Some school-aged children count down the minutes until recess. But climbing across the monkey bars and going down the slide can be tough for kids with disabilities. That’s why Atlanta Public Schools kindergarten teacher Emily Max wanted to build an “inclusive” playground at her school, Toomer Elementary School.
Max developed the playground for a graduate school assignment. The task was to look at the world through the lens of someone with a disability and develop a project that would make a difference. Max focused on the school’s social hub: the playground.
“As a teacher of ‘typical’ children, I wanted them to have more access to kids that are maybe more ‘atypical’ and just have differing abilities,” Max said. “When we can all play together, then we have a greater vision of the world. And I think our playgrounds should represent what our world looks like, and if that’s not happening, I think we should make a change to make that happen.”
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