«I have lost my shyness towards people with disabilities»

A teacher reports on her work in an inclusive class.

Four years ago, I received a letter from a former pupil. Mia* had enrolled as an architecture student at ETH Zurich and wrote to thank all the people who had supported her during her time at school. The enclosed photo showed a young woman in an electric wheelchair, laughing, on a ventilator, visibly proud and satisfied.

Pro Infirmis counsellor present in class

Mia was born with spinal muscular atrophy. I met Mia 18 years ago. Quick-witted, funny, a completely normal six-year-old in an electric wheelchair. To get Mia into my classroom at all, I not only needed a stairlift, but also the approval of the city council for this unusual school model. As Mia could only move her fingers and facial muscles, a carer from Pro Infirmis always attended the lessons and supported Mia - not in thinking, but only in carrying out activities. Even then, Mia worked with a special computer.

Greater social interaction and more respectful behaviour

A talent for improvisation was not only required for the school trip, but also on a daily basis when it came to organising something so that Mia could also take part, because she wanted everything and wouldn't let anything stand in her way. I learnt a lot from Mia. On the one hand for me personally, by losing my shyness towards people with disabilities, and on the other hand for my work as a teacher. I later taught children with special needs again. Sometimes a child with trisomy 21, sometimes a deaf girl with an intellectual disability. My workload may have been greater in each case, but what is remarkable is the fact that a completely different social interaction and more respectful treatment of each other was noticeable in these class groups.

All children have the right to participate

«It is normal to be different.» This quote from Richard von Weizsäcker describes what is important to me. School is the developmental field of society and the place where active co-operation, mutual consideration and interested interaction happen and are learned. All children have the right to take part in this. Of course, this requires good framework conditions (financially and structurally) and professional support for teachers: School systems that utilise heterogeneity as an opportunity for everyone. However, the most important success factors for inclusion are and remain our very personal attitudes and values, as individuals and as a society.
* Name changed by the editors

Ursi Steiner ist Primarschullehrerin, Kommunikationsexpertin und Autorin. Sie ist Mutter von zwei erwachsenen Kindern und lebt in Hünenberg See ZG.
Ursi Steiner is a primary school teacher, communications expert and author. She is the mother of two grown-up children and lives in Hünenberg See ZG.

Read more:

  • A day at mainstream school with 13-year-old Sophie with Down's syndrome: «I want to keep going!»
  • How can inclusion succeed?
  • «The teacher should also stand behind the weakest child» An interview with educational scientist Dieter Rüttimann about inclusion and equal opportunities in practice.