Last week, we published a blog post regarding Student Rights. During Black History Month, we join with others across the USA who are grappling with what it means to be a free and diverse nation. At TGS, we find ourselves focusing on equity and inclusion in education. Educational equity means that every student has access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education. This applies to students of all races, cultures, genders, income levels, and abilities. We strongly believe that all students have a right to be understood, to play and enjoy their youth, and to become contributing members of society.

Educational discrimination is real. We know that students of color experience harassment and bullying, and are subject to suspension and expulsion at higher rates than their white peers. Students with disabilities in special education have similar experiences when compared to their general education/neurotypical peers. Our mostly white, neurodiverse students don’t know what it’s like to experience racial discrimination. But our school would not need to exist if they’d been truly included in their neighborhood schools. Exclusion is something our students understand, and so the quest for inclusion in education is theirs to advance.

Neurodiverse students are frequently misunderstood. They are expected to excel due to their high intelligence. Schools often expect such students to be able to thrive in any educational environment, without intervention, help, or support. Such expectations and misunderstanding often lead to perfectionism, depression, anxiety, and trauma. Often, schools see the strengths, and miss the struggles. Neurodiverse students may have an additional diagnosis that presents emotional challenges. They might struggle with executive functioning issues that, no matter their intelligence, make completing assignments challenging. They might have a certain chronological age, a higher intellectual age, and a lower emotional age, which thwarts others’ expectations and willingness to extend these students some grace.

All students have rights, and come with knowledge, strengths and challenges–including those who are neurodiverse learners. We agree with Olga Torres, bilingual and mathematics educator that the rights of learners in the classroom include the right to productive struggle as they construct their own understandings.

• Students, you have the right to be confused.
• Students, you have the right to claim you’ve made a mistake – and to revise your thinking.
• Students, you have the right to write, do and represent what makes sense to you.
• And finally, students, you have the right to speak, to listen, and to be heard.

None of us has correct answers to questions right out of the gate. Rather, speaking our minds, exploring, and listening to others exposes us to opportunities to think critically, to express ourselves, and to be on a growing curve. If we as adults have these rights, how much more should we extend these rights to all students, and especially to those who need us most to understand them?

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