Chapter Transcript
Chapter 2: Sami's Studies in Special Education
Lisa: You're currently a student, where are you studying and what are you studying?
Sami: I'm a student at Temple University and I'm studying recreational therapy.
Lisa: And when you came into Temple was that your intended major?
Sami: No I actually wanted be... I really wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be a teacher since I could talk probably. Um we always played school when I was little and I'd always be the teacher and teach my sisters.
19:14:03:00 - 19:15:14:15
Lisa: So why aren't you studying education?
Sami: Well when I was in education we had to take, I was education Special-Ed or elementary Ed and Special-Ed and I would just be my Special-Ed classes and they'd always tall about this "normal" and I just never understood what "normal" was because to me no one is normal and uh it just, it just didn't seem like the right fit for me. It just wasn't what I wanted to do. I felt like, they like... not really tried to baby but it was kind of like, oh we have these, you know, Special-Ed kids now so we have to learn this way or that way. It wasn't like trying to teach everyone. It was more of like, I don't know. I just didn't feel like it was the right fit for me. It was more of like, like a pity kind of thing. Like that we have to teach kids with special needs. I don't know. Just didn't fit right.
19:15:15:10 - 19:16:59:10
Lisa: You said you had some issues with this idea of making things normal for kids with disabilities. Can you tell me a little more about that because I know this idea of normalization, was very big in the disability community for a very long time.
Sami: Mm-hmm. Well they would talk about like mainstreaming and like inclusion but they like, kids with special needs weren't included. It was like ok we'll include them in gym and art and lunch but for math, reading, writing, all that other stuff; they'll go down to the west wing where no one goes, kind of thing. That just really irritated me because if you're trying to make tings normal then you would put them in the classroom with everyone else and not in the west wing where no one is and no one sees you, you know. I mean like it was great but they, you know, kids who had special needs and did have lunch with us and with the normal kids and not by themselves in their classrooms but it was also really frustrating because then it's like they're not really like learning how to like to be normal I guess. You know? Because you're keeping them secluded for half the day and only bringing them in for like specials. Whereas, like even for like gym, you know like it was kind of like ok well, just stand off to the side for a little bit and watch. I don't know just irritated me a lot.
19:17:15:20 - 19:18:43:10
Lisa: Did you have any opportunity to visit classrooms and sort of observe kids?
Sami: Oh yeah. I went to my old elementary school and we were in, it was a regular class and they had, it was like a special reader day or something and I remember I think, I mean, I know I'm not one to diagnosis or anything but I think this one young boy had autism and he was kind of like fidgeting around. Now this was like a first grade classroom so he was like fidgeting around, all the kids were, but he had an aide with him who was sitting behind him and you know he was just like looking around like this lady is reading a book. I don't know if he was really interested in it or not but I remember the aide grabbed his head and forced him to look forward. And I was sitting there like, are you kidding me right now? There is like twenty other kids that are playing with their shoelaces or, you know, not paying attention. Why did she have to grab his head and make him look forward? I knew right then and there I didn't want to do it anymore because I didn't want to be involved in that. I just thought that was really wrong of her to do and if his mother was there she probably would have flipped because no aide should do that to any child, disability or not. I mean that was just.... I couldn't believe she did that.
More Interview Chapters
- Background
- YOU ARE HERE: Sami's Studies in Special Education
- Sami's Childhood
- Family Involvement in Disability Organizations, Middle School Experiences
- High School Experience, College
- Ongoing Support for Jackie, Personal Ambitions
About Jackie and Sami Csaniz
Born: Jackie: 1986. Sami: 1987.
Jackie: Grocery Store Courtesy Clerk, Elementary School Volunteer. Sami: Student.
Chester, PA
Keywords
Down syndrome, Family, Friends and Friendships, "R" word, School, Siblings, Special Olympics
The Disability and Change Symposium is available as a free online learning module.
Combating Implicit Bias: Employment
About this year's theme
Employment statistics for persons with disabilities continue to be disappointing, ~19% compared to ~66% of peers without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). We ask ourselves, "is there something beyond overt discrimination and access that perhaps we need to address? Are there silent barriers such as those created by implicit bias?"
Most of us believe that we are fair and equitable, and evaluate others based on objective facts. However, all of us, even the most egalitarian, have implicit biases – triggered automatically, in about a tenth of a second, without our conscious awareness or intention, and cause us to have attitudes about and preferences for people based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. These implicit biases often do not reflect or align with our conscious, declared beliefs.(American Bar Association, Commission on Disability Rights, "Implicit Bias Guide," 2019)
This year's theme challenges us to each ask ourselves "What implicit bias(es) do we have and encounter, and how do we recognize them and move beyond them to create opportunities, welcome, and full participation for all?"
As always, this Symposium privileges first-person voices and experiences.
About the Disability and Change Symposium
The stated goal of the annual Symposium is "to create conversation that transcends any one-dimensional depiction of people with disabilities, and foregrounds the multidimensional lives of our speakers - as writers, educators, performers, and advocates."
The Disability and Change Symposium is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference focusing on cultural equity and disability. The event is free, accessible and open to the public.
Acknowledgments
Organized by the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, the Symposium is an outcome of collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Faculty Council on Disability whose mission is "to foster collaboration across Temple University on disability-related projects including research, teaching, programming, publication, and grant-seeking. By connecting with one another, Council members help build community among the growing number of people at Temple whose work engages with disability."
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The Institute on Disabilities, Temple University College of Education is pleased to recognize some of our 2020 Symposium Partners/Sponsors from Temple University:
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This year we also want to recognize the contributions of students (Associate Professor Deb Blair, STHM 2114 - Leisure & Tourