Hi everyone!
I’d like to take a moment in this blog and bring us back to my first week of tutoring at the elementary school in Providence. Even before I entered my kindergarten classroom, I was given a brief background on what kind of students I would be tutoring and what to expect as far as the whole experience. After hearing about my students, one in particular stood out to me. She was originally from Burma and her family had recently moved here in order to escape the harsh conditions they were faced with daily. From these conditions, the entire family had contracted lice and was forced to shave their heads. This little girl, let’s call her Isabel, now wears a colorful hat to hide her shaven head. I was told that the entire classroom was told to never discuss or even look at her hat because she gets embarrassed very easily (as I think anyone would). However, just recently, after months of wearing these hats, Isabel finally came to school without one. Her beautiful black hair, curled at the ends, was there for everyone to see. I think Isabel found her confidence that day when she realized no one was commenting on it or even acknowledging that she was not wearing her hat.
Connecting this experience with a theorist was kind of tricky. However, I realized that I could relate this incident to Kliewer (although not specifically to children with Down Syndrome). I looked at the case with Isabel and her option of wearing her hat or taking it off with how Kliewer described different accounts of how students were treating because of their Down syndrome in the education system. These students were segregated from certain educational opportunities when their non-disabled peers were not. If Isabel were kept in a confined space, because of her lice, how much attention would she receive? Her peers would be given the chance to learn and play without Isabel, therefore, not allowing Isabel the same chance as the other students.
To further explain my reason for relating this to Kliewer, I take this example because I am also at fault. The moment one thinks of a person having lice, they might automatically think of someone who is dirty and never washes their hair. However, this is not always the case. With Isabel and her family, there was no other opportunity to bypass the chance of contracting this insect. As Jason Kingsley discusses in Kliewer’s article, “How do we erase those negative attitudes in light of the fact that people without disabilities are judging us?” (p.71, Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome). Isabel, at first, considered her hat as a disability. However, when her she saw that her peers were not judging her based on her lack of hair, she accepted how she looked and continued with her work. If we, as a community, accept who people are in their own skin, then we can all work together to progress. As Judith Snow explains in Kliewer’s article, “Community requires a willingness to see people as they are – different perhaps in their minds and in their bodies, but not different in their spirits or in their willingness and ability to contribute to the mosaic of society” (p.73 – Citizenship in School).
If this was my classroom, I would have done exactly was Mrs. E did for Isabel. She made sure there was no discussion about Isabel’s hair because no one has any business in judging her. Children at this age usually do not see the impact words might have on other people so by eliminating the discussion, no one will have any reason to hurt her feelings.
Until next time! Thanks for reading!
2 comments:
This was a very interesting post. I have never heard of something like this. I know that there are teachers out there that would not even care about Isabel's condition enough to make sure that every child did not comment on her appearance. Like we talked about a lot in class, if a teacher lets something go, the children will think its okay. We talked about about this when we read Carlson's article on "Gayness". If a child calls someone gay, to mean something negative and the teacher does not acknowledge it, that child will live their life thinking its ok to call someone gay to mean something negative.
The same thing applies here. If this was not corrected at the beginning of the year, as your teacher did, things would be different. By little Isabel being able to wear that hat to Kindergarten, the other kids would know something was different about her, and they would make comments.
Like Dr. August and past instructors of mine have told me before, you must correct something before it happens!!
Hi Liana,
Isabel's story is beautifully and sensitively rendered. You have quoted one of my favorite passages from Kliewer--I love his metaphor of the "mosaic of society."
Mrs. E. created an open and welcoming environment for Isabel by preventing the children to talk or gawk. She knew that Isabel did not want to field questions about it. Sometimes, however, a frank discussion can promote understanding. Teachers have to know their students to make that call.
Keep me posted,
Dr. August
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