to be accessible and inclusive for his disabled students.

And it's really great how again, how our experiences growing up, how they can influence our future and yes, what we choose to do in life as a as a job, as a career.

And can you share. You talked about it a little bit, you know, with difficulties and learning and not really knowing that having a diagnosis. But can you talk about how your own experience in your high school years influenced the way that you teach and interact with your own students now?

Arvin: So that I mean, when I saw that question getting ready for that for this podcast, that was a really that's a question I always love, I get from people, because yeah, high school would still have an impact. And how it impacted me was like I figured out little ways just to get that C, C-plus grade.

And now when I see a kid struggling and I tried so many other like types of modification, so I got to go back to basics type of thing. And that's, how it influenced me. it's teaching me how to retrace because sometimes I have to admit though, there's some special ed teachers have egos out there, so and they think this is the way this is the only way you got to do it.

This ain't the Mandalorian. This is the way. No, you got to find many ways to get around this, another Star Wars reference. I love that little green guy, Guru, but I feel like you have to you like me because I had to figure out ways how to try to, like, get that grade to accomplish that goal.

These kids have many goals in their IEPs especially in my when I have students in an inclusion setting and we want to fulfill those goals. And it's not just the kids and the inclusion said you have goals for all your students in your class regardless of what level they're at and stuff, whether they have an IEP or not, you still have to have similar goals with all the kids and something that parents, my parents appreciate.

They say you don't just look at their goals. You also give the goals that kids that don't have the IEPs, the same goals. I said, Yeah, they are in the class. What's the difference there? Just learning to just step back and go back to fundamentals, as I would say, and just figure out how to help a student out.

Arvin: And that's how I approach teaching now. Like if I know it's not working and then it happens like in a second, I'm looking at my students like, you know, facial and just the body language itself are like, Wow, they're not understanding what I'm doing right now. So I said, okay, let's step back and let's start from the beginning.

And that's how I approach it. And then when I interacted with my students to like, we'll have normal conversations about like whatever we saw or everything. But when I see that when they're asking about certain things, like I can't get this, I'm like, Oh, hold up. Let's do it this way.

It lets me also remember to listen, listen to them, not just hear them, listen to them. That's the most important thing for me, because I have to listen to myself to try to figure out how you get that C plus. It's sad that it's my goal in high school, but I mean, I pull off some BS here and there, but I told my parents, I'm like, Yeah, I'm struggling.

I got to they said, well the, you know, the IeP, this and that, I like I said, I don't feel like they diagnosed me correctly and I was not educated on advocacy. That's something I'm so happy kids are trained so well with now, starting at the middle, at the beginning, a middle school or even fifth grade, the advocacy part for themselves, I wish I had that honestly.

But getting when I met that teacher, like I said, going back when I met that reading teacher and then my dance teacher, that changed my life in that at school they taught me to be an advocate for myself. And then because of that, not having that advocacy in high school, but still taking that and taking back of how I got myself to get through high school helps me to become an advocate for my students.

Because if I feel like a student is not having the correct, the appropriate, you know, stuff like I'll give you an example. When I was teaching special Ed, I was teaching a Newark two my kids needs speech and I fought hard to get a speech therapist. I get it. Newark only had two speech therapists for all these kids, but I said my student needs their speech at least once a week or once every two weeks.

Please get me the speech therapy because I fought that also got my union involved. That's how I got the speech therapist to come, because the speech service was supposed to come. It's not her fault. It's just it's scheduling messed up like I said, there's no blaming or anything for anybody here. Just to piggyback, what I'm trying to say is from high school, what I because of that, when you call this because of me trying to get through to fulfill that goal, it helps me to achieve their goals.

And that's how I that's how that's such an influence. from that experience in high school, I wouldn't say it's all negative. It was I had such good times too, It may sound like I had some negative stuff educational-wise. No, I didn't.

Arvin: I did have good, I had great teachers. They cared, they all cared. Even once I felt like they were a little absent. They still cared. You know, they never gave up on me. That's something I even though what I failed I mean, I did failed one class, but I'm not going to blame the teacher. That's all that was on me. It's I didn't I didn't like that subject, so I just.

