I found Dr. Janet Duncan’s presentation to be very interesting because I never thought about how the rest of the world views disability. In my opinion Canada is still very young in its approach to persons with disabilities, even though their advancements have been positive and powerful. To hear stories about individuals in other countries who are physically harmed because they have a disability is disheartening. How could one person’s life be worth so little?
People with developmental disabilities are regularly dehumanized and devalued.
Thinking about our current school system, the fact that these students with disabilities have to wait (sometimes months) for appropriate supports such as AT
is hard to believe. I think about a particular non-verbal student that was in my school who required an iPad to communicate with others. Our student services department was excellent in outlining what was needed and what would be provided for the student, but by the time it passed through the appropriate channels it was April before the student received the device (meetings started in September). This in my opinion is unacceptable because education should be for everyone. What I thought of was how this student in particular felt segregated from school and how he doesn’t fit school when in fact school doesn’t fit him.
AT is certainly opening many doors for individuals with disabilities, but the public school system itself needs to be on board at the same level as these individual AT programs. We cannot expect AT programming to thrive if at the provincial level it is yet to be recognized with its own department (within inclusive education policies).This itself shows anyone with a disability within NS where they stand (with regards to worth). What needs to happen for this to be recognized? Our school system is evolving and it's time we started to catch up.
Joanne Syms presentation on “Anti-Bullying Approaches for Schools” was most appealing to me as I have a personal interest in safe and inclusive school practices. I liked how Joanne brought forward the point that this is not a new concept but one we can all relate to in our own childhoods as well. What has changed however is that it is a concern that bullying doesn't stop when you leave school but follows you home. It is all about making good decisions and teaching students how to deal with bullying situations as a recipient and as a bully.
Bully is a catch all phrase...pink shirt day wasn't brought on because of a bullying situation but a homophobic issue (students had issue with boy wearing a pink shirt). We need to start calling things for what they are….be specific. When a teacher checks bullying on a discipline form, what does it mean, homophobic, racial or gender associated? Students cannot learn or be taught if the situation is not fully understood and that the specifics of the incident are understood. I never thought about breaking bullying down like this before, but I think it is an extremely important piece. Everyone needs to understand other's differences and not be accepting of them but embrace them because the school community is diverse.
We also need to learn to move away from punishment and move towards the education piece that goes along with “bullying behaviours”. We need to stop pushing kids away (through suspensions) but reconnecting with students through practices like the restorative approach. Through added supports such as guidance we can better dissect the behaviour and better support our students. There is always something that causes the action, it is our job as educators to figure out what led to the unacceptable behaviour and find ways we can improve upon our teaching. This is not easily done and certainly begins with a mindset that values education and sees the flaws in punishment (understanding it is sometimes necessary). This is why I believe in developing a positive school community. Making connections with everyone in the school community such as ALL students, staff and parents is key to promoting a healthy school environment. This a is not something that will happen overnight, but with the right leadership, support and guidance it can happen. Schools should fit all its members socially, emotionally and academically because again education is for everyone.
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