As most of you know I am a mommy of both a second grader little girl, and a kindergarten little boy. Both of my children stay pretty active in sports and among the community sports complex, I had seen a family who I noticed were all little people, at least from what I noticed. I didn't know the family but at the start of the school year, I saw the family at my daughter's second grade orientation. Then, once we were directed down to my daughter's classroom, I did see the mother and father, but I didn't see a little person as one of her peers. Due to my schedule being the same as my kids this year, it never really came up again. Then, this winter, my daughter was asked to play on an indoor soccer team with a few girls from our community. My daughter was very excited because one of the girls from her class was also on her team. "Mom, *** is a wonderful, caring little girl! (yes, my second grade daughter is saying this...) Her mom is SO nice! I know you will like her. Her dad is really nice too! He comes in to help with things at school sometimes. They are just a really nice family! I can't wait for you to meet them!"
Wow! This family made quite an impression on my little girl, and I too was excited to meet such a wonderful family! My daughter's soccer team had their first game, and the very first thing she did was introduce me to *** and her family, and she was right! What a great family! However, though it was the first time I had talked to this family, it was not the first time I saw them; they were the family I had seen around the community who were the little people! I have to admit that I immediately wondered how my daughter had explained this family to me in so many ways BUT had never ever mentioned that they were different in terms of being little people. I had no idea because *** is a normal sized second grade little girl, and her older sisters and her younger brother were all little people. Her mother is not classified as a little person, but she is fairly short. Then, I know ***'s sisters had played soccer because I saw them down at the sports complex. I immediately started to think about *** and how she may feel as the tallest person in her family, though she was the second youngest. I started to think about sports and how the other siblings did as they played. I started to wonder how *** feels when she notices everyone staring at her family, but then as a parent, I wondered how the parents felt about this as well. All of the children go to the same school, and I have wondered what accommodations, if any, have been made for this family. One of the children will be going into the junior high school; are they prepared to deal with a little person among their school community? I have started to think about bullying and the awareness among the schools to ensure each child is not being bullied and each child has an equal opportunity as any other child. Is society really providing equal opportunities for all families? Do our schools provide equal opportunities for EVERY child? I do believe our children are being taught the basics on treating other children nicely, regardless of any differences, but our society as a whole...are they ready to treat others equal? As a future teacher, maybe even for this community (finger's crossed), what can I do to make a difference? Will my efforts be helpful or will my efforts draw more attention to a difference that the family may be trying to deal with without the extra attention? What are your thoughts?
-Monica
Monica,
ReplyDeleteThis is very good. I always like to see students using their own experiences to spur the inquiry process. It's one thing to read about disabilities and special accommodations and imagine how we would deal with these things, but it always adds depth to the discussion when you can draw on personal experiences. It's certainly tough to say whether the focus on these individuals will be helpful or whether it will draw unwanted attention to the disability. Maybe you can find some information that addresses this.
As you continue with the blog, you might choose to focus your inquiry on specific disabilities, or perhaps specific areas of accommodation (e.g. equal opportunities for extra-curricular activities). Whatever you choose, keep up the good work.
Gabe
Monica,
ReplyDeleteYou have some very interesting questions and I am excited to read your blog as you work through some of them. I found these particular questions, "Do our schools provide equal opportunities for EVERY child?" and "Will my efforts be helpful or will my efforts draw more attention to a difference that the family may be trying to deal with without the extra attention?" to be the ones that I would really like to know the answer to. Did you think about interviewing the family for our interviewing assignment? Or contacting them to get some of their input? I would love to know what they think about those questions.
Fantastic start!!
~Kristen