Technolandy

Day 26 (of SOL 2025) Summer of Learning… Dear Dr  @chrkennedy

In his annual year end blog, Chris had some good questions… here is question 

26. What does it look like when we build systems where every student regardless of background, cultural identity or learning needs truly belongs and can succeed on their own terms?

1. Like a community. But recent politics show that it is easier said than implemented…

Maybe it starts by rethinking everything we’ve assumed is “normal” in school:

🕰️ Time

Why do all students learn best between 8:30 and 3:00 but not on Saturday & Sunday? Who decided July and August should be time off — and why only some faiths get school-structured holy days? Why do we expect all learners to move at the same pace through content, when life and learning don’t work that way?

🔔 Environment

Bells, buzzers, lineups, silent hallways… why do our schools feel more like factories (or worse, prisons) than community spaces of growth? For some students, those buzzers are literally painful. For others, the architecture signals: you don’t belong here. For others, stigmatizing commands such as “look me in the eyes” is likewise insulting and disconnecting. 

📊 Success

A five-year graduation rate might be convenient for a spreadsheet, but what does it miss? Success isn’t always linear — or even academic. For some learners, graduating in six or seven years is triumph. For others, “success” means healing, advocacy, identity work, or rediscovering joy in learning. Why not co-define success with students? <—spoiler: more on this soon-ish

🌱 Belonging by design

True inclusion doesn’t mean slotting diverse learners into existing molds. It means designing flexible systems from the ground up: systems that expect diversity in culture, ability, language, and identity — and shift to meet those needs. It means classrooms where Indigenous, neurodivergent, LGBTQ2IA+, newcomer, and marginalized voices are central, not peripheral.

🧠 Adult identity work

To build systems of belonging, adults have to do the inner work, too — unlearning biases, challenging systems of oppression, and embracing cultural humility. Professional development isn’t a day — it’s a mindset.

👣 And it’s messy

There’s no one-size-fits-all model of belonging. It’s iterative, human, and sometimes uncomfortable. But if we really believe in equity and student success, then sameness can no longer be the goal.