- Committed to creating and sharing knowledge and practices – publications, videos, workshops – that support the movement towards full inclusion of all in their communities.
- Committed to creating communities where all are welcome – with a particular focus on those citizens or groups who have been left out, kicked out, or dropped out of systems. This includes people with disability labels, people who are old, people living on our streets, in or “correctional” facilities, etc.
- Committed to giving ALL citizens the opportunity to be full and participating members of their families, schools, communities, etc.
Our Focus is on Education and Families – with particular interest in disability, literacy and corrections. The Marsha Forest Centre‘s (MFC) mission is to advance social justice for citizens with disabilities, by advocating for Inclusive Education – the education of learners with disabilities in the same settings as their typical peers.
The MFC is small, but a remarkably productive Canadian organization working for social justice and equity in educational choice for learners with disabilities and their families.
We Believe:
- All people are gifted
- All people can contribute to society
- All children need real families, and actual inclusion in regular classrooms
- All people have a stake in belonging to a family, school, community, system.
- All people have the right to proper shelter, work, options and opportunities
- We celebrate diversity and believe that Together We are Better.
- All are Welcome regardless of race, ethnic background, sex. age, class.
- There are no limits to learning
- Violence will diminish when people have their basic needs met
Inclusion Means:
- ALL people having the choice/right to live together in diverse, challenging and healthy communities where every person’s gift is appreciated as a contribution to the community.
In education, inclusion means:
- good quality education for all children
- age-appropriate placements
- going to school with your brothers and sisters
- walking to school/or going on the bus with your neighbours
- getting all the help and equipment you really need
- Inclusion is a celebration of differences, learning to live with one another.
Inclusion Does NOT Mean:
- dumping a child in a classroom with an untrained teacher-assistant
- any child sitting all day in a classroom with a program that doesn’t make sense
- ignoring extraordinary differences and pretending they don’t exist
- pretending that friendship will bloom on its own.
- that a child or children will not leave a room for an activity that makes no sense (i.e. go to a special education room or “retarded shopping”)
What we Do:
- Through Inclusion Press, we publish books, videos, articles (in print and on the internet) on the most “cutting edge” issues in building inclusive community.
- Help individual families advocate for their sons and daughters to receive full inclusion.
- Design and Implement Institutes, workshops, seminars on the management and practice of Inclusive Education.
- meet with individual families to listen and advise them on the issues of integration
