Removing the Margins: The Challenges and Possibilities of Inclusive Schooling

Dave Hutchinson is assistant superintendent of the School District of
Mystery Lake in Thompson, Manitoba.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, one of my responsibilities as a
Language Arts Consultant with Saskatchewan Education’s Indian and
Métis Education Branch was to ensure the integration of Indian and
Métis content and perspectives into the elementary English-language
arts curricula that were under development at that time. Although the
goal was to privilege aboriginal values, beliefs, epistemology,
ideology, etc., in curricula, it became apparent to me that I was simply
incorporating content that would ultimately be used as fodder for the
propagation of nonaboriginal, mainstream thought. This is a notion of
“inclusion” that would make the authors of Removing the Margins
cringe.

What the authors argue for is the institution of a more substantial
definition of inclusion, one that is rooted in critical educational
theory and genuinely oriented toward the elimination of inequity
(marginality). One of the significant contributions of this text is that
this argument is not purely academic—a number of exemplary or
“best” practices in inclusive schooling are detailed. The breadth of
this overview is also significant: the text features a number of
existing models that reflect the comprehensive nature of inclusive
schooling.

Rethinking pedagogy and curriculum and whole models of schooling, as
well as teacher development, are all relevant areas of focus when
redefining public education along inclusive lines. As an assistant
superintendent in a northern Manitoba school district that is currently
attempting to evolve a highly inclusive, postcolonial school system for
3500 aboriginal and nonaboriginal students and their families, I found
this book particularly useful. Of note are the sections on community
schools, bilingual program development, staff diversity, and
parent/caregiver involvement.

Removing the Margins serves as an excellent reminder that the
development of a democracy is a fundamental goal of public education,
and proffers a number of pathways for all key players to consider when
striving to meet this significant goal.