The book “Inclusive Classrooms for Community Flourishing” has been produced by SKILD and Biola University in the United States in collaboration with California State University in Fullerton, California; Polytechnic State University in Ponoma, California; and Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon. Around 20 learning differences experts from these universities each wrote a chapter, one of whom (Dr Dennis Eastman) was a speaker at the Forum in Amman. The book provides strategies for inclusion in schools and tips for teachers and parents to help children with difficulties. It also includes capacity building exercises, workshops, cases studies and trainings, making it a practical as well as an academic book. Inclusive Classrooms for Community Flourishing is dedicated to parents, teachers, and the entire Arab world and seeks to encourage a culture of acceptance of others and decrease the feeling of failure many special needs children in the region feel.
“This book is part of a long, continuous journey we launched seven years ago in Lebanon and today we launch it with our partners in Jordan so that the snowball keeps growing to reach all Arab countries and relieves special needs learners from marginalization,” said Dr Nabil Costa, Chief Executive Officer of SKILD and LSESD, at the launch. “We want to move from sympathy to rights. We are not doing charity work – this is the right of every citizen: to be cared for and empowered by the state. We should believe in the concept of change.”
“We dedicate this book to every parent facing difficulties with their children, to every child who is enriching our communities with his/her difference, and to every organization that specializes in special needs work,” he added.
SKILD’s involvement in Jordan is set to continue long after the Inclusive Education Forum. We are working on another project with the Jordanian Higher Council for Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, specifically with HRH Prince Mired bin Ra’ad, that will make Jordan all-inclusive in 10 years.
Inclusive Classrooms for Community Flourishing was launched in Lebanon in December 2018. You can find this book @The Gateway Bookshop – 01492444
