This week our class had the pleasure of having Tracy come into our class and Kaori join digitally. Hearing about their work with BCEdAccess was truly inspiring but what opened my eyes the most was hearing their personal stories about their own children’s journey through the public education system. They spoke of challenges that had never crossed my mind such Kaori speaking about the wheelchair accessibility issues with her daughter both at the playground and attending field trips. If the school couldn’t find an accessible school bus and Kaori couldn’t take time off work, her daughter was left out of that experience which is something a lot of students with accessibility needs go through.

It was interesting to hear about how designations and what the process looks like. I didn’t know each one had a letter associated with it which was interesting to learn. I can tell how close to their hearts this topic is which made it that much more impactful. This class lead me to reflect on my own biases and assumptions I make about students abilities and I hope to keep holding myself accountable to treating each student with respect and giving them space to succeed in school. Finding a child’s “superpower” in school whether it be reading, drawing, playing a sport or numeracy is a powerful moment and will give the child confidence to keep trying in school.