Life lessons from fourth grade

Good evening and morning, I hope you are having a good day. Happy Labor Day. Tonight I want to talk to you about diversity and inclusion. So my nine-year-old nephew just started school in Florida this year. He has begun the fourth grade. Yesterday at a Labor Day cookout, he talked to me about someone that came to his class to give it a presentation about issues that affected individuals with disabilities. My nephew was amazed with the presentation. As someone that studies issues faced by individuals with disabilities, I was also amazed with what he was presented in class.

I feel that we don’t talk enough about the issues of diversity and inclusion. It wasn’t too long ago, when individuals with disabilities were isolated in the public school system. Regular education kids did not see individuals with disabilities. Fortunately, this is not the case now. I am very pleased that my nephew is learning about issues faced by individuals with disabilities. I think it is absolutely critical to engage in the dialogue with young children about the subject of disabilities. I believe that disability is a vibrant cultural, that must be taught at all levels in school. We need to embrace the fact that all individual’s with disabilities have the ability to be supported in the community. We need to look at this from the perspective that not all of us are the same. To my nephew Brandon, I hope that you continue to learn about issues that face individuals with disabilities. I am pleased that you were able to have this very valuable lesson about life.