Why Inclusion? • 11 time and space to create their own learning and in which teachers can help them learn to use their strengths, are the most effective settings for inclusion. To be sure, there is a lot to learn. In this book, we suggest some key per- spectives on child development that may be new to you and that may inspire you to do some reading and learning. We show you specific teaching tools and practices that will stretch your perspective or your approach. We offer ways to help you adjust your priorities or your teaching style to most effectively sup- port all the children in your care. We hope you will be pleasantly surprised, as we have been in our inclusion journey, to learn that the new or different aspects of inclusion make up a smaller part of the picture than the basic skills and strengths all teachers have. Inclusion is much more a matter of applying your skills in new ways than it is a new set of skills. • • • In this chapter, you learned how all programs have been faced with the chal- lenge of inclusion. You also saw how inclusion is, far from just a necessity, a means of enhancing and broadening program quality. You learned how inclu- sion benefits children, teachers, families, and communities. You reflected on why teachers would want to embrace inclusion and learn to think of them- selves as inclusion teachers. In the next chapter, you will examine the roots and basics of relationship-based education, the platform upon which all teachers can learn the tools of successful inclusion. IOIATextFINAL.indd 11 12/14/09 3:39:35 PM