Class Overview

 The parts of this class that stuck with me the most was Rodriguez's Aria, Hehir's Ablism, and the open forum roleplay for Wind-Wolf. 

Rodriguez's Aria stuck with me because of my service learning experience. I was witnessing students before my eyes "losing out" on instruction because it was taught in English and they only understand Spanish. I watched students get pulled out of class other times during instructional time for what I assume was enrichment...Language barriers are something I never realized the severity of in schools.

Hehir's ableism was interesting to me. I like how it was broken down into different groups. You really don't know what something is like till you hear it from the person it effects. Hehir demasks that. 

The open forum roleplay on Wind-Wolf was interesting. You realized as the others were acting, just how involved/passionate you can get about a situation when it is YOU it effects. 

Woke Read Aloud Argument

 A. Hey all, I'll be doing an "argument" analysis from woke read aloud video...the reading wasn't working for me. 

B. To start, boy was that video interesting. I was surprised to see the channel titled woke kindergarten. All things considered, "woke" does not have the best societal connotation...even though it is nothing bad, but to say the least, I'm not surprised the comments were turned off. Smart of the creator.

Personally, I liked the overall message, teaching kids about pronouns, making mistakes, and respecting others. It goes about it in a diverse and informative way. Honestly, I wish kids learned about the concept of pronouns much sooner in life.

Having an understanding from a younger age that just because someone looks like a girl doesn't mean they use she/her is a message I believe kids can handle. I wish I had understood that concept sooo much sooner. It would have helped ten fold in the understanding of my own identity. However, I think learning about what that means in regards to a persons identity should come a little later when they can really grasp that. Fundamentals should be taught younger, and the deeper meanings taught as kids get older and mature...as any topic of this nature should be.

(somebody tell that to the 10,000 year old congressmen)

This is coming from the mouth of a trans guy who grew up in an ultra conservative, catholic household. I don't believe learning what transgender means early on would have been beneficial for me (and that is entirely just my personal experience). I think I would have grown up with a lot of misconceptions surrounding genderfluid identities. However, I don't think that LGBT conversations about identity should be hidden as much as they are. I can honestly and unfortunately say I was extremely intolerant in middle school because of this...and look at me now...pretty much the exact opposite of who I used to be in views AND identity.

It's sad that gender identity has become so polarizing. I worry about my future and the future of others in the community everyday, but unfortunately in the world we live in, there is no "easy" answer when we live in a society so extremely against accepting change. 

C. What do you think could be done to properly start the conversation? 

(Broad I know, but frankly there really is no other way to start this dialogue)

I'm attaching RI's "statement/guide" on transgender and gender non conforming students

RI Guidelines

Hehir Quotes

A. Hello class, today I'm doing a quotes analysis on Hehir. 

B. The first quote I'd like to put out there is the main one we discussed the meaning of during class...“Disability is not a tragedy, (however) society’s response to disability can have tragic consequences for people who have disabilities.”...I was really glad we discussed this because it could mean so many things. To me, this is remarking on the unfortunate reality on how society views disability as one of two extremes; either something that makes someone completely incapable, or something "fake" that a person uses as an excuse to be difficult/lazy. 

The second quote I'd like to remark on is "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”. I wanted to remark on this because it is so true. If society listened and adhered to the accommodations and needs of disabled individuals, it could very well be less stigmatized as a tragedy. By normalizing disability, it becomes "less sad/tragic". 

The final quote I'd like to remark on is “Studies of deaf children whose parents are deaf are revealing. These children start school with vocabularies comparable to their hearing peers and have higher levels of educational and occupational success”. I find this important. It really shows and sticks a hand in the idea that disability is not always a disadvantage. Students who are disabled may not be "behind" but rather just need assistance to keep them moving forward.

C. One question I'd like to leave with the class is whether they have experiences surrounding disability and the themes suggested that could shed light into societies need for change? The article I'm including remarks on the overwhelming need of society to work to destigmatize disability. 

Destigmatizing Disability Article