Meet Jen Newton, Ohio
There are no prerequisite skills for inclusion
1. Who are you ? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Jen Newton, I am an associate professor of special education at Ohio University, a teacher educator, a learner, an unlearner.
2. What inspired you to become an educator ?
I was one of those many people who said they would never be a teacher. I earned my undergraduate degree in speech-language-hearing but found it wholly unsatisfying (so much love to all the amazing, progressive SLPs out there!!). I bristled at the “pathology” part, I really saw so much problematizing of people’s individual and unique ways of being rather than what I saw as the issue – the way the world sees someone whose speech or language is in any way different from their own. So I started talking to so many different faculty about various pathways for graduate school and chose to pursue the Early Childhood Special Education program at the University of Kansas.
3. Can you share a memorable success story from your career?
I have so many. I think I’ll share one of deep regret because I feel like most people tell heartwarming stories but those are, for better or worse, not the ones that stick with me. I student taught in a Montessori school that was working to include kids with higher support needs. I was there to facilitate the full inclusion of an autistic 3yo boy. He was receiving 40 hours a week of ABA at home prior to coming to preschool and it was a huge and hard transition. I worked really hard, reading everything I could find to help him feel better at school, creating all the icons, picture cues, transition strategies, took every piece of advice from his therapist and applied it to the best of my ability. He eventually did settle in. He developed so many exciting social and communication skills, he participated and became a part of the classroom community. I saw inclusion in action. As I’ve grown and learned so much more since, though, I have so much regret that the strategies we used to get there were not ethical or the care that he needed and deserved from me and from all the adults. I always felt that year was a success for him ultimately and I’ve come to wonder at what cost?
4. What unique strengths do you bring to your work ?
I think my empathy and perspective taking. I think it can be really difficult in education for people to see each other’s points of view or to consider what may be driving someone beyond the most basic behaviorist principles. Not everything is attention or escape – sometimes we have to push forward with empathetic curiosity and really listen.
5. What are your passions, and what motivates you in life ?
My passions are railing against ableism, particularly in education, but I’ll take on ableism anywhere. I’m also passionate about my kids, my dogs, politics, and podcasts. I’m motivated by the very, very, very slim possibility that maybe, just maybe I can make a difference.
6. What is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) for you, and what does it look like in your daily routine ?
DEIB, for me, acknowledging right up front my identity as a white woman, means refusing to uphold the status quo in my field, my work, and my life. The ways in which white supremacy operates in special education is insidious and the effects of racism and ableism on the inclusion and belonging of generations of multiply marginalized students cannot be measured. In order for us to truly move toward equity, we have to acknowledge the inherent racism and ableism in the systems and build something better. That’s what I attempt to do every day. That’s why I cultivate my social media spaces, because the only real way to make change is to build a critical mass of like minded people and that won’t happen in the academy.
7. In your opinion, what are the most important steps that schools can take to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for all ?
1. Follow the law as it is written. IDEA is a civil rights law. If schools stop seeing disabled kids and kids with support needs and their families as the enemy, it would go a long way to creating a more inclusive and equitable environment for all.
2. Address ableism. Every day. Every time you hear it, see it, feel it. Never ever let it slide when teachers post, talk, or laugh about kids in a demeaning manner. It’s not enough to have one PD. It has to be an ongoing expectation and practice. We learn ableism through inference, we are not usually explicitly taught it, but we learn it through the separate systems we have, the language those around us use, the images and stories we see in media. People need a lot of exposure to other narratives to unlearn it.
3. Write strengths based and general education, grade level focused IEPs. Special education is services and supports to access general education curriculum – stop pulling kids out of class to reteach last year’s content. Give them the supports they need to access this year’s content and get them in class!
8. What advice can you give to someone who wants to join the education sector?
Come on in! We’re waiting for you! There is no better time to get engaged in education, we need people who see teaching is intellectual and not bureaucratic!
Bonus. Do you have a quote to inspire us ?
There are no prerequisite skills for inclusion
