Thoughts About This Week

Tony Ive
September 29, 2008
Matt Wappett
Core 122 (What is Normal Anyway)

Identity is important because as humans, how we view ourselves effects how we interact with our surroundings. As a society we have a tendency to segregate people whether we know it or not. Segregation puts labels on people. It creates self fulfilling prophesies. Look at public education. By creating a class for advanced students those students believe they are advanced. They will strive for things they would not normally. The students who are put in average classes are told just that. They are average. What is there motivation to do any better then the people around them? They will always be average. Even sadder what about the kids who are told they are dumb.

Jonathon Mooney is the exception to the law but his book is filled with stories of smart people who were brought down by the messages they received in schools. Cookie is just one of many examples. He was different than the rest of the students and because of that he was told he was stupid. Although the city has embraced him he continues to live as an outcast. Brent was obsessed with paintball in an attempt to shed the disabled label. The only place students can shed there labels take place outside of the class room. Mooney needed soccer.

The experiences of the two speakers who talked to our class highlight the effects of inclusion and segregation. One of the speakers talked about how he was bullied in school. He was in a special ed program and was constantly harassed by other students. They would call him names, spit on him, and throw things at him. Treatment like this makes individuals feel bad about who they are. The other speaker talked about his transition from special ed to the average classes. He made his first real friends when he entered the normal class. It worked out well for him because he was not told he was stupid. He went on become the school president. The other hated high school.

As a student in high school I witness students being separated for their disabilities all the time. Any time there was a test the students with disabilities were pulled from the class to go take their tests separately. The other students wondered where they went. Why they got special treatment. The response was a subconscious automatic what makes you so special? The students with disabilities were embarrassed and their peers, some consciously, some subconsciously, resented them for what they saw as special treatment.

While most segregation has negative effects there are some good things. The students with disabilities that are not obvious like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD are put in an environment where they will not be embarrassed for their learning differences. They do not have to tell their peers. Teachers can spend more time working with smaller groups of students. Still, the negative consequences outweigh the positive ones. People begin to identify themselves as dumb or smart or whatever their label is and it becomes true. I have been wrestling with how to overcome these problems this whole week.