Disabilities and Culture
A Tale of Two Schools
When Mary Fowler consulted in two inner-city school districts as an independent social, emotional, and behavioral coach, she found each school faced the issues of students with disabilities in divergent ways. At both schools, when teachers faced behavioral problems or struggled with classroom management they didn't know how to handle, they invited Fowler into the classroom to assess the situation and help them develop a plan of action and adjust it depending on the outcomes. Her role was to help teachers and staff put collaborative problem-solving principles into practice.
But what educators did with Fowler's guidance made all the difference in how a student with disabilities was being served.
In School A, Mrs. Johnson, a veteran primary school teacher with a reputation for empathy and excellent classroom-management skills, was practically undone by a new kindergartener, Jonah, "a one-man wrecking ball when something ticked him off"—which happened a lot. Fowler drew together a collaborative team that included the teacher, social worker, guidance counselor, security guard, vice principal, classroom aide, and Jonah's mother. The team even got input from Jonah himself, so he understood they were working on his behalf. With the coordinated and vigilant efforts of all involved, by spring Jonah was more fully taking part in school, whether it was leading the lunch line, going to music and art classes, or being more sociable with the other children.
By contrast, in School B, Mrs. Cuthbert and her colleagues, also veteran teachers, asked for help with a particular 1st grade student named Tajaney, whose unintentional body contact irritated other students and made her an outcast. Despite their intentions to help Tajaney use strategies to avoid distracting or touching other children, her teachers gave up prematurely and were satisfied only when she moved to a self-contained classroom for students with behavioral disorders.
The research on resilience, optimal performance, confirmation bias, and positive psychology all note the great influence attitude and belief have on behavior and problem solving. Jonah's teacher was willing to be curious and experiment. Tajaney's teachers were afraid and hit the default switch. The divergent approaches show what happens—or doesn't—when teachers are open to being empowered.
Read the full article. 
ASCD Express, Vol. 7, No. 7. Copyright 2012 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.