Ending Ableism in Education Quotes

In this blog I will be pulling out three quotes from the text and will be talking a little bit about them. 

1. "Disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives - job opportunities or barrier free buildings" (Hehir 2).

I really liked this quote and it made me think about how having a disability isn't the issue. The real issue is how society reacts to people who struggle with certain disabilities. Society can be very ableist against people with disabilities. An example of ableism would be designing a building with no elevator or ramps for people in wheelchairs. That is sending a message to them that they are being discriminated against because there are no accessible forms of transportation for them to get where they need to be. This is also important to keep in mind if you're going into education. Say you have a visually impaired student, you wouldn't want to sit him/her in the back of the classroom because they won't be getting the information that they need. Instead, you would want to make sure that you sit them in the front of the class where they can see clearly. 

2. "The pervasiveness of ableist assumptions in the education of these children not only reinforces prevailing prejudices against disability but may very well contribute to low levels of educational attainment and employment" (Hehir 4).

People are quick to assume that a person who struggles with a disability will not do very well in school based on the disability that they were born with. Children with disabilities are often placed in "special classrooms" where they do activities to work toward solutions that can help them. The time spent in these "special classrooms" takes away from the time needed to learn academic material. It can also make children feel isolated or different from others which can create a stigma.

3. "The fact that dyslexia has as its main symptomatology the failure of children to learn to read, a primary goal of education for all students, and that dyslexic children are not the only children who struggle with reading means that explanations for this failure go to the very structure of schooling" (Hehir 13).

Dyslexic children not being the only ones that struggle to read is a reflection of the type of education they are receiving. The structure in which children are taught can impact the way they learn. Teachers that lack the appropriate preparation to teach children successfully can also prevent students from learning the appropriate material. If a student is struggling to read or do a certain task, it is not always caused by a disability. It can also be because of the teacher or structure of the curriculum.

Reflection: Every child has the right to a good quality education and deserves to be included. My goal is to create an inclusive classroom for my students where they can feel safe. Some ways to create an inclusive classroom is by having different toys and books that show or explain different situations that some students may struggle with. It is also important to be aware of how ableism can show up in schools. I provided a link below that shares some tips for handling academic ableism.

Tips for Handling Academic Ableism in the Classroom

 

Rodriguez "Aria" Reflection Blog

Reflection Blog-

While reading this text, it reminded me of the students that struggle in my school due to the language barrier. A lot of the students in my school have english as their second language. In my classroom, there are two girls that barely understand or speak any english and sometimes it is obvious to see that they are falling behind. Whenever the teacher assigns me to work with them, I always try to speak as much Spanish as I know and I also count in Spanish if we are working on math. Last Wednesday when I was helping the two Spanish speaking girls, a bilingual girl sitting nearby was amazed at the fact that I knew some of their language. Just by saying "Hola" or "Buenos dias" to students can make them feel more welcome in a classroom. Even the smallest gestures can make a difference. Spanish speaking students are missing out on so much in schools but it is not their fault. It is hard for them to adapt because they are in a Spanish speaking home where there is no english being spoken. A lot of the time Spanish speaking students are not perceived the same way as a primary english speaker. This makes them feel like an outcast or like they have done something wrong. They are almost held up to a higher standard and are expected to just pick up another language which isn't right. This reminded me of when Richard Rodriguez talked about how the American culture was forced onto his family and after time went by it made his family more and more disconnected from each other. He also mentioned how "children lose a degree of "individuality" by becoming assimilated into public society" which is very true. Children are loosing a piece of themselves by trying to become someone they are not.

Alternative ways to teach Spanish speaking students English

Literacy with an Attitude Reflection Blog

The reading "Literacy with an Attitude" by Patrick J. Finn, opened up my mind to the different types of education students can receive based on their parents income and the issues that comes along with it. It is disturbing to know that the type of education a student receives whether good or bad is all based off of their parent's tax bracket. There are four types of education, the working class schools, middle class, affluent professional and lastly the executive elite schools. The type of school a child goes to can drastically impact their future outcome or career path. Children who go to working class schools often perform the worse academically and directly go into the workforce after graduating high school. Teachers don't really care as much to build relationships with their students. They let students do the bare minimum and don't let them be their creative selves as much as they should be. Children are born to be creative and curious but working class schools are preventing that from happening. "Knowledge was presented as fragmented facts isolated from wider bodies of meaning and from the lives and experiences of the students" (Finn 10). These schools are preparing them to follow in their parents footsteps or directly enter into the workforce. Volunteering at Robert Bailey Elementary School this semester has shown me how creativity is not always seen as important. A lot of the time the students in my classroom are told to take out their work books and work by themselves on a certain number of problems. If they are stuck or don't understand the material, it is often disregarded by the teacher and they move on. This prevents students from learning the essential skills that could be important to them in their future. This text brought a deeper understanding to the different types of schooling that are out there and how they can each effect a students outcome after they graduate. The wealthy often go to schools that enable them to enter high paying jobs in society such as becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The lower class/ middle class lack resources and materials that allow students to receive a better education. The type of education these students receive lacks creativity and teaches them basic skills. This text dives deep into the issues that our education system faces. Every student has full potential and deserves to be their creative selves.

Applying Creativity in Your Classroom

Video Analysis Templates