The other day I had a parent writing me about her daughter going to a Special needs school, and how this little girl hated it so much. And so she was asking for my opinion in the matter.
It left me thinking about what would have happened to me if my mom decided to send me to a school that was "right" for me and my diff-ability?I Probably would have never learned how to use scissors, or how to figure out how to put my backpack on my back all by myself, but those are the less important things that I would have missed. In my point of view school is not there just to teach us Math, Language or Physics, School is there to teach us a sense of community, how to accept each others differences and to communicate them.
I was a different girl in a sea of kids running, jumping and staring at me. I had to learn how to advocate for myself. The first few weeks probably were hard - not that I remember- but then I was part of that sea of kids trying to figure out how to run and jump with them. I found my way on how to play every game and not be left out. My classmates saw me as no different from them and I think that is why people still see me that way, I learned my social ways in a "normal" social atmosphere, and that still makes a huge difference in my life. And if you ask me, I think I gave my class something different, that probably other schools with no "special" needs students miss out on. I think my classmates learned that world is full different people and is fine to be part of their life. They also learned how to be involved with things that are not part of them and to be attentive when someone needs help. In school I learned how to write, how to make friends and how to live...
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