Teach Out Project

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Ableism

The author Thomas Hehir, argues that ableism is an overlooked category of discrimination and our education system needs to work on bridging the gap between disabled students and receivin the same education and expectations of those of able bodied students. 

 Until recently, I didn't realize how much ableism I see in my life. My father is dyslexic but did not find out until later in life. He felt "stupid" as a kid because he didn't know how to read and no one took the time to help him figure out why he couldn't read. My brother is physically disabled and walks with a limp. He has been through several surgeries in his lifetime.  He hasn't been able to walk correctly since he was 10 and probably never will. 

Since working in a school, and taking classes for my school nurse teacher certificate, I see all the different types of supports that schools have to offer to students and it makes me wonder why my brother never had any of these things when he was in school. I asked my parents why my brother was never offered such supports in school but her answer was not what I was expecting. They said they were offered a support plan for him but they turned it down. My parents never wanted to make him feel like he different than other kids. They didn't want to give him the label of being disabled. But thats what he is. 

My parents heard several comments to them over the years like the ones that Penny had heard. As I am sure many parents in similar situation do. It's heart breaking to see people write children off because of something they cannot control. Hehir talks about "entering a world of lower expectations" meaning that people see a child in a wheelchair and automatically assumes he is not as smart as other students or needs to be in special education classes because of it. I have seen this first hand when I first started at my school. We have a student with muscular dystrophy and is wheel chair bound. During his first few weeks in high school, the teachers noticed he was excelling in all of his special education classes and moved him to regular education classes. When the special ed coordinator at my school asked him why he never moved to regular ed sooner, he said that no one had ever asked him. They had just assumed he wanted to stay in the lower classes. 

Literacy with an attitude

 

The author Patrick Finn argues in "Literacy with an Attitude" that the quality of education is distinctly different across different social and economic classes. 

Reading this piece, it opened my eyes to even more ways that showcase the correlation between income and educational access. I work in a predominantly working class school like the one in this chapter. I can see connections from the text to the students and the learning environment in school. Being a nurse, I am not in the class room and cannot attest to the curriculum and standards being held, but from what I do hear from students is that they feel like they are not learning things, they are just being taught how to do something, which aligns with the results from Anyon's study. 

I grew up in a middle class neighborhood. Working in the school that I do, I see so many differences from the education I received. There was structure and rules and rewards for succeeding. They pushed us to do more and be good. Coming into this new district, it seems as though they don't expect much from these kids so they don't require much. It works for some students, but it undermines their abilities and doesn't encourage them to strive for bigger goals. 

It is shocking that this book was published in the 90's and the study that is mentioned was from years before that. The differences in education between the classes, still parallel to this day. The same principles and teaching structures for the 4 different classes are still in effect and clearly not going away any time soon. We are still teaching less to working class children under the assumption and bias that the "don't care enough to try." 

In the city of Providence, you are not allowed to give students an F or fail them. In high school, teachers are able to give students, that would be considered failing, an incomplete. This gives them the opportunity to make it up, usually with an online course, in the future. In some cases, students are passed along to the next year without the previous year. It helps to decrease the drop out rate of students but it sets some kids up for failure in the end. 

Sex, Gender and Equality in schools

 After completing this weeks assignment, I concluded that all three of the authors/speakers arguments are that gender identity/expression is becoming more prevalent in society and that needs to be reflected in schools as well. 

Olive Earley starts off "Queering Our Schools" by citing the hate crime that occurred in California in 2013. People tend to lash out against things they don't understand and this incident highlights the hate that can occur when people have no education regarding the LGBTQ+ community. The article presents an argument as to why we should have LGBTQ+ incorporated into cirriculum to broaden the minds and understanding of kids to help create an understanding and accepting community in the future. This also provides some comfort for students that come from LGBTQ+ households, that they have some representation in schools. 

I watched the video of the person reading "They, She, He: easy as ABC ". This truly proved the point that Professor Bogad made in class about reading children's books to adults can be so beneficial. When I watched this, I immediately wanted to buy this book to keep in my office. The idea of breaking it down into simple terms works for both young kids and adults. It is cultivating a society that is accepting of all walks of life, starting from such a young age.

Seeing the laws and policies that are in place in Rhode Island shows that states are moving forward in attempting to diversify the school system. This provides legal documentation that the state of Rhode Island is implementing gender-affirming care in schools and allows students to be true to who they are. 

 Teach Out Proposal

The biggest thing that has stuck with me throughout this course has been the S.C.W.A.A.M.P model. It's intended use it to model the things that are perceived to be valued in our society. I want to teach this to others in a way that showcases differences between others who do not fit into these categories. I want to make a children's book with a S.C.W.A.A.M.P monster. I want to show how kids are scared of the S.C.W.A.A.M.P monster when they don't feel that they fit in to these categories. I want to then be able to show the children that the adults can also be scared of the S.C.W.A.A.M.P monster. In the end, the kids and the adults use their differences to show the S.C.W.A.A.M.P monster how much stronger they are together, differences and all to "defeat" the monster. I want to highlight that the parts of us that are different and don't fit into the "social norms" and "perceived values" are what make us all unique and amazing in our own ways. I also want to add in parts of Alan Johnson's privilege, power, and difference here and incorporate the idea of speaking the words that make us uncomfortable or talking about topics that are difficult to talk about.

Privilege Power and Difference

     The author, Alan Johnson, argues that we as a society are our own downfall when it comes to discussing, educating or dealing with any sort of difference between human beings. 

    In the introduction and first chapter of his book, he highlights a common denominator in the struggle to address most social issues, is that people are scared to talk about it. Words like "racism", "privilege", "sexism", "agism" etc., have such a negative connotation to them, that when people use them, it is almost like the conversation then takes on a heavier/darker tone. But why?

    He emphasizes that, as a white person himself, he feels like it is taboo for him to talk about and discuss the topic of racism because he is white. It is like he, as well as other "white people" are conditioned that because of their skin color and the privilege it gives them, that they are not able to discuss such things because they do not truly understand what it is like to face racism. Which is true in a sense, that white people do not understand what it feels like to be discriminated against or judged based only on the color of their skin. However, as a woman of white descent myself, I feel that it is a collective duty to use the privilege that we do have, to use to shine a light on the injustices that others face, that don't have enough representation or a voice due to their "differences". This then creates a world that tells people, if it doesn't affect you then don't talk about it. 

    Johnson dives more into this topic in chapter two. He states, "we cannot talk about it if we cannot use the words." This statement stands out to me in a big way. People tend to think, if they don't talk about something, then it doesn't exist. But we all know that is not how things work. By staying quiet and not discussing such big issues in society makes us less than. It makes our world a harsher place to live in. How are we supposed to move forward and grow as a society if we can't use basic words? If we can't talk about major issues? If we can't verbalize the problem? We need to stop being so afraid of addressing these issues.

    Chapter 3 discusses the way privilege affects people in everyday life. Reading the examples he list was eyeopening. For me personally, when I think of privilege, I immediately think of race and I see the privilege I do have being white, but I forget that there are so many other ways that I am privileged and don't even realize it. I think this also goes into the point that I don't see some of these privileges because they are not talked about as much. We need to talk, we need to educate, we need to argue and discuss hard topics because they will not go away. They are at the core of our society as a whole. We cannot sweep things under the rug because they don't affect us. 

Introducing: Me

 Hello! My name is Victoria Silva, but everyone calls me Tori. I am a high school nurse in Providence, RI. I love to read romance novels and watch Hallmark Christmas movies all year long. I am a big homebody and spend most of my time, when I am not working, with my family. I am taking this course to receive my School Nurse Teacher certificate.