I shut down in that class. Right. And you know what? When I became a teacher, he was retiring at that time. Like once I moved in, I went to visit him and I said, I thank them for not giving up on me and stuff. So that's another I won’t forget.

But, to answer the question is that of it helped me open my eyes. My high school experience helped me, and opened eyes. It took me a couple of years to figure out how to make my eyes open wider over the years. But that's that's education. You learn on the job kind of scenario type of thing.

But, over the years my eyes got open, wider, and I learned to listen to my students instead of just hearing them, because I was tell my students that are not listening in my class, you may be hearing me right now, but are you listening to me? That's a difference there. So it's like in white men can't jump, …but are you listening? Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Yeah, I'm making a lot of movie references, but that’s just that's how I could try to explain to answer the question for you.

And not just that, but it also helps with my students. So all my wife always says, why are you watching Nickelodeon, Disney, everything? Because when they get to the high school, when I'm trying to teach something again, this is to answer this question.

Also, the most important thing is How do I relate something in my life now to get me to understand what I'm trying to learn now?

Same thing with them. I could touch back into their childhood or something ‘do you remember…blah blah blah”. Like, Hey, you know that show? Yes. And it also my kids that are very shy, right. Find their niche and they're just not fans of my class.

Arvin: Once I find that niche to the student, that's another thing, if I’m in that niche with the student and relating with them, that's a whole thing relationship, relating is that that's where I'm trying to get at. Why I should have I should have started off with that.

Relating is the most important thing. And when I do that, I'll have that student It was very apps like just didn't like it, say one, loves the class. And so I have had have students over the years say, you know, we loved your class, you know, and then one of the I said, how do you how do you like my class when you came in like huffing and puffing and like, looks so upset, it's the Oh, yeah.

And I had one student that signed off this year. And he gave his name and everything because he didn't want to sign up. He was forced into my class. I said, Listen, I'm going to make this. I'll try this to make this your first choice.

And a lot of students have said because you took the time to get to know me, that's why I actually got engaged in your class. They didn't say that word, but that's how they said, like my class. So again, when it comes down to it, it's all getting a relationship, relating things to make it relevant to myself back then and how I get my students to relate to what I'm trying to teach when they're having some difficulty in the class.

Arthur: Yeah, that is so important to relating things and also the delivery of the information. You know, that was a big thing for me because like, if as you mentioned, you know, some teachers just won't stray away from their way of teaching, their style of teaching sometimes.

And that just doesn't work for everybody. So it's true that, you know, and you might have to explain things a different way or like you said, bring in a movie reference or a TV show reference of, do you remember when this happened in this show? And like, it's this, you know, and it will automatically click. But some people when you do that.

So, just being flexible and also, you know, listening and hearing and listening, the difference between the two is really big and so true, and just listening and you as the teacher, as educator saying that you listen to your students and, then listening to you as well.

It all is developing that bond between the student and the teachers, and it helps out so much. And it's great to hear that.

You had some students that'll start off with not wanting to be there, forced to be there in your class. But then, as they get through it, they're like, all right, you were a great teacher. It was a great time. It's always a good thing to hear for sure.

So my last question for you, and thank you again for this conversation. It's really great to hear your story and your experience and how you relate it to your present-day teaching. It's really great to talk about.

Arthur: But the last question I have and you started talking about this a little bit earlier, but can you share some of the ways that you have had to adapt your dance classes to accommodate some of your students who have disabilities?

And this can be for any type of disability, physical disability or otherwise.

Arvin: So I'm going to just break it up into different areas that I've had to do, like I mentioned earlier about when I had to when I taught during my my senior practicum that all of the students that were all in wheelchairs, how do I adapt, how they got them to move?

I came up to them I'm like, ‘Guys, we're all going to learn hip hop. And it's funny, because what one of them said, ‘How? We’re in our chairs, so I said ‘Don’t worry! We got this, right? And then we start doing stuff with arms. We’ll start up here.

Now, if you can, move like some kids, some of them had some feeling in their feet if they could tap, that's fine, If they couldn't tap, that's okay too. Tap with your hands. So like, anyone can tap with your feet go for if , you have tap hand stuff like that. So you just have to know you got to get up. For me personally, it's to get to have a little background of the people You're going to teach prior to.

