Kliewer

Quotes

Reading this article it did take a bit of time because of how dense the information was. I had to reread it a couple of times to actually get the material. I did get lost a lot when it came to the stories that were being told, it just got really jumpy for me. What I got from the article was students with disabilities are being looked down upon because people automatically assume that they are not able to do tasks compared to other students.

"Mendocino is what ]ohn needed-it's what he never had in North Hollywood, what he calls a "safe space." Like a lot of people in Mendocino,he's accepted for what he is, not what he isn't. He can concentrate on what he can do, instead of being shown or being told what he can't do."
Reading this quote, the first thing that popped out to me was August, Safe Spaces. Safe spaces should be created for everyone in a community. For the LGBT community, race, religion, disability ext everyone should be able to feel safe especially in a learning environment. "Classrooms lay the foundations for an inclusive and safe society: a just community where common interest and individual differences coexist." Safe Space 83. In the classroom, this is where students spend most of their time and hear valuable lessons can be learned not only academically but also about life. How our differences do not define us but shape us into something special and unique.

"So what, if you don't fit exactly where you're supposed to? You know, it's not like I fit many people's ideas of what teacher's are supposed to be like."
This reminded me of SWAAMP because they are the categories that define people as privileged. But either way, we are our own person and should not be labeled because of how we look, race, socioeconomics, and disabilities. What I got from this quote was that to embrace that we are different in every way. Do not let those labels define you.

Personal thought: When I was in high school I was in a program to get my teacher assistant certification. While in this program, we went on a trip to a school called the Meeting Street school. In this school, there were classrooms that were inclusive and noninclusive. I went to observe the inclusive classroom that had students with and without disabilities. While in this classroom, I saw that there were a lot of resources around, there were multiple teachers, a lot of materials like blocks and manipulatives for students that had ADHD and every student had a different schedule. Some students would go meet with speech coaches, rehabilitation coaches and would go to play rooms to release some energy. While I was walking around there was something that caught my eye the most, there was a pool in the school.  I wondered why there was a pool in the school so I asked our tour guide about it and he said it was for students who needed physical rehabilitation. I was amazed by how many resources there were in this school and how the students were with their peers as well. They never excluded students with disabilities in the classroom, they did everything like a community. It was a good experience for me to be able to experience something like this.

I am posting up this video, it talks about a student named Thasya Lumingkewas who is 8 years old and she has autism. In this video, it shows how she is becoming social and is now able to interact with students with the help of teachers and technology. This video touched my heart. The video is the third one down, it would not let me link the single video. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoy.

Video