Spotlight Series 03 featuring Joe Pizzo

As part of our Educator Spotlight Series, we are featuring educator Joe Pizzo (@ProfJPizzo), a middle school language arts teacher. Joe participated in a Zoom interview sharing his experiences and best practices for inclusive education and co-teaching.

1. How long have you been working in the inclusion, co-teaching setting?

I've been with a mentor in the regular ed co-teaching situation throughout my career. I've also been with co-teachers who are inclusion teachers since I started my career 47 years ago. I'm very grateful because I've learned so much from the inclusion people and all the strategies and approaches they take. I found that I can supplement my own teaching with those strategies.

2. What is the most rewarding part about working with a co-teacher or in the inclusion setting?

It's just learning from the person you're with and there's a synergy that happens. You can get a lot more done. You can address more problems. You can take people sometimes out of the room to work one-on-one. You can create small group. You can create large group, if necessary. You can address needs without making it embarrassing or presumptuous in any way. And you can mix abilities. If somebody is having a problem, it doesn't matter what their classification is. They need some review or instruction in that area. So those are the kids who will go for the instruction. It doesn't matter what it says on your piece of paper. That's meaningless at that point.

3. What are some of the potential obstacles that co-teachers tend to face? Do you have any recommendations for how teachers can overcome those obstacles?

I think sometimes that obstacles happen when people let their egos get in the way--and I don't mean that just from the teacher's point of view. I think parents sometimes don't want their child working with someone who's working with that population-- however, that's defined. It needs to be looked at as skills and as strengths and weaknesses, which we all have. If we can share those and overcome our differences and build upon them rather than using the distance of each other, then, I think we're actually teaching in a sensible way, rather than trying to force the instruction, which never works.

4. What are some strategies that you've found to be most successful when working with another teacher in the classroom?

Again, I go back to putting your ego aside and saying, "What do the kids need? Are there kids who get along better with one style of instruction than another? What style should we use? Where are my strengths and weaknesses? Where are your strengths and weaknesses?" And let's try to build upon those. Let's not force the issue. But let's see if we can not only encourage the learning but keep the learning fresh and connected to the outside world as often as possible. There is nothing worse than trying to learn a skill off a piece of paper when the only application is to that piece of paper. It needs to be related to a song or a poem or a story or a person or an event. It's something that's real.

5. What is one thing that you think people could do to make schools and classrooms more inclusive for all learners?

I think the first thing we need to do is recognize that we all learn differently. We should build our schools around the model that Howard Gardner uses with his multiple intelligences: that we all have genius, and we all have gaps, deficits. It's reality. If you put me in an art class, I am not going to be your prime student by any means. My roses may look like elephants or porcupines. But if you put me in a class where I need to give a speech or I need to write something creatively, I'm going to look forward to that every day because that's where my strengths are. I think we need to build off strengths. I think we need to build social networks and recognize that we do have differences. We should also recognize that EQ and SEL not only have a place but that they should also be foundations in classrooms. We're dealing with people, not data. And the sooner we realize that, the better. I hear people saying, "Well, we have this technology, and we just bought this technology, okay?" But technology isn't the be-all and do-all and end-all. It's the vehicle to help you along the journey to get to your destination. It's not the destination.

6. What piece of advice would you give either new teachers who are entering the field or teachers who are just working in inclusion classrooms for the first time?

I would say, have an open mind. Find someone with whom you can work. Now, granted, you don't always get to choose. But if you can, find a mentor: someone who will work with you and who will recognize that you're going to make mistakes as an early service teacher. Early service teachers do not have the experience that others do. But also don't think that because someone is an experienced teacher, that they have all the answers because it's two human beings or more than two human beings in a classroom, who are generating the instruction. I think one of the things that we sometimes fail to do is listen to the kids and get their input, get their feedback, I'll create a rubric. And I'll call four or five kids up and say, "Could you take a look at this? Does this look like it covers everything? Does this sound reasonable to you? Did I miss anything?" And, they're just so proud that you listen to them. I think that is as much of a facilitator as anything--that's how you build community. You have to be a listener first. And being a successful teacher is listening, having patience. Most of the research says that it takes seven years or more to be an outstanding teacher. And the other sad part is we're losing people after five years. That's where the drain is coming. So it's going to impact the way we do business. It's not for the short term. And I've told pre-service teachers and early career teachers, if this is not what you wish to do, and you're sure of it, then please with all due haste, find something else to do with your life because the kids are going to know you don't want to be there and it's going to impact on them negatively.

---

The Educator Spotlight Series features educators in the field and their experiences with inclusion and co-teaching. If you are interested in being featured in the weekly series, please fill out the interest form or reach out via DM to @AssemblingIncl1