Inclusion Isn’t a Strategy—It’s a Way of Being

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Inspired by Dr. Shelley Moore and the Life in the Balance Conference

This past week, I had the privilege of attending the Life in the Balance conference, where I was reminded—not for the first time—of why I continue to be drawn to the work of Dr. Shelley Moore. If you’ve never heard her speak, stop what you’re doing and seek her out: her podcast, her website, her videos, or better yet—attend one of her talks. Her energy is infectious, her stories deeply human, and her message is one that resonates at the very heart of what education should be: inclusive, responsive, and alive with possibility. Inclusion isn’t a strategy-it’s a way of being.

One particular story she shared, pulled from a course she taught at the University of British Columbia titled Conceptual Foundations of Inclusive Education, struck me at my core. In a class full of experienced educators, Shelley introduced a diagram of four bubbles representing exclusion, segregation, integration, and inclusion. The consensus was swift—Bubble C was “inclusion.” But then, a student raised her hand and offered a perspective that stopped Shelley—and the rest of the class—in their tracks.

“In my definition of inclusion,” the student said, “there is no other.”

And there it was—the powerful truth I have long felt but never heard articulated so clearly. Inclusion isn’t simply about bringing “others” into the green circle. It’s about dismantling the circle altogether. It’s about recognizing that we are all unique dots—not in spite of, but because of our differences.

That student’s insight reframed everything. For decades, we’ve operated within a model rooted in the industrial age—designed to standardize, categorize, and produce sameness. Those who didn’t fit were remediated, redirected, or removed. But the truth is, more and more of our students aren’t green. And trying to “fix” them—to mold them into uniformity—is both ineffective and inhumane.

Dr. Moore reminds us that inclusion is not about assimilation. It’s not about making everyone fit. It’s about creating a space where everyone belongs as they are. It’s about discovering each student’s color and celebrating the full, vivid spectrum of who they are.

Her words echo in my mind: “We need to stop asking why a student isn’t green—and start asking, what color are they?”

This shift—away from a deficit model and toward a strengths-based, ecological model of education—is not just an adjustment in practice. It’s a transformation in mindset. It’s recognizing that inclusion isn’t just a “special education issue.” It’s not a box to check. It’s a belief. A way of being. A shared commitment to community where everyone—students, teachers, families, support staff—has value, voice, and a place at the table.

We are no longer living in a world that rewards conformity. We are living in a world that needs innovation, empathy, and collaboration. And diversity is the soil in which those qualities grow.

So today, I return to my work with renewed conviction. I return ready to build classrooms where students are not fixed, but seen. Where we teach to the edges, not the average. Where we create learning communities as vibrant and varied as the world we live in.

Thank you, Dr. Shelley Moore, for reminding me that inclusion is not something we do.

It’s something we are.