Topic: Bibi Pirayesh

When the problems in education feel structural or overwhelming, it is easy to believe that meaningful impact requires systemic disruption or visible resistance. What you do control are the intentional choices you make in the classroom and how students experience learning in your presence.

Radical empathy means creating an entire classroom culture in which both students and teachers can feel safe to share their experiences, to be heard, and to listen. This can only happen when we model what it looks like to acknowledge feelings and accept challenges.

Teachers must dethrone the centering of diagnosis and see it as merely a description of the symptoms—not the cause of the student’s struggles.

Is your classroom is as inclusive as you'd like? What lessons, language, and work have you created to promote such a culture? Reflect on your special education practices with these questions.

Centering the child’s needs instead of the curriculum can make education better for ALL our students.