Anna Thomas
Ed.D. Student in General K-12 Administration
My frame for diversity is Special Education, so I typically use the lens of neurodiversity first. In addition to being an educator in Special Education, I am a parent of a child with exceptional needs, and so I consider differentiating every task in life, from the perspective of both difference in ability and access in society. I tend to gravitate towards advocacy: giving supports to students who need a voice, promoting independence and autonomy, and creating opportunities for advocacy. My area of diversity has been a part of my K-12 coursework at SOE, as well as my education law and special education law courses. My professors at SOE have done a wonderful job of making sure that everything we do in EPPL is for all learners and providing the motivation to serve all children. We’re learning to help individuals. In creating opportunities for education, why would you not start with the individual? Starting with the individual would open more opportunities. We tend to forget that the big picture is comprised of little pixels of our students. It’s critical that we keep that in mind.
