March 20th, Gospel

Dignity of the Human Person 

Dignity of the Human Person has the strongest alignment to Catholic Social Teaching. By opening our doors we are honoring those who learn and present differently. We are recognizing them as part of our community and school. They can now go to their local Catholic school with their siblings, neighbors and friends. It’s vital to emphasize that it’s not just enough that the students simply go there and physically find themselves occupying a seat in the class (which benefits no one), these students need to be included and supported with material at their level to help them reach success. Further, when we open our doors to students with disabilities we send a message to the greater world that as educators in Catholic institutions, we really do practice what we preach when we say that all are welcome. In this way we continue to be a culture of life honoring those who look, speak, learn, process and present differently by not only allowing them into our schools, but embracing them like they would any other student.  

Call to Family, Community and Participation 

This second aspect of Catholic Social Teaching  is really as  straightforward as the first. We’re called to be in a community, we don’t thrive alone, we need our communities and families. From the USCCB website: “We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all.” Inclusion is part of that common good and well being. Giving students with disabilities the opportunity to be part of a community that their family belongs is directly aligned with this tenet.   Rights and Responsibilities Again from the USCCB: “Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency.” Shouldn’t being included, acknowledged and accepted follow closely behind basic human necessities such as shelter, food, water, clothing in terms of things required for human decency? Similarly, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests that belonging and love needs follow closely behind physiological and safety. We can’t honor someone who isn’t included. We all want to be accepted, it’s a natural human desire. Yet, often many are excluded because of the way they were born, learn or process information. And this is not just the students. Unintentional as it may be, whole families may feel short changed or worse, isolated, when a part of their family is not included fully.  

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable 

“A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring” (USCCB). Here’s a powerful question for Catholic schools to ask themselves: How are our brothers and sisters with disabilities faring? Can we honestly say they are faring well if they’re not included with the rest of their siblings? Can we honestly say they are faring well if they’re not given the opportunity to learn alongside their neurotypical peers in a Catholic, Christ-centered, school environment? By being inclusive we are literally giving a vulnerable population an option; an option to be educated in a Catholic school alongside their siblings and peers.  

Dignity of the Rights of Workers 

Now here, I can see you tilting your head and thinking “how?” Well, this is where the ripple effect comes in. We are educating the next generation of doctors, teachers, architects, designers, priests, lawmakers, law-enforcement, therapists and parents… and EMPLOYERS. By creating inclusive Catholic schools, these future career professionals and employers will inevitably call upon their own classroom experiences and remember the abilities that their peers with disabilities had. So when someone with a disability applies for a job at their place of work, the employer may then recall their experience and offer the person a job that fits their skill set at a fair wage. Here’s a sobering thought: most people with disabilities are not paid a living wage, and creating inclusive Catholic schools can help the students of today become the employers of tomorrow who will make that change.  

(As an aside, tracking employers who went to inclusive schools is something I am extremely interested in. If anyone reading this has information about tracking inclusive high schools whose graduates have become employers, and their likelihood to employ folks with disabilities, I would love to talk to you! Email me!)  

Solidarity

Including and standing with those who have disabilities and allowing them access to our schools sends a powerful witness to our community that we are concerned for the good of our entire community – which includes those with disabilities. Here, some may point to the fact that inclusion might somehow pose a distraction or could academically harm those who do not have a disability. And yet, research study after research study has conclusively shown that students who do not have disabilities gain from the experience of being educated in an inclusive classroom. “Drawing on research from 26 studies conducted in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Ireland, the authors found that the vast majority (81 percent) of study findings indicated that nondisabled students either experienced no effects (58 percent of studies) or experienced positive effects (23 percent of studies) on their academic development as a result of being educated alongside students with disabilities (Kalambouka, Farrell, Dyson, & Kaplan, 2007).