World Teachers’ Day 2023: Celebrating educators who inspire inclusion and accessibility
Today is World Teachers’ Day! To celebrate, we want to thank all the teachers who put in an incredible effort year-round to engage youth.
October 5th is recognized annually by UNESCO to “commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.”
To acknowledge the incredible work of our network of educators, we want to celebrate just some of the teachers who are working to make our classrooms more accessible and teach youth about accessibility and inclusion.
Mr. Angelo Tocco
As a special education teacher at Dante Alighieri Academy in Toronto, ON, Mr. Tocco supported a group of seven students aged 13-17 in creating an educational video to raise awareness around accessibility and inclusion. The video titled “Exploring Speech To Text, Inclusion and Belonging” addresses information and communication barriers, technological barriers, and attitudinal barriers.
“I wanted to encourage the students to inspire everyone in front of us to become difference makers,” Mr. Tocco said.
“Everybody can make a difference if we change our attitudes. That’s the first step – changing attitudes – to creating a culture of dignity and respect.”
This group of students called their group the Dante Accessibility Team. They were awarded the 2023 RHF School Program Difference Maker of the Year Award.
Tracy Gervais and Elly Pahl
This Manitoba based partnership consists of Tracy and Elly, a teacher and an educational assistant respectively. The duo seeks to make inclusion a priority in their classrooms. The pair regularly adjusts lessons to support students with varying disabilities, creating meaningful experiences for all. Through their actions, Tracy and Elly enable their students to become difference makers themselves.
Tracy and Elly were recipients of the 2022 RHF School Program Difference Maker of the Year Award.
Véronique Messier
Mme. Messier is an educator in Quebec, and 2022 RHF School Program Difference Maker of the Year Award recipient. She is the first physical educator teacher ever at École Madeleine-Bergeron school in Québec. She motivates students by creating inclusive and accessible lessons for all.
“A human being is a human being, no matter what they look like or what their abilities are. Everyone has their place and can contribute in their own way. I am hopeful that in the not-too-distant future, people living with a disability will be able to move around and have the same experiences as everyone else. More and more technology and ingenuity are making the outdoors, sports, recreation and travel accessible.”
You can read more about Mme. Messier’s work to create an accessible and inclusive physical education class on our blog.
Alanna Hageraats-Boucher
Working as a third-grade teacher at Huron Heights Public School in Kincardine, ON, Mme. Boucher has the unique opportunity to begin teaching about inclusion and accessibility at a young age. During the last school year, she worked with her students to read Rick Hansen’s story, Boy in Motion. They then used the learnings from the book to audit their school for barriers to accessibility.
To date, the class’s advocacy has resulted in inclusive learning materials, accessible gym equipment, and a deeper connection with the local community living organization. Her class of 20 third grade students became 2023 RHF School Program Difference Maker of the Year Award recipients for their work.
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If you want to teach your class about accessibility and inclusion but aren’t sure where to start, visit our resource library for free lesson plans, short activities, or book an Ambassador presentation for your school. Thank you to teachers everywhere who work hard every day inspiring the leaders of tomorrow!
