UDL: breaking down barriers
What is happening - that is an okay question and as the tamariki are brand spanking new, observation is powerful. And I can be really surprised by what some of our tamariki can do. The question that does annoy me slightly is - should I be concerned? And that all depends! Because sometimes, obviously there are concerns - tamariki may come in with disabilities like autism, or there may be some developmental delays. They may not be prepared as much as I would like for entry into school. But it is what it is. Should I be concerned - maybe, or not YET. I need to really figure out the transition process and how it should look for that tamaiti, and what supports they will need. And tamariki are coming in a whole lot differently - oral language delays, socially not as mature, toileting issues...
But I have got the team to look at UDL because I want to challenge these ideas around being concerned. Hang on, something is up - but I want to feel empowered, I want the team to feel confident, I don't want us feeling deflated or up against it. With UDL we get to challenge our ideas and preconceptions and look at the strengths of the tamariki. What can we work with, what else do we need to support? How can we reduce or break down the barriers to learning.
If i come in from a deficit outlook - even though I may acknowledge there are areas for improvement (and I am not forgetting my own practice here), then I am going to act from a place of fear and discouragement and I don't want to stall. Do I have all the answers at this point - NO!
We encourage above all things dispositions for learning because if we don't provide the best culture for learning in our environment, we won't have confident kids ready to give things a go, ready to risk take, ready to fall but get back up and take the hurdle down.
What are expert learners?
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