"Ableism" 4-1-12

I had not heard of the term ‘ableism’ before, and it reminds me of ‘white privilege’ in a way.   The way the  ‘abled’ help the ‘disabled’ is by making them more like themselves.  Hehir quotes in his article that “cultural prejudices against disability… endure from an early age- that disability was negative and tragic and that ‘overcoming’ disability was the only valued result” (p. 13).  So overcoming means conforming:  Is that what we also heard in “The Model Minority” and “Children of Immigration” where assimilation to the new culture means a greater chance of being accepted or at least wanting to fit in? 

Hehir’s examples and reasoning convince me that an integrated classroom of abled and disabled students, where the materials for the disabled enable access to the curriculum, allow disabled students to receive a better education, in higher achieving classrooms, than they might otherwise be able.  I also believe that abled students become more empathetic, understanding, and caring students when placed in mixed classrooms, for the same reasons that students in ethnically diverse classes are more understanding of cultural issues than students who are in classrooms of homogeneous races.

Without sounding pessimistic or overly critical, I want to mention that getting to the point of providing the services and care needed for disabled students is complex and costly.  Yes, there is always the cost.  There are so many state- or federally-mandated costs that are only partially funded (sometimes not at all) and schools need to cover the rest on their own.  Realistically, providing in-school and in-class services to the single deaf or blind student within a school may also prove prohibitive in terms of budgetary issues.  And if there were more students in need of the same services, would more personnel or services be necessary if these students are in different grades or academic levels?  Cost aside, just thinking of students with learning ‘disabilities’ like ADHD, dyslexia, communication disorders, autism, etc., of which there are many in schools – these students do not get fully served academically, because in an integrated classroom there is much more going on than teaching and learning:  student dynamics, classroom management, daily interruptions, modifications of lessons, monitoring of progress.  Some of these students often have other problems in addition to a LD that affect their learning.   These students need to be better served, as do many ‘abled’ students who are not diagnosed but are lagging academically.  I believe it can be done, but smaller classrooms are a must, and, as Hehir states, the students must be able to access challenging academic materials, not be given a poor substitute which does not make him independent or teach him a skill (ie. They should not be ‘read to’ if they can’t read (p.19), or told that it is okay to just understand some of what the teacher is saying (p.17)).

In my school, students with LDs should be staying at school for extra help but we can't require it, so it happens only rarely, and then in class this creates the dilemma of moving forward with teaching or reviewing.  I often reteach and review material, with the result that less material gets covered over a term.  Some students refuse help in organization or academics and do not do homework (or classwork sometimes).   I realize for many this behavior is a defense they have formed for continued past failure.   It takes time to change this behavior, but, unfortunately, too many students drop out before we can help them turn it around. 

Lastly, Hehir brings up high school diplomas on page 28.   I believe that a high school diploma should signify academic accomplishment.  If a student has not mastered a certain level of academic knowledge, then a certificate of completion should be awarded.  However, if students with LDs are placed in lower level classes, they are less likely to progress through the required course curriculum and will need to remain in school longer.  This is discouraging and leads to dropping out in many cases.   Additionally, the looming MCAS – which is a graduation requirement – often intimidates students who are at lower achieving levels and leads to their dropping out of school.  Worse yet, schools who have students who they believe may not pass the MCAS will encourage them to sign-out or go to another school (hence, why some schools’ drop-out rates are lower and ours is significantly higher).  

Lastly, lastly…really.  I often think we enable students.  Yes, as teachers we have the responsibility for assessing and helping them in their social, academic, and emotional well-being.  If their failure is our fault, as we’ve been told, they hold no stake in their own future.  Students want to ‘do well and ‘get a good grade’, but they don’t take responsibility for their part and they don’t always connect doing well and good grades with learning.  Just showing up is the extent of some students’ effort – and thought to be sufficient for passing.    We need to, as teachers, also let students know they have responsibilities as students, and that it is hard work, and their future is worth it.