Covering disabilities in Health class?

[jillio]

Ok, I think we got off track. I apologize.

It was not clear to me what the intent of some posts were, so I will ask, if you wish to discuss... please be clear on your intentions!

Emotive statements may be good for you, but they are not informative to others.

I don't think we have discovered anything yet that was not already known, I would like to continue this.

Emotive statements are quite often informative to others, as they are demonstrative of the emotional and psychosocial impact that certain practices have.

 

[jenni-m]

Emotive statements are quite often informative to others, as they are demonstrative of the emotional and psychosocial impact that certain practices have.

Yes, but there is a difference between "This makes me feel bad!" and "This makes me feel bad, because:", you see.

One is informative of feeling bad, yes. The other shows the reasoning.
Without reasoning, one has to assume, or read implication, which may end up being incorrect (as I think I demonstrated in my posting, quite well... I am sorry)

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Indeed. I have always dreaded being set as an example that all deaf should follow. Not everyone has my talents or my speech and it's unrealistic to expect other deaf to follow in my footsteps.

I wonder if that was what happened to Oceanbreeze? If so, well no wonder.

You nailed it. When I first was mainstreamed I was the only kid in the school with a disability. Experiencing that was a nightmare. So much so, that my parents forced the issue and I was placed back in my original school with other kids with disablities, but I was fully mainstreamed. That led to being set apart and being placed on a pedestal, and held to standards I couldn't meet.

I ended up being hated by everybody.

I don't mean to come off sounding bitter. I'm not bitter. However, I am very angry that it happened to me, and angrier still that it's still happening to other kids twenty something years later.

 

[jillio]

Yes, but there is a difference between "This makes me feel bad!" and "This makes me feel bad, because:", you see.

One is informative of feeling bad, yes. The other shows the reasoning.
Without reasoning, one has to assume, or read implication, which may end up being incorrect (as I think I demonstrated in my posting, quite well... I am sorry)

The "because" was implied based on the context of the discussion. And, lol at the last statement. No need to apologize.

 

[jenni-m]

The "because" was implied based on the context of the discussion. And, lol at the last statement. No need to apologize.

I hate to go on, but I followed the context differently, due to the 'progression' of the thread. I had thought it was already pretty clear that using a student as an example was 'out', THEN the other posts came, which led me to assume that it was related to something else, since the one concept had already been covered, and one post in question was in response to something entirely different.

 

[jillio]

I hate to go on, but I followed the context differently, due to the 'progression' of the thread. I had thought it was already pretty clear that using a student as an example was 'out', THEN the other posts came, which led me to assume that it was related to something else, since the one concept had already been covered, and one post in question was in response to something entirely different.

Understood.

 

[deafskeptic]

You nailed it. When I first was mainstreamed I was the only kid in the school with a disability. Experiencing that was a nightmare. So much so, that my parents forced the issue and I was placed back in my original school with other kids with disablities, but I was fully mainstreamed. That led to being set apart and being placed on a pedestal, and held to standards I couldn't meet.

I ended up being hated by everybody.

I don't mean to come off sounding bitter. I'm not bitter. However, I am very angry that it happened to me, and angrier still that it's still happening to other kids twenty something years later.

I'm also quite angry at what I went through in mainstream and I ended up feeling like the family villain because I couldn't meet the standards that was set for me. I'm not a bitter person by nature though. I certainly can relate to that though I don't know what it's like to be in a wheel chair

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I'm also quite angry at what I went through in mainstream and I ended up feeling like the family villain because I couldn't meet the standards that was set for me. I'm not a bitter person by nature though. I certainly can relate to that though I don't know what it's like to be in a wheel chair

And, I don't know what it's like to be deaf. I'll admit that, but I do know what it's like to try to survive in the mainstream and "get by", but not thrive.

 

[jenni-m]

I think I lucked out in 'mainstream' in that I was not aware of a lot... I knew some of what went on, I know I was made fun of at times, and I also had a hard time dealing with classes, the way they were run... but I am glad I went through it, yes it can and should be better but at the same time it gave me 'real world' experience which I think was the point in the first place.

Yes, I still attended some special classes, had an assistant, and a private tutor, and I think all that made some other kids jealous even. But well, I am not made of glass... I can see enough to read and write, had my assistant to interpret for me when needed and take notes, and in theory, that is really all one should need in order to attend a 'normal' school, in my opinion.

 

[Interpretrator]

When I was interpreting, this sort of came up not in a health class, but in an interpersonal communication class. The student had to do a presentation, and afterwards the Q&A was all questions about being deaf. The teacher was uncomfortable and tried to stop it but the student was fine with it, and answered everyone's questions.

I later thought that it was the perfect type of class for these discussions because it isn't about health, it is about communication. The average person is awkward and uncomfortable around blind people, people in wheelchairs, etc. Teaching them about causes of blindness isn't going to help too much but teaching them how to communicate with a blind person will. And this is especially true with deafness, where the language barrier certainly requires some navigating of interpersonal communication.

 

[jenni-m]

When I was interpreting, this sort of came up not in a health class, but in an interpersonal communication class. The student had to do a presentation, and afterwards the Q&A was all questions about being deaf. The teacher was uncomfortable and tried to stop it but the student was fine with it, and answered everyone's questions.

I later thought that it was the perfect type of class for these discussions because it isn't about health, it is about communication. The average person is awkward and uncomfortable around blind people, people in wheelchairs, etc. Teaching them about causes of blindness isn't going to help too much but teaching them how to communicate with a blind person will. And this is especially true with deafness, where the language barrier certainly requires some navigating of interpersonal communication.

A VERY good point, thank you for posting it. This is a very helpful insight.