“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
As education majors, many of us have to take classes that familiarize us with special education (especiallly if you’re certifying in elementary education - but that’s another blog for another time 😌). At Southwestern, it seems like a future educator has to take more special education classes than those at the average public university. However, today’s blog isn’t about what classes I’m having to take. Today’s blog goes beyond what I have to learn to earn my degree; it’s about what I have learned over the past year and a half or so while taking those special education classes and what I have observed in real life. What I have learned and observed have allowed me to grow as a person and see everyone for who they truly are - a unique character that God made. Everyone was made on purpose for a purpose. To begin with, I’m going to take a quick moment to describe the class I’m currently in that inspired today’s blog. I’m currently (again) taking a class called, “Surveys of Exceptionalities” or “Surveys” as we shorten it at SU. This course is an overview of special education. The purpose of it is for us to try to better understand the different types of exceptional learners that educators may encounter and be responsible for teaching including learners with disabilities, gifted learners, and students at risk. Let's Do Some Thinking...To begin with I’m going to pose some questions and I want you to take a moment and truly think about your response. What comes to your mind when you hear the words physical and/or severe disability? What do you imagine that person looks like? How do you think they got that way? Now let me guess...you probably pictured a boy or a girl in wheel chair, maybe someone who might not communicate very well or someone who may be trapped in their own world...someone who doesn’t look and or doesn’t act “normal”. Lets imagine that you and this person are at the grocery store. You’re complete strangers. You’re both in the produce section. Their caregiver is deciding which apples to pick out and you also are deciding on what apples to get. The caregiver pushes the wheelchair closer to you. What do you do? A lot of the time this situation will make people uncomfortable. Because we are not often around disabled people, we don’t really know how to “act” when we encounter “them”. But now I ask you why do we have to “act” different around “them”? And why are they considered “them”. And what is normal? This person that you’re afraid to get close to doesn’t have a disease. They’re not contagious. They were either born this way or suffer from some postnatal accident. The problem isn’t them. The problem is us. The problem is not the person's disability. The problem is society's view of the person's abilties. We are afraid because we don’t understand. A Whole New WorldThis week I had the opportunity to observe in a Life Skills classroom (a requirement of my Surveys class) and boy were my eyes opened up. For those who don’t know, a Life Skills classroom focuses on everyday skills for special education students: personal/social skills, hygiene, independent life skills such as cooking and clothing care, work competencies, and functional academics. Special education students learn things better when they are not confined to sitting behind a desk or staying in one spot. Learning life skills is best done "by doing”. In observing this class my eyes were open to another whole world. I saw how truly privileged I am for the first time. And let me tell you I am soooo privileged and so are you. I don't differ from what people consider to be "normal" except I can't pronounce my R’s and yet you know what I do? I complain about insignificant stuff ALL the time. I like to think I'm a pretty understanding person but many people aren’t. And because people aren’t understanding, when you take the students that I observed into the real world, those people are only going to see them for their disability. Either people will hardcore stare or avert their eyes and ignore the person. Not many people will see these beautiful souls for who they truly are. Yes some of these children are violent or loud but when you look past their disability(s) there’s so much more to them. Not many people in this world are going to see them for who they truly are - people with exceptionalities who are gifted in an entirely different way. Not many will bother to get past their disability and try to know who they really are. I got to talk to one student and though he couldn’t physically talk back to me, he understood everything I said. One student there is considered to be a ward of the state and has soneone telling him how to live his life and how things should be done. However, this person only sees the student once a year for a few minutes AND is actually afraid of him because he's in a wheel chair. That just breaks my heart. It just makes me want to cry. People with exceptionalities are amazing. Very few people see these amazing children and people for who they truly are. Yes, there was a brief moment when I was scared because of something that happened, but as I continued to spend more time with these students, I saw children for who they were - beautiful people with an exceptionality. They’re all beautiful souls who allowed me to learn and grow as a person. Peope with disabilties can solve their own problems but their lives are often complicated because people without disabilities don't give thought to what life is like for someone who has limitations.
Remember that just like people, disabilites come in all forms. They can be mild or severe, they can be physical or mental or both, you can be born with them or they can develop over time. Any way you put it, a person with a disability is just like you and me - a person. Having a disability isn't bad and never again will I think that. In fact the Huffington Post wrote this article about 10 Things The World Can Learn From People With Disabilites. I don't see people with disabilities. I see that people have exceptionalities. And I'd much rather get to know someone who has an exceptionality because they're way more extraordinary than someone who is "normal"- whatever that really means. XOXO, A Gearle Who See's A Whole New World
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Abby & AndreaA college student trying to figure out the world with her mom by herside. Life through my lens (Abby). We all have different stories and these are only some of mine. Some funny, some adventurous, some hard. Sit back and relax. Enjoy. Archives
March 2018
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