EDL 7030

I agree that disabled can be explained and understood in many ways, but the entire time I was reading Erevelles' essay, I could not help but to think of John Lennon's song "Crippled Inside" from the 1971 Imagine album. I suppose to a point that we are all crippled inside, perhaps some of us more than others, but as the song says "you just can't hide when you're cripled inside." I also make a refernce to Johnny's post about Brown vs. Board of Education. Clearly anyone who lets prejudice guide his or her life is crippled and deformed. In no way am I trying to take away from those who are mentally and physically handicapped. I think my point is this: we all have areas in our lives we need to work on.

I am glad that Diane reminded me of the observation made by Erevelles concerning African-Americans. I too had made a note about his description of African-Americans. Any time we start stereotyping any group of people, we will have misunderstandings, miscommunications, and malignant musings. It is so easy for any group of people to think that their observations and ways of looking at the world are correct. While I am not qualified to speak too authoritatively about the id and super ego, I think that Diane is correct in her observations about western European society. To some extent, Europeans and Americans still have a colonial mentality in that the rest of the world is somehow not as important or dignified or capable of making their own cultural and moral decisions. One only has to read history to see that this is certainly not the case.

Joel

Wow. It is so interesting for me to see "things from the other side" so to speak. As a kid in public schools, I always wanted to be "normal." In many aspects I was, but when it came to sports, I was always the last to be chosen and no one wanted me on his or her team. I understood why at the time, but still it hurt. Still, I am glad that my mother did not try to shelter me. From a very young age, she made it clear that I did have a disability, but still I was strong in other areas. She encouraged me and explained to me all about my medical condition.

One school memory really stands out in my mind. In the eighth grade we were practicing basketball skills. Of course I was not good, but I could hit some shots occasionally. Well I missed an important one and some of the guys in the class booed me. The coach, who also taught history, said something like well the next time some of you fail another test, I am going to let Joel stand up and boo you. I don't know if his comment made any difference as to how those other students saw me, but I do know that it solidified in my mind that I did have skills others did not possess.

So in some strange way, I have mixed feelings about curricula that perhaps does not allow for students to overcome their own challenges. I know that I am not expressing this idea clearly, but I want students to become strong in their own ways. By not over protecting me, my mother made me grow strong and figure things out for myself. I am not saying that disability studies should be neglected, but I think an overriding factor in this field shoud be that individual strengths should be recognized, applauded, and encouraged.

Joel

This week I am reminded of how selfishly normal my educational experience has been. I was never at the top or bottom rung...just middle of the road enough to have every choice and access to whatever experience I wanted to pursue. Somehow, though, students just like me (just like us) are cheated. We are excluded from experiencing the joy of watching special needs kids achieve and overcome and we are lulled into believing that our circles are somehow complete when really they are broken and self-centered. The truth is, disability scares me a little and breaks my heart a lot. I don't always know what to say and what to expect because I've been so excluded from living real life, side by side, with people persevering and overcoming challenges I wouldn't have the strength to endure for a day.

I've been challenged a lot in these past weeks. Challenged to add the stories of the marginalized, the faces of the minority, and the heart of the disabled to my pedagogy - not just in the classroom but in my daily life.

It happened 53 years ago, when the parents of a little, black girl in Topeka, Kansas decided that they wanted their daughter to attend a predominately, white neighborhood school. Even though Brown, a black - third grader, lived only seven blocks away from a white elementary school, she was unable to attend. Instead, she had to walk one mile away from her home, in order to attend her predominately black school.

Outraged and rightfully so, Linda’s father, Oliver Brown, attempted to enroll his daughter in the mostly white school; however, due to the color of her skin, she was still not admitted. Oliver immediately turned to Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP for legal assistance. Marshall, a black attorney, had taken on the government before, but not in this magnitude. With the NAACP on his side and with the support of 12 other parents who wanted their children to attend the mostly white school, Marshall filed a class action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

Needless to say, on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Marshall, citing that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional. This ruling, not only opened the door of education for a little girl in Topeka, Kansas, but it put a wedge in the door for women, the differently-able, as well as other minorities. Furthermore, this piece of legislation set the stage for integrating minorities into main stream educational institutions everywhere.

The mention of the Brown v. Board of Education case serves as critical backdrop when discussing the parallelism between being culturally defined as “Black”, in the mid 1950s, and one who is considered “disabled” in today’s society. Borrowing from (Evevelles 2005) article, “Understanding curriculum as normalizing text: disability studies meet curriculum theory”, my attempt in the reflection is to wield the giant spotlight of attention to issues of exclusion and invisibility surrounding the untold and overtly neglected story of disabled studies in curriculum. It appears that the spotlight has not been shown upon disabled citizens. Moreover, these individuals and their issues are often lost in the shadows of the spotlight. Even worse, if not intentionally, mainstream society has left this minority group out of its’ literature, Block- buster movies, television commercials, and most hurtful, out of its’ view.

As an African American male, I often hear my white friends say to me, “Johnny, when I look at you, I do not see color.” I know what they are saying, however, I know that this statement is not completely true; neither do I want it to be. This kind of “not seeing” is what prevents individuals from asking deeper questions and seeking understanding about that in which they do not know. Castenell and Pinar (1993:4) contend that ‘we are what we know. We are, however, what we do not know.’ For this reason, I believe society chooses not to acknowledge these differences, mainly out of fear. Also, it is a suspicion of mine and according to (Murphy 1987) “the able- bodied community, when looking at the differently-able community is reminded of the suffering and inequities and that they live in a counterfeit paradise. They, too, are vulnerable.”

