A for Autism, B for Busan, C for Costco, & D for [Learning] Disabilities

Well, my first week of mostly-not-teaching is over, but I sure looked forward to the weekend like I had pulled a full week! My family gave me the choice of going to a museum on the island or going to Costco in Haeundae.

It was a no-brainer.

RELAXING FAMILY CAR RIDE TO HAEUNDAE
The windows were down. I breathed in lungs-full of salty air, and enjoyed the shimmer of city lights against the vast darkness of the ocean as we descended from the island and crossed the bridge connecting Yeongdo to the rest of Busan.

We arrived in Costco after forty minutes of sitting in the backseat of my host father's car, singing pop songs in both Korean and English with my host sisters. They are both in the church choir so both have great voices. Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to keep up by inconspicuously humming along with them.

I stopped the humming to gaze upon this sight:

Viewing the bold Costco store sign through a rain-splattered car window added to the nostalgia/familiarity I felt  

COSTCO WAS FOUNDED IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Never imagined I would be this happy to see a Costco store. But, I have very good reasons to be. Not only does Costco provide a wide selection of American merchandise, it was also founded in Seattle, Washington and, therefore, carries products from my home state! I basically floated into the store like it was paradise.

This escalator blew my mind. The little things...

 There are a lot of things in/about Korea that confound me, but there are also a lot of things here that just makes a lot of sense. Like this slight-incline, grocery-cart-friendly escalator, for example. It just makes so much sense...

COMPARING KOREAN COSTCO TO AMERICAN COSTCO
I quickly scouted the Busan Costco, mapping it out in my head, and making mental comparisons to the one in Puyallup. It was basically the same inside! The prices for some of the products (or at least the ones that I checked out) were actually higher, which was disappointing.

Another disappointing thing was not finding my made-in-the-Philippines dried mango obsession. However, my host mom found another brand (not quite the same), but also containing dried mangoes from the Philippines.

HOST DAD UNIMPRESSED BY AMERICAN PRODUCTS
After criticizing the unfamiliar mango packaging, I continued wandering around the store in search for a portable one terabyte hard drive. My host father was not impressed by the American brands, even Seagate, which is the one I have been using for the past several years as a photographer. He urged me to wait on my purchase and check out other brands like, say, Samsung (so much Korean pride!). The prices would have been comparable either way, but I followed his advice.

This half of the cart contains the bags of lollipops, chocolates, and other candy I bought for my students, as well as a
couple of English workbooks

Cost of food is the same, I think!

CANDY: THE ULTIMATE CLASS INCENTIVE
I bought the goodies I would need to establish my class rewards system starting next week, and also happened upon an enormous pile of fun-looking books. Most were in Korean, but my host sisters helped me dig up a few gems in English.

My head was semi-buried in one of these files when my sister asked me:

Seoyeon: What are you looking for? 
Me: Yeah...can you help me find one more of these? [I hold up an attention-grabbing alphabet workbook]
Seoyeon: Ah. For students??
Me: ...Yeup! For some of my students!
Seoyeon: [confused-looking] Okey...!

KOREAN STUDENTS LABELED AS "SPECIAL NEEDS"
I remembered the handful of special needs students that I have in some of my classrooms, and decided to buy a couple of workbooks for them to practice writing the alphabet as well as very simple English words. Buying these workbooks means involving special needs students in a level appropriate for them while they are in my classroom. Buying these workbooks is, therefore, completely contrary to what my co-teacher had told me the previous week.

Me: How should I go about teaching my students? 
Co-teacher: Ah, don't worry about them. They will not understand what's going on so, yeah. I don't think it's good idea involving them.
Me: Ah, okay...But, say I were to involve them? 
Co-teacher: [smiles at me patiently] Don't worry about them.

I had requested copies of the class rosters and had noted students with learning disabilities. One by one, their faces - mugshot-style - flashed in my head. And then without a break in the sequence, there was the face of my youngest sister.

Emily.

DISCUSSION ON LEARNING DISABILITIES HITS HOME

Host dad putting groceries away after grocery shopping

The smile pasted on my face as I had this conversation with, I'm sure, a well-meaning teacher, didn't crack for a second, but my heart was splintering in all sorts of directions at the mere picture of my sister possibly receiving the same treatment of "Don't worry about [her]" in what was supposed to be a learning environment.

I have not always been as understanding of what Emily's autism and learning disabilities entailed for her and for those who surround her in daily life, but I believe I have nevertheless grown up with a keen sense of reading social situations - and, specifically, quickly sensing opportunities of inclusion and similar and often simultaneous opportunities of exclusion.

As a teacher, I have the power to break down walls of exclusion and build a more inclusive learning environment.

I still have no idea how to carry this out beyond buying two English workbooks, but this is something that's in my heart and something I would be more than happy to receive feedback/suggestions for.

When I added these two items in the family grocery cart, my host dad immediately picked them up and furrowed his brows as he leafed through them. All I had to do was give Seoyeon a slight nudge for her to translate my justification for the purchase.

Host dad: Ahhh! [breaks out into a huge smile]. Mimi goot, very goot. Teacher very goot! [He gives me a thumbs up of approval before happily continuing to push the cart towards the checkout aisle].

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
What kinds of situations have made you feel included, especially in a classroom setting/learning environment? When it is in your power, do you find that you more often include people, or exclude people? On what basis do you exercise this "power"?

If you were a teacher with a handful of special needs students, how would you go about making sure they are included in each class activity?