LOYD: Building Our Community

Many people in the field of out-of-school time programs are grappling with the realities of working with an expanding definition of "disability" and with fewer and fewer resources. At a recent training on Inclusion, the staff were aware of what strategies they needed, but did not have the time to provide these supports. They asked, if children with special needs are included in our programs without supports, is this a service to any of us?

For many programs, this is not a theoretical issue. Many programs are identifying larger percentages of children and youth with what they consider emotional or cognitive disabilities. Many of these children are on vouchers as DSS prioritizes children in the system, many of whom OST practitioners feel have untreated or undiagnosed disabilities. As we work on the BOSTnet All Means All Conference, we have to consider what solutions are there in front of us. A leading lawyer said it best about teachers that "[teaching] is not about being brilliant, it is about being a human being" and we so often are told to follow procedures rather than our own common sense. Are there some approaches to inclusion that do not take additional resources (time+money)?

The LOYD community is starting to grapple with large questions as the field goes through a transformation in stressful times. We are not only asking how we do inclusion, we are perhaps having to examine what it means to have an out-of-school community and what is the identity of the field.

LOYD: What is Inclusion?

What is inclusion? In the classroom, inclusion means to put disabled students in typical classrooms rather than special education settings. Broadly speaking, Inclusion means to provide access to all people no matter what their ability. The issues is then, what is Inclusion when it comes to Out-of-School Time? Is it the "inclusion" of the classroom, or the "inclusion" of the wider disability rights movement?

There remains a controversy to Inclusion - there are many camps in this issue. There are those who claim that inclusion strips services and does not provide the needed supports. There are those who argue that inclusion can be more effective in certain environments. Then, there are those who look at inclusion as more than just traditional disabled and view inclusion as expanding to all needs and abilities in attitude and support. As we discuss inclusion, perhaps we will think more about the division on the issue as well as ways that programs can come together and provide quality supports.

If we look at inclusion as a fundamental aspect of a quality Out-of-School Time program, we then have to tackle what this inclusion means. More people are seeing inclusion as that of including the "traditional disabilities" (e.g. physical impairment, mobility, physical trauma, developmental), and the "new" disabilities (e.g. emotional, social, cognitive). Researchers, such as Dr. Siperstein, director of the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Out of School programs may be able to offer a version of inclusion that is broad in definition as it is flexible in getting children and youth with disabilities not only to be next to typical children and youth but to become friends and develop meaningful long-term social interactions with their peers.

This growing evidence demonstrates that Out-of-School practitioners are on to something in seeing their programs as a space that is more fitted to using inclusion as a strategy than more formal settings. It may be that Out-of-School Time programs can adapt to the needs of children and youth and offer a wide range of activities for a version of inclusion - that itself is broad and inclusive.

These are, but the first words in what looks like a longer conversation.

STEM in Out-of-School Time

I love science, and it pains me to think that so many are terrified of the subject and feel that choosing science means you cannot also choose compassion, or the arts, or be awed by nature. Science is not meant to cure us of mystery, but to reinvent and reinvigorate it. -Robert Sapolsky

Science is a wonderful subject to teach children and youth. Earth science almost writes its own curriculum - and the materials are always at hand: water, dirt, organic materials, air, etc. Many people, such as the Coalition for Science After School think that Out-of-School time is a perfect place to do science projects. In a recent development, progressive educators have conceptualized the Science Technology Engineering and Math approach - or STEM for use in and out of school. The STEM initiative seems to thrive in the after school environment and there appears to be increasing research supporting this.

That is exciting that the learning that occurs in OST is beginning to be recognized and the unique developmental setting being used for what it can be rather than molded into an additional classroom experience. With STEM (as with project-based learning or the social emotional development) OST can serve to compliment formal education and in this way both institutions lead to positive youth outcomes. Learning, after all, is academic skills and social emotional development. As Sapolsky suggests above, these need not be mutually exclusive.

However, it will take further investigation to see how STEM can be implemented in programs. BOSTnet is working with several other agencies to realize this goal. As part of a statewide project the STEM pilot is a joint initiative of DHE and EEC. BOSTnet has selected four programs in and around Boston (the other programs are being selected by another organization out in the most western part of the state). These programs will be receiving units of instruction from the Museum of Science's Engineering is Elementary curriculum originally designed for use in the classroom but adapted for use by Out-of-School Time. Program staff will earn how to do a simple engineering project with children and test the idea that these programs can implement a fuller set of STEM initiatives.

The time for science education is always now. It does not matter whether we as a nation are doing worse than other nations in science or better than other nations in science,what matters is that all children know the stages of water, the theory of gravity, and perhaps be able to understand that plastic takes 20 generations to break down into non-complex hydro carbons and to think twice about disposing of thoseplastic toys.

We will move ahead with our own investigation and post further outcomes as we see how STEM can be brought to life in our programs and reinvent and reinvigorate the mystery of the world for all children.