Instead, of embracing those inherent differences, many have chosen the route of invisibility or this act of “non seeing”. However, just as my friends can’t help but to see my black skin and become aware of the different narrative it tells, so must able-bodied society also acknowledge and seek to understand the differently-able. This business of omission and exclusion of the disabled population must cease. The differently able can’t be put into a category or social division that keeps them from participating as value, contributing citizens of society. Gone, and rightfully so, are the days and attitudes of disabled citizens when they(disabled citizens) would take the governmental aids such as social services, social security, and welfare payments in exchange for a “bribe of silence.”

In closing, just as Linda Brown’s parents did in a battle for equality and justice, so likewise researchers, leaders, and classroom facilitators must give a voice of justice to the physically, mentally, and emotionally oppressed, which are deemed as differently able or in today’s vernacular “at risk”. Moreover, educators must explore alternative ways to support and value differently able citizens. As a Critical Theorist, I am advocating for a curriculum that embraces“pedagogy of discomfort” and that will foster hope and support for the marginalized, while in turn, encourages understanding and consideration from those in dominant roles. Only then, will our society see the disabled as social worthy citizens.

Johnny Smith
Cohort 16

Erevelles points out that "disabled children and adults continue to be segregated in the school, workplace, and community. This physical absence from non-segregated social settings further exacerbates their experience of invisibility" (p.429.)

While I understand that segregation for educational purposes (ie. learning Braille or Sign language) is sometimes necessary, it is true that because of this separation, many children rarely, if ever, interact with a person with a (severe) disability. If children began interacting with people of all abilities at an early age, would it increase their comfort level as adults?

I once worked as a teacher at a small, highly-rated day care. Children who were at-risk or had special needs were given priority admission status, and were incorporated into the classroom seamlessly. We had one child with severe physical and mental disabilities who was nonverbal and had to be strapped into a specially-designed chair when he was not being held. He required lots of therapy, but the therapists came into the classroom among the other children to work with him. His classmates, all one to three years old, were great with him, playing, holding conversations, and hugging him all the time. To them, he was no different than any of the other children. It was wonderful to watch! I can only hope that these children will keep their minds open and will continue to treat others equally. Unfortuntately, I'm afraid that most prejudice and fear is learned through interactions with a prejudiced and fearful society. Maybe these kids are the start of a new understanding that could be reinforced with a curriculum that is more inclusive of the stories of people with all abilities. How can today's educational system support the continuation of this process of "integration" and acceptance, so that everyone is visible who chooses to be?

marisa

Yes... I agree with you Melanie that taking art, music, etc. out does a disservice to many. Not only to students with physical and mental disabilities, but also to students whos gifts lie somewhere outside of academia. How shallow our lives would be if we were only enriched by those things academic or knowledge oriented. If we look around our houses, structures inside and outside of buildings... building themselves... we will find the value and beauty of those things created by people with these true talents.

As far as curriculum goes... paying attention to how we assess students is crucial but also how we assess and value what they do on a day to day basis within the classroom. If a student produces a product that is outside the "norm" or looks different, is that not ok? Does that mean they are not learning? For me, it goes back to what we have grown accustomed to and what we are comfortable with. If we could just break out of the chains that bind us...

Kim

I agree with you Marisa. I see the word "disabled" in several different ways. One, defines perhaps a physical or mental ailment that must be addressed in order to help a student progress. I do not take these limitations lightly. They can at times be profound, and they deserve our respect and attention to how to help the individual.

I also think we are all in a way disabled in our thinking. Maybe that is how I should have put it. We are at times, unable to find ways or go beyond our comfort zones in order to help others. We have our own barriers and I think this disables us in a way.

Kim

When talking about people with disabilities, I wonder who we are really talking about. I realize it is easy for us to view people who "look" different as the ones that have varied disabilities. I also know that there are students who have disabilities in regards to how they learn. But I question the whole idea of disability. For those of us in the "norm", are we really all put together in a neat little package with no issues on our plates? I contend the answer to that is NO. Maybe... we are disabled in a way as well. Maybe not physically, but perhaps we have a disability in how to accomodate what these students need. Maybe we are disabled by our fear of not truly understanding what these students need and how to help them in a way they need. What if we realized that we are disabled because we have a hard time getting past the outside "package" of a student that we look at everyday.

Would it be possible for us to take a good, hard look at ourselves and admit that when working with disabled students, we could be just as disabled as they are???

Kim

As a counselor, I feel I should chat a bit about the Freudian comparison of the id to the super ego when Erevelles refers to it in his article. I do think he's stretching the concept a bit. In his reference to the African-American culture, he signifies it as pleasure-seeking a way of life that must be repressed in order to appear more like the super ego in Euro-American subjects. I'm not sure if I buy into this thinking in so far as I have never thought of African-American being a wild, pleasure-seeking group but then again I have never thought about stereo typing an entire culture or group. With that said, it does not surprise me that researchers find that many Americans do have this prejudicial thinking going on. (Perhaps the entire world may be viewing Euro-Americans this way and thus, the anger. I have never thought about Euro-Americans as being super ego but yes, Through the lens of media, I can see how super egos of the group does feel "entiled" and "with it" socially, mentally, financially, etc. as though their super ego"ness" is right on the mark. (Pretty sad). Can't we all just take the middle ground and be an ego (recognizing that we are not perfect but striving toward perfection).

What do the rest of you think about this comparison: the id and the super ego?