Hehir- Toward Ending Ableism in Education

     Toward Ending Ableism in Education by Patrick Hehir promotes a change in the way educational systems see and assist students with impairments. According to Hehir, ableism, "The prejudice or discrimination against people with disabilities.", is pervasive in educational institutions and frequently restricts students' potential and possibilities. He stresses how crucial it is to value the variety of learning styles and make educational settings more inclusive. According to Hehir, teachers can establish fair learning opportunities that emphasize individuals' strengths rather than their weaknesses by identifying and eliminating ableist behaviors. This will allow every student to succeed academically and socially.

    I can strongly relate my High School experience with Hehir's passage, as the students with disabilities in my high school were placed in classrooms with regular learning plans, catered to students without disability. These classes moved at an average learning pace, and these students were placed into these classrooms to show that they could equally learn the same material. These classrooms had one extra teacher who would help only the students with disabilities specifically. Everyone in the classrooms knew why the teachers were there, and who they were there to help, pointing out these students and showing they were different. The students with disabilities would fall behind as although they had the help, because the learning plans were not catered to them specifically. For example there was one student who struggled to see and was partially blind. Although they were able to have a magnifier to read, It was still hard for them to read and took longer. The student has to put more effort into reading than anyone else who was able to see it normally and read at a normal pace. Finally, towards the end of our high school career the teachers were able to access prints of the readings and work that were about 5x bigger than the normal ones, and the student was able to read at a normal pace with the rest of the class as he did not have to take more time to read. Although this student was able to receive the help they needed, it was too long of a wait, and should have been available to him at a sooner time. The education system needs to be able to provide for the students and push them forward to succeed , not behind.



Comments

  1. Olivia HarrisNovember 4, 2024 at 6:07 AM

    I really like how you included your own experience with seeing how not providing the appropriate accommodations to those with disabilities can do significant harm in the learning experience. It is unfortunate that the student in your class was only given effective accommodations by the end of their high school career.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nicole NunesNovember 10, 2024 at 6:35 PM

    Hi Michelina! I enjoyed reading your reflection this week. I find it very interesting that your experiences with students with disabilities in your classes vary differently from mine. You describe the students being integrated into the class with extra supports, but in my past experiences, students with disabilities have been taken out of the classrooms and alienated from the rest of the student body. It really makes me question where this disconnect is coming from, and why ever school's policies when it comes to students with disabilities differs.

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  3. Olivia TetreaultDecember 10, 2024 at 2:07 PM

    I loved being able to hear about how you connected your own experiences to Hehirs writing :)

    ReplyDelete

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