The School Walls Teach

This chapter draws on the extant literature and interviews with experts in the field as it relates to how students become involved and learn from the features of the school facility itself. In this chapter, three tiers of learning are suggested as overlapping and complementary means of learning in and from the built and natural environment. These include a reflective and visible one in which students have the opportunity to learn from features of the building through labeling, signage, and design features that foreground the design itself. Active learning opportunities are the foundation of the second approach. Involvement in green initiatives at the school and in the community is the basis for the third approach. Planning undergirds all three approaches

Disability as a Social Justice Imperative: Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Implications

Educators in the United States have the legal obligation to ensure that students with disabilities are given equitable access to an education. Under the Individuals with Education Act (2004), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), individuals with disabilities cannot be discriminated against based on their disability and must be provided the same educational opportunities as their non-disabled counterparts. While most teacher preparation programs as well as educators in higher education are knowledgeable of these laws, there is a striking absence of learning about the historical implication of segregation, abuse, and maltreatment of individuals with disabilities that led to these laws being enacted. Most teacher preparation programs do not teach future educators about the history regarding disability rights and the social construct of disability. This chapter will present the major theoretical and historical movements in the disability rights movement, as well as the practical implications for educators today