By Nadia Lopez

“The highest result of education is tolerance.”  – Helen Keller

I am privileged to know a group of everyday heroes here at Hope Technology School. I’ve been observing a group of them at recess the past several months who have grown from disagreeable and not so flexible during  their four square antics, into kind, flexible and helpful students making allowances for others who may be different. One student, Drake, has a hard time participating in outdoor sports with difficulty in hand-eye coordination as well as learning the social rules of a game was happily invited into the game by a few of those students in his class. The students made allowances for that Drake’s challenges by helping him with lighter passes, teaching him the game rules and showering him with encouraging words as he played. It was such a joy to hear, “nice try,” or “great job on the playground!” These kids overlooked Drake’s abilities and differences and encouraged him so much that he is now seen playing four square most days of the week!I’m not so sure exactly how it happened, but it seemed like magic. It took some time, but the students finally got what inclusion means. They came back to class feeling like heroes because they discovered that helping someone learn the skills they have is a great reward.