So you have an idea how to get your modifications ready. So like I always like the students I teach at Rutgers, you got to have a toolbox with you, all right? And you got to keep that toolbox with you. If one tool is not working, you got to grab that other one now, and then you got to go dig deeper to find another tool if it's not really working.

I was like considered an experienced teacher. But I knew I need to know who these students were and stuff.

So and once I got the background of what they had, you know, whatever, why they were in a wheelchair, you know, like I didn't see the wheelchair. I saw the person. That's the most important thing. You have to see the people. That's the most important. See them as a person.

You don't see them because they have a disability. You don't see them because they're in a wheelchair. Don't see them because are using a walker, don't see them because they have one limb. That's the key to me personally.

Arvin: And I try to tell teachers, see your students as a person. Don't see them because they have what you've been given. Yeah, it's good to know the information to help modify things but see him as a person. And that's how I had to modify. And then, you know, as you get to know them too, you know their tendencies.

What I mean by tendencies like their the way they behave within a day and everyone it doesn't matter if you have an IEP or not or a disability or whatever you want to call it. Everyone wants consistency in life. It doesn't matter who you are. And I know that.

You could just survey 100 people, they will say, we want some consistency in our life. That's the most important thing of that. I learned that playing sports. I learned that in martial arts, especially in the world of dance, I learned that there. So how I also had to adapt things to. Now let's talk about my inclusion classes. I prep with a few of my students.

I'll meet them for lunch for like 5 minutes. Ask,can you just help me out with certain things for students, A, B, and C, this is sure, no problem. And once I prep, like, an example, like, if we're going to do, Shah says, I'll have them demonstrate it, and then they'll be partnered up with those specific students.

Arvin: And then the next day we'll do a different skill. I'll do a different set of students to partner up. So there's the inclusion component right there. I want my students to know everybody. Not because these kids are patient enough with them. Even my most quiet kid needs to know who's who, who all these other students are in here too, to know each other.

So you really got to know your situation. But the most important thing, like I just mentioned earlier, is to treat everyone as who they are, as a person. Because if you I that I see young teachers do it, it's it kills me because I observe them and I mention though I said I liked how you talk but do you how do you see these see these students like.

<teacher responds> ‘Well, through what they have.’ No, no. See you get to know them as a person and it'll make your life much easier. And that's just my personal opinion. Other teachers can approach it differently and have a similar kind of take on this. But like, you have to just and then again, if something's not working, you better get that other tool out of that toolbox, have that ready for you.

And I, like I said, I'll put my students in that situation and stuff, whether they're youth. Like I've been blessed to teach at the elementary level in special ed and at the high school level.

Arvin: Just know your students for who they are, for who they are. See them as a person, and then what you got to do is just be ready to modify when something's not working out, because that's the most that's the key, especially in an inclusive scenario.

Arthur: I've talked about it with other guests on the podcast and the I guess the perception, given the wrong perception, that inclusion is difficult and it costs a lot of money to do things.

You just gave two perfect examples where you just switch the different people around and, they're working with different people, and that's just part of the class. You work with this person for a couple of classes and you switch them around and everybody gets to know each other that way.

That is like the most simple way to be inclusive, and it’s just such a clever way, and again, it doesn't really single anybody out that way, which is also so important.

It doesn't make the person who, you know, maybe shy and just not talkative. Like you said, they may talk to you one on one, but just that they're uncomfortable speaking in groups, you know, large groups of people. It doesn't make them feel awkward

Arthur: Really great ways to be more inclusive and, in a dance setting in any setting really. So thank you for those examples and thank you so much for taking the time to meet me after I'm sure it was a busy work day.

Thank you so much for this conversation. And I will be in touch with you soon.

Arvin: Sure. It was an honor. It was it was a pleasure too. I was looking forward to this of two weeks ago, actually.

We got it together. So I'm so excited.

Arthur: Yes, but you have a great rest of your evening

Arvin: You Too. I'll speak to you soon Arthur

Arthur: Thank you.

Arvin: All right. Bye bye. Bye.