Dear Educators, Parents, & Guardians,
Thank you for your interest in Scoops of Inclusion.
I grew up in Irvine, California during the 80s to 90s, and being one of the few Asian-Americans at elementary school, I experienced bullying due to looking different, whether it was the shape of my eyes or being made fun for bringing a Japanese bento lunch. At dance class after school, I also found myself being the only person of color, but something about moving together with others to music made me feel I belonged. Dancing became my happy place, and eventually became my life passion.
I suffered a spinal stroke in college, which temporarily paralyzed me from the neck down. This eventually led me to create Infinite Flow, a nonprofit and professional dance company composed of dancers with and without disabilities in 2015. But as the years went by, I realized we were more than a dance company. We are a global movement for inclusion and we exist to transform hearts, bodies, and souls, one dance at a time.
Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) is more important than ever. Children with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be bullied than their non-disabled peers. (National Bullying Prevention Center). And Children perceived differently are more likely to end up in social isolation. (StopBullying.gov). In the meantime, due to Covid-19, most schools are still running classes online, extracurricular activities have further been cut out, and teachers are under high pressure and high stress to keep students engaged.
So we decided to take our in-person school assembly program to an online program that consists of a 45-min short film, Flip Grid integration, contests, virtual events, and more.
We hope Scoops of Inclusion will add some fun and learning in classrooms and living rooms across the country and world.
We premiered the film on Oct 10, 2020, and it is now available for viewing on this website. Enter the Grownup Portal with the Film and Educator + Parent Guide HERE.
We produced Scoops of Inclusion keeping grades 3-5 in mind, but it can be experienced by younger and older learners as well.
It’s NEVER TOO LATE and NEVER TOO EARLY to become an inclusive leader! Our children are our future. Let’s make this world a better place together.
Marisa Hamamoto
Executive Director & Producer, Scoops of Inclusion
Founder, Infinite Flow Dance
Topics Covered in Scoops of Inclusion:
Disability Awareness
Accessibility
Diversity
Identity
Allyship
Empathy
