Fundamental Friday
- Catherine Addor
- Sep 5
- 3 min read
There Is No Such Thing as a "Curricular Disability"
I have heard educators say, “I taught it, they didn’t learn it.” Let’s pause here.
If teaching and learning are separated, then neither has truly occurred. Teaching and learning are not independent acts; they are one continuous process of meaning-making. When a student does not learn, it is not evidence of their “disability in the curriculum,” but a call for us to examine our design, our delivery, and our supports.
There is no such thing as a curricular disability. What exists are opportunities for us to rethink instruction and ensure that every learner can access, engage with, and demonstrate mastery of the content. This is precisely where MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) comes in; not as a label for students, but as a framework for equitable teaching and responsive learning.
Use these prompts to examine the connection between your teaching and student learning:
When I say “I taught it,” do I also have evidence that they learned it?
Whose responsibility is it when students don’t meet the mark—mine, theirs, or ours together?
How do I currently use data (academic, behavior, SEL) to adjust instruction before labeling students?
Am I designing lessons that anticipate learner variability, or am I waiting to respond after the fact?
Do I see MTSS as “extra work” or as the structure that keeps teaching and learning inseparable?
Reflection is only powerful if it leads to action. Once you’ve considered how teaching and learning are connected, the next step is to translate that insight into practice. MTSS provides the structure to do just that; ensuring our lessons anticipate learner needs, our data informs decisions, and our supports are proactive rather than reactive. Here are ways you can bring this mindset into daily practice:
Redesign for Access First: Build lessons that anticipate barriers. Use UDL principles to ensure all students can engage in multiple ways.
Collect and Respond to Data Quickly: Move beyond end-of-unit data. Daily checks for understanding, SEL screenings, and behavior tracking are part of teaching, not extras.
Normalize Tiered Support: Tier 1 is for everyone. Tier 2 and Tier 3 are opportunities to meet needs with precision, not punishments or labels.
Collaborate in Teams: Use MTSS meetings as problem-solving spaces. Ask, “What haven’t we tried yet?”
Shift the Language: Replace “they didn’t learn it” with “we haven’t taught it yet in a way that connects.” That single word (yet) turns failure into possibility.
Teaching is not performance; it is a partnership. If a student is not learning, the story isn’t finished. MTSS helps us live this truth: that learning is a shared responsibility, and success comes when we honor the inseparability of teaching and learning.
When we cling to the idea that “I taught it, they didn’t learn it,” we shift accountability away from the very purpose of education. When we embrace MTSS as a framework, we remind ourselves that every learner deserves the right lesson, at the right time, with the right support. Teaching, then, becomes an act of responsiveness. Learning becomes evidence of that responsiveness.
Our students are not defined by gaps, delays, or differences in their engagement with content. They are defined by potential. Our job is not to diagnose a “curricular disability”; it is to remove barriers, design intentionally, and collaborate until success is possible.
This is fundamental: there is no separation between teaching and learning. One cannot exist without the other. In that inseparability lies our deepest professional calling: to make sure that every child’s journey is one of growth, dignity, and opportunity.
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