SUNY Cortland Mini Conference - Dr. John Passarini

October 10, 2008: I sure am sorry I missed Dr. Passarini's keynote address at the 2008 SUNY Cortland Physical Education Mini Conference, but boy did I make up for it by attending his presentation. His presentation of his "Inclusion Cube" and his concept of "Nobody is disabled, we are all differently-abled", was captivating. Dr. Passarini explained the importance of inclusion for all student individuals, and the level of the how and the when and the what of the inclusion can be different for each individual case. He explained methodologies for building IEPs and goals and objectives for different students. He went on further to show how all students can participate, but it is the educator's responsibility to integrate the participation into the lesson plan through a technique he has built and named, "The Inclusion Cube." The Inclusion Cube contains five steps and a checklist system that help educators include all students, no matter what their ability is. This session was very informative, and Dr. Passarini concluded his presentation with some games that "removed" some of our abilities. One of these games involved playing catch with a gator skin ball while wearing safety glasses that had been coated with opaque scotch tape. Visibility was nearly impossible, and you were lucky if you could see shadows. Playing catch was very difficult and nearly impossible without any assistance. These games helped everyone to walk in another person's shoes.... a person that is differently-abled. If you wish to learn more about Dr. Passarini and his program, feel free to contact him at jpass33@earthlink.net. He is a great resource.