School Coffee Carts Aren't Inclusion

Why we can do better than school coffee carts and cafes, a simple way to promote inclusion, and let's bring back the hashtag: #ThisIsNotInclusion.

Oct 11, 2021

You might not like what I have to say today.

And that’s okay because I’m going to try my very best to not shame anyone.

So before we get into what I believe is the extremely ableist practice of coffee carts and delivery services, I want to say that this is coming from a place of love and wanting to make our educational practice better. And don’t worry, I’ll be suggesting some solutions. I’m not interested in teacher bashing.

This week I came across a piece of news from WTHR in Indiana about Greenwood Middle School. I’ll quote directly from the news article so you know this is not my language:

…sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students with special needs [are] in a one-of-a-kind class that takes the learning outside of the classroom.
They are part of the Woodmen Café, named after the Greenwood mascot. The students make up a menu each week, then deliver order forms and pick them up at the end of each week. On Monday, they make deliveries.
It's part of the school corporation's QUEST program, which stands for quality, unique, empowering experiences that are student-centered and transformational.
The school's speech pathologist… came up with the idea a few years ago.

[image] a student wearing a mask and gloves delivering treats to school staff with a peer looking on; text reads: middle school’s cafe project takes learning outside the classroom, the woodman cafe is popular with school staff and the kids who participate (Credit: WTHR)

You may be thinking, “What’s wrong with this, Tim?”

“Don’t you want students with disabilities to learn life skills?”

Yes, of course. But what about serving teachers during school, when they are supposed to be learning grade-level content, is preparing them for life? A life of working in the service industry?

“Aren’t you being a bit too idealistic, Tim? I mean, aren’t they trying to be inclusive?”

Yes. I think they are, which is why my focus is on doing better. There is nothing about this program that is really revolutionary or newsworthy. This kind of stuff happens all over in the name of inclusion, but it just doesn’t pass the smell test to me.

Just down the road from where I live, in my neighborhood middle school, students with intellectual disabilities deliver mail from the office to the school. Everyone loves it and feels great about it, including the students in the special education classrooms. But is this practice masking a real reform toward authentic inclusive education?

When I was a special education classroom teacher, I did things like reverse inclusion, where I would have a general education classroom join the students in my segregated classroom for a joint lesson. Sometimes, I would take turns with the general education teacher teaching the lesson to the entire class. We did history, science, and math lessons altogether in one class. But this really wasn’t inclusive education. But we were trying! I didn’t know what else to do and I felt like I needed to do something!

In the same spirit, the existence of special cafes and delivery services are trying to do something. But are they really undermining the overall message of inclusion that we are desperately trying to convey?

[image] students walking down an office hallway with a cart of coffee and treats for school staff, students are wearing aprons with a Woodmen cafe logo as well as facemasks; text reads: Some of the students are mostly nonverbal. Since we’re still in a pandemic, they’re all wearing masks, but one look at that glimmer in their eye tells you it’s service with a smile (Credit: WTHR)

Let’s take the example of this middle school cafe.

"Everybody loves the Woodmen Cafe," said their teacher… who said the class teaches these students essential skills they'll use their whole life. "Not only are students working on social skills, but they're working on following directions and just getting to interact with people who aren't just in our classroom all day."

So the purpose of this cafe is to teach students essential skills they will use their whole life. Ok. Great!

They are going to work on social skills, follow directions (aka compliance), and interact with people… and the key phrase here is: interact with people who aren’t just in our classroom all day.

Do you know a surefire way to facilitate interaction with students who aren’t in a segregated special education classroom? Including students in age-appropriate classes!

The very creation of this Woodmen Cafe is based on the assumption that students with intellectual disabilities or autism don’t belong in general education classrooms. And not only that it communicates that the best people to interact with aren’t their nondisabled peers, it’s the school staff. This perpetuates the ableist belief systems inherent in our educational system: If you are too different or need more support with learning, you need to be taught special things in special places. More specifically, time is being spent during the instructional day not learning grade-level content but “essential life skills.”

My beef is not with the idea that life skills ought to be taught, but that these classes are designed only for students with intellectual disabilities in mind. All of our students need life skills. I have a middle schooler at home. And for one of his nonacademic specials periods, he is learning how to cook simple meals. Why can’t students with intellectual disabilities and autism also be included in those classes to learn alongside their peers?

In the case of Woodmen Cafe, why can’t it be a joint effort among the entire school and open up the experience to all students with and without disabilities to learn life skills together? This is what the world really looks like.

If our purpose is really to prepare students with significant disabilities to be included more in our society, what is a more powerful argument? That our students had experience serving treats and coffee to school staff, or that our students worked collaboratively with their nondisabled peers to run a school cafe to benefit the entire school community?

And look, I’m not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea.

Here is Paula Kluth talking about those “inclusive” coffee carts that schools just love to have.

Just so that I’m not reinventing the wheel, here are some suggestions from Paula on how we can make the coffee cart (or cafe) more inclusive:

involve students with and without disabilities
collaborate with colleagues other than special education teachers
focus on a range of competencies (handling money, goal setting, marketing)

Later on in the video, Paula talks about how to make the lunchroom or school events more inclusive. And it all centers around planning for all students instead of making special places for students with disabilities.

Here is the thing I want you to take away from this conversation. Because I can hear some of you yelling at me through your computer or mobile devices.

I see you and acknowledge that you are trying to make things better. When I was a special education teacher trying to promote inclusion in my school, I would sometimes feel judged by people who were farther along in their understanding of inclusive education. You see, ableism is so engrained in our educational system it is hard to see from the inside.

But I’m here to tell you there is a better way. And I believe in you! You can make great things happen in your school. Inclusive education is about planning for the success of all students. Not just students with disabilities in separate and special places.

If you ever want to talk about how you can make your school more inclusive, find more information at mcie.org or email me at tvillegas@mcie.org.

Thanks for your time and attention!

Tim