Podcast Episodes

Today on the podcast, we talk with Sarah Wishart, filmmaker of Excluded, a documentary that features the stories and voices of students who have been excluded from school in the United Kingdom.  We discuss why she was inspired to make the film by something she saw on Twitter and why she thinks exclusion isn’t good […]

Today on the podcast, we talk with Maryland’s 2020 Teacher of the year, Wyatt Oroke about what it means to have an inclusive classroom. We discuss his perspective on how having high expectations for all of his scholars is essential and what his dream for the future of education is. This episode’s transcript can be

Today on the podcast, we talk with Melissa McCullough, Director of Early Childhood for the East Moline School District in Illinois. We discuss what a truly inclusive preschool program looks like and what they are doing to move past the outdated model of providing specialized services in separate places.  This episode’s transcript can be found

Today on the podcast, we talk with Dr. Eddie Fergus of Temple University. We discuss the disproportionate number of students of color being identified in special education and what we can do about it. We review how restorative practices might be used in inclusive schools and how the biggest barrier to inclusion might be who

Today on the podcast, we talk with Megan Gross and Nancy Brundrett of the Poway Unified School District in Southern California.  They tell us how their district has changed how they educate students with significant disabilities and their role in supporting Poway schools with inclusive education. Megan Gross is the author of the books The

Today on the podcast, we talk with Dr. Jenny Kurth, professor of special education at the University of Kansas.  We discuss preparing for and implementing participation plans for students with complex support needs to be included in general education. And why we should all carry around pocket-sized versions of IDEA. Jenny Kurth is the author

Today on the podcast, we have a very special SUPERSIZED conversation with Alfie Kohn, prolific speaker and author, on human behavior, education, and parenting.  We discuss whether bribes or positive reinforcement are really the same things and answer the question…should educators abandon behaviorist ideas altogether? Mr. Kohn is the author of several books, including: Punished

Today on the podcast, a conversation with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) expert, Katie Novak.  We talk about some common misconceptions of UDL, how UDL works with students with more significant disabilities, and what it is was like to lead her school district to implement inclusive education. Katie is the author of several books, including:

Today on the podcast, a rare solo episode about why I call myself an inclusionist. For some, the word “inclusionist” has a negative association. I make the case that there is more to the word than just believing that we should get rid of special education or that inclusion only counts if it is “100%.”

Since I started the podcast in 2012, I’ve always wanted to do a “best of” podcast! Today, we are highlighting five conversations that I had from the early years of the podcast. Paula Kluth talks about why some schools aren’t as inclusive as they think they are. Dan Habib discusses how Positive Behavioral Interventions and