I recently started reading Wonder by R.J Palacio to my students because it looked interesting. It was not nominated for the upcoming Global Read Aloud but I really felt like my students would enjoy this book. We often talk about inclusion as a class....what does this look like, sound like, and feel like. We have a variety of learners in class and we are open about our challenges and strengths as learners and who we are as people with one another. It is pretty ordinary for students to be learning at their own level and using their strengths to assist their learning (which looks different for everyone). Before I started the book, I asked the students to turn to someone and tell them something that they were good at and why. I then got them to tell a different partner something that was challenging for them and why.
In the book, Auggie (the main character) makes alot of wishes about his life. He says:
"If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look away thing. Here's what I think: the only reason I am not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way."
As soon as I read Auggie's wish....4 hands went up immediately. One student said, What does he mean when he says having a normal face? Another student proceeded to say, "It means...actually...I don't know what that means. None of us have the same looking face....how do we know what is normal, Mrs. Collette?" This conversation really took off and students were trying to rationalize what this meant. I let the conversations happen and students shared the viewpoints on what "normal" is. They couldn't quite come up with what "normal" meant. And, to be quite honest, neither could I. I asked students to get a dictionary and look up the word normal and this is what it said:
nor·mal
Adjective
Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
Noun
The usual, average, or typical state or condition.
After the student read out the definition, another student piped up and said, "Mrs.Collette...no one here is normal! No one here has the same type of face. We all look VERY different. We are all VERY DIFFERENT." I asked them, "Do we all learn differently or is there an expected/typical/usual way to learn in our classroom? One student said, "Well, we all learn the same stuff we just do it differently. Like, sometimes people work in groups, by themselves, or with a teacher. Some people wear vests, sit on rocking chairs, wear headphones. Some like to see things and some like to do things. We don't just have one way to do something." Another student said, "Yeah, like, look right now how everyone is sitting while you read the story..." I looked around and saw some students sitting on the carpet and some standing around the carpet and some were even on chairs around the carpet. I knew that already hated the word normal but after reading the definition I hated the word even more.
I told the kids there was nothing normal or ordinary about our class and it is a good thing. Everyone just gets what they need to be successful and it never looks the same. I told them that nobody in our class is a normal learner....there is no such thing as a normal learner because we aren't robots...we are people. I told the students that when we build things like cars we have normal standards for safety reasons and every make of car is built exactly same. Except, with people, no two people will ever be exactly the same. We are unique, we are anything but normal. A student then said, "Auggie just wants to belong and people shouldn't make him feel bad for being different because we are all different. He should come to our class because being different is normal."
After class, I looked up the definition of unique, fearing that I gave the students some horrible advice or said something that didn't make sense. This is what it said:
U·nique /yo͞oˈnēk/
Adjective
Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else:
I am glad that everyone in my class is unique and anything but normal. I am glad that they can tell other people what they are good at and what their challenges are and be proud of who they are and who they want to be. I am glad that everyone is accepting and inclusive to others needs. The fact that every student in my room is really the "only one of their kind" makes learning fun and interesting. It makes them interesting...it is what makes them creative. The fact that I never have the same day twice makes teaching fun and interesting. The feeling I get when I walk into my classroom, ready to start another day, and tackle a whole new learning experience is unlike anything else. And, I wouldn't trade that for anything.
In the book, Auggie (the main character) makes alot of wishes about his life. He says:
"If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look away thing. Here's what I think: the only reason I am not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way."
As soon as I read Auggie's wish....4 hands went up immediately. One student said, What does he mean when he says having a normal face? Another student proceeded to say, "It means...actually...I don't know what that means. None of us have the same looking face....how do we know what is normal, Mrs. Collette?" This conversation really took off and students were trying to rationalize what this meant. I let the conversations happen and students shared the viewpoints on what "normal" is. They couldn't quite come up with what "normal" meant. And, to be quite honest, neither could I. I asked students to get a dictionary and look up the word normal and this is what it said:
nor·mal
Adjective
Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
Noun
The usual, average, or typical state or condition.
After the student read out the definition, another student piped up and said, "Mrs.Collette...no one here is normal! No one here has the same type of face. We all look VERY different. We are all VERY DIFFERENT." I asked them, "Do we all learn differently or is there an expected/typical/usual way to learn in our classroom? One student said, "Well, we all learn the same stuff we just do it differently. Like, sometimes people work in groups, by themselves, or with a teacher. Some people wear vests, sit on rocking chairs, wear headphones. Some like to see things and some like to do things. We don't just have one way to do something." Another student said, "Yeah, like, look right now how everyone is sitting while you read the story..." I looked around and saw some students sitting on the carpet and some standing around the carpet and some were even on chairs around the carpet. I knew that already hated the word normal but after reading the definition I hated the word even more.
I told the kids there was nothing normal or ordinary about our class and it is a good thing. Everyone just gets what they need to be successful and it never looks the same. I told them that nobody in our class is a normal learner....there is no such thing as a normal learner because we aren't robots...we are people. I told the students that when we build things like cars we have normal standards for safety reasons and every make of car is built exactly same. Except, with people, no two people will ever be exactly the same. We are unique, we are anything but normal. A student then said, "Auggie just wants to belong and people shouldn't make him feel bad for being different because we are all different. He should come to our class because being different is normal."
After class, I looked up the definition of unique, fearing that I gave the students some horrible advice or said something that didn't make sense. This is what it said:
U·nique /yo͞oˈnēk/
Adjective
Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else:
I am glad that everyone in my class is unique and anything but normal. I am glad that they can tell other people what they are good at and what their challenges are and be proud of who they are and who they want to be. I am glad that everyone is accepting and inclusive to others needs. The fact that every student in my room is really the "only one of their kind" makes learning fun and interesting. It makes them interesting...it is what makes them creative. The fact that I never have the same day twice makes teaching fun and interesting. The feeling I get when I walk into my classroom, ready to start another day, and tackle a whole new learning experience is unlike anything else. And, I wouldn't trade that for anything.