242 Newsletter - February 7, 2014
I planned to write an article for this week's edition of 242 about teaching self-advocacy at EHS and its lifelong impact on our students.
I planned to write an article for this week's edition of 242 about teaching self-advocacy at EHS and its lifelong impact on our students. A timely email taught me that some things are best conveyed by our students and our alums. There is no level of insight, no measure of eloquence, no moment of clarity I can share this week that would rival the following correspondence.
Below is a recent email sent by one of our alums, Hannah '13, to her college professor in response to a conversation in their classroom about learning (dis)abilities:
"Dear Professor T,
I hope all is well, and wanted to share that I am enjoying the class very much. However, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Today in class our topic turned to learning disabilities. As a student with learning disabilities this is always a hard subject to discuss in a public setting. However, I have come to terms, with God’s help, that I have learning disabilities and that’s okay because that’s how He made me. Talking about this subject in public has become easier, but today’s topic took a different turn. Some of the things that were said regarding student with disabilities, I was offended by.
I hope all is well, and wanted to share that I am enjoying the class very much. However, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Today in class our topic turned to learning disabilities. As a student with learning disabilities this is always a hard subject to discuss in a public setting. However, I have come to terms, with God’s help, that I have learning disabilities and that’s okay because that’s how He made me. Talking about this subject in public has become easier, but today’s topic took a different turn. Some of the things that were said regarding student with disabilities, I was offended by.
Now I am sure that this was not the point of the class discussion, and anything that was said was not meant to offend anyone. Maybe it was just me who took it this way, but I wanted to share my opinion with you. Comments such as “I got a call from the school saying, what is wrong with this child?” are hard for someone with learning disabilities to hear. I am a firm believer that there is nothing wrong with people with learning disabilities and that we just learn differently. I of course do not want to offend either of you, and I think you are both amazing teachers. I just wanted to share my feelings so there were no hard feelings. Thank you for all that you do for the college.
Praying for you,
Hannah"
Praying for you,
Hannah"
Soon after, Hannah received a very thoughtful reply from this professor and their dialogue on this subject is ongoing. To paraphrase her father, who sent the email to us, "I guess during her 5 years at EHS she really was paying attention."
Best,
Chris
Chris