Professional Development
for Schools
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"People do their best work when they are in environments where they feel valued and where they feel they belong." |
| INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: Rediscovering Our Right to Belong A keynote or workshop which explores how the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular classes can be an important catalyst in creating schools in which all students and adults feel they have the right to belong. |
 Available on DVD Preview DVD Order DVD |
Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift’s work on inclusion and belonging continues to be a cornerstone of the Harvard Principals’ Summer Institute. The power of their argument for inclusive learning environments comes from their ability to summon our principals to think globally about the learning and social needs of all students, not just those with disabilities. They always receive rave reviews.
Millie Blackman, |
DO ALL KIDS BELONG IN ALL CLASSES? Equity or Excellence in Education
A keynote or workshop which examines whether it is feasible for schools to be compassionate and equitable to all, especially in this time of standardized testing, global competition and fiscal restraint.
NEW STUDENTS; NEW QUESTIONS: Supporting the Classroom Teacher in an Inclusive School
A workshop that describes what supports need to in place in order for classroom teachers to be successful in an inclusive classroom.
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THE HABITS OF EXCLUSION
A keynote or workshop which discusses how our society’s habitual reliance upon exclusion as a generic solution to social problems keeps us from discovering more creative and effective alternatives.
THE RIGHT TO BE DISABLED
A keynote or workshop in which Norman Kunc challenges the commonly held assumption that students with disabilities are deficient. He maintains, instead, that physical and mental disabilities reflect the diversity of the human community.
HELL-BENT ON HELPING: Friendship, Benevolence, and the Politics of Help
A keynote or workshop which explores how teachers can provide assistance to students with disabilities and facilitate their friendships without falling prey to benevolence and condescension.
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"It's relatively easy to learn how to work with people. The challenge is knowing how to work with people who won't work with you." |
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LEARNING TO STAND STILL: Supporting Students with Puzzling Behaviour
A workshop which describes non-coercive ways of supporting students with disabilities who are expressing the difficulty in their lives through non-compliant or aggressive behavior.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION /
SCHOOL CULTURE
INTERPERSONAL ALCHEMY: Turning Resistance into Co-operation
A workshop which outlines some pro-active and constructive ways of responding to "resistant" individuals.
ROCKING THE BOAT WITHOUT SINKING THE SHIP! Managing Conflict In Schools
A workshop which outlines how teachers and administrators can constructively respond to the contentious issues which often arise in schools.
IF YOU WANT KIDS TO LEARN, TEACH ‘EM HOW TO FAIL!
A humorous keynote or workshop which explores how teachers can make failure an enjoyable process of learning rather than reflection of personal incompetence.
THE 3 R’S OF SUPPORT
A co-operative learning workshop in which participants explore how they can promote and maintain a sense of belonging within a classroom or school .
| Dear Norm and Emma, Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! I can’t begin to tell you how much your workshop on conflict resolution has helped me. Your ideas on identifying concerns rather than positions work like magic! i I’ve consistently used them in IEP meetings and suddenly I’m finding collaboration and commitment where I used to only find resistance. Sallee Lowery |
SCHOOL ASSEMBLY
(THE STORY OF THE STRANGER)
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"I eventually figured out that I had the right to be disabled; that I didn't need to hide my disability just to be accepted. But soon after I realized that most non-disabled kids had fallen into the same trap. They felt that they had to be better than they were just to be good enough to belong." |
| In a humorous talk to high school students, Norman Kunc describes what it was like to have cerebral palsy and go to a regular high school. He shares with the students his discovery that he didn't need to hide or minimize his disability in order to be liked.
Norman generalizes this message and points out that most people believe that they're not good enough as they are and continuously strive to find a place where they feel they belong. Unfortunately, a common way to create this sense of belonging is to focus on a common enemy which can result in racism, prejudice, gang activity and violence. He stresses that it is vital for schools to create a sense of belonging for all students, and especially for those students who are seen as the "strangers" among us. He encourages students and teachers to value their own diversity and to look for the stories in each other. In this way we can actively work together to create schools which are safe and positive places to learn. Length of Session: 45-60 minutes |
 Available on DVD $50.00 (U.S) Preview DVD Order DVD  DVD distrbuted by Special Needs Project Bookstore |
| "I dropped out of school four years ago. Now I’m back getting my High School diploma. If I had have heard Norman’s speech when I was in school the first time, I think it would’ve motivated me to keep going and finish high school." High School Student in conversation with Judy Robertson, Special Services Co-ordinator, Tuscon Unified School District, AZ Norm was cool! It was like watching a Disabled Dennis Miller Live! |