In the lead up to International Day of Education, Special Olympics issued its third annual letter on the Global State of Inclusion in Education. Here is an excerpt from the letter:
In my first days as a “practice” teacher in New Haven, Connecticut, I remember being overwhelmed by the complexity and quantity of the work—preparing lessons, grading papers, communicating with families and connecting with students. I had been taught to be a teacher, but once in the classroom, I realized I was almost entirely unprepared. I quickly learned what every teacher knows: being a teacher is a huge responsibility that demands enormous effort and comes with precious little support.
In recent years, I’ve seen teachers doing more than I could ever have imagined. I’ve visited dozens of schools supporting Special Olympics’ efforts to make schools more inclusive and have seen teachers working miracles. In places as different as rural India and suburban Rhode Island, I’ve watched teachers lead inclusive classrooms, coach Unified Sports teams, facilitate student leadership programs, organize pep rallies, lead schoolwide campaigns for inclusion and dignity and do everything imaginable to nurture each child entrusted to their care. The challenges of teaching and, in particular, of teaching inclusively, remain enormous. The good news is that teachers are stepping up in ways we may have once thought beyond the realm of possibility.
The bad news is that teachers continue to get little support, and that lack of support is taking its toll, leading to a worldwide shortage of qualified, trained and well-equipped teachers. We should all be alarmed and awakened to a crisis building right before our eyes: We face an urgent global teacher shortage, and the future of all our children is at stake.
