L'Arche knows the transformative impact of relationships with people with intellectual disabilities. Its educational kits open students to ourshared humanity.

Problem

The need is to give young people a transformative experience and a vision that will help them want to build a school community of inclusion and belonging, and then some tools to start to talk about and implement their vision. Young people often fear those who seem different from them, and they fear being different. Associating with people who are seen as “the other” might jeopardize their own belonging and inclusion. It is easier and "cool" to exclude those who are different, and even to bully them. But at the same time young people have a great desire for fairness and they want to make a difference and to change the world for the better. The vision of L'Arche and Jean Vanier, summed up in our motto, "Help Build a World Where Everyone Belongs!" calls forth student leadership.

Solution

The solution is to change understandings, perceptions and attitudes towards “the other.” When mainstream students can discover together that they are not so different from those they perceive as "other," in this case, people with intellectual disabilities, their understanding and their actions change. The “I Am…” Kit provides the kind of “aha” moment that is transformative. Students engage the content first themselves in conversation with each other, completing the sentences, “I am..., I love…, I hate…, I dream….” They then watch a short, powerful video in which young adults with intellectual disabilities complete these sentences. Silence reigns! A class discussion is followed by questions and activities to deepen the learning of empathy and transform it into action. Curriculum Services Canada evaluated the “I AM...” Kit and recommends it. We know this is a powerful resource that touches students profoundly. Our part of the solution is to make “I AM…” go viral.

Example

The "I AM..." Kit creates a space where students can first talk about their own experience of who they are. This helps them to view the video at a much deeper and more personal level. The Curriculum Services Canada (CSC) evaluation of the “I AM…” Kit states, “The DVD component is based on the actual experiences of individuals who have intellectual disabilities. The information is reliable and relevant , the language is accessible for the targeted audience” (gds. 6-12) and the “Kit presents a balanced perspective.” CSC describes the methodology: “The resource approaches the topic of inclusiveness by providing students with an experiential awareness of the common ground that exists among all people. The pre-viewing activity supports students in deepening their understanding of the DVD’s content. The post-viewing activities provide opportunities for students to engage with the DVD’s content at different levels of understanding. There are opportunities for students to develop their communications, thinking, and problem-solving skills and make personal connections as well as connections to the school community and beyond.” Art and journaling are included. The Kit inspires students to want to get to know those who have intellectual disabilities and, by extension, others who seem different. It also invites them to learn about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Canada ratified in 2010, and to work with people with disabilities and others for its implementation in their school and region. (CSC site: http://curriculum.org/resources/258/i-am-kit.)

Marketplace

L'Arche materials flow from our lived experience. Little similar material exists. The focus on disability extends diversity education beyond ethnicity and race. Anti-bullying material focuses on the negative and tends to exclude the bully. L'Arche offers a positive approach. It awakens empathy through encounters that dissolve stereotypes. Many people in the disability field, trying to change attitudes, focus on the person with a disability, not on mainstream students. Empathy springs from a shared belonging. When we help others belong, we discover we also belong. In fact, no one can truly belong unless everyone belongs! A student wrote, this material "gave us permission to talk about loneliness, belonging--things we think about all the time but other course content does not lead into."