February 28, 2011

She is Just Like Everyone Else

I was talking with someone about a student. She commented about how great it is that this student is like everyone else, fully integrated. She spoke about how you could hardly tell that she has a disability or a hearing loss.

I smiled and thought to myself, "Yes, it is nice, but she is also not like everyone else in a lot of ways. She will always be deaf. Instead of only focusing on assimilation, it would be better if we could also encourage her to accept herself for who she really is and take pride in it."

(e

2 comments:

  1. I am reading a great book by Ramsey -Deaf Children in Public Schools that talks about this very issue! Too often, mainstream teachers think, "this student is in the gen ed setting, there is nothing wrong with them!" when in reality that student still needs many accommodations. These are the teachers I have the most trouble with if a student ever does get something wrong. :/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Reminds me of AGBell's quote ...something about make sure everyone , including the deaf person himself, forget they are deaf. I think I rather if people appreciate my uniqueness that mold me who I am today.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it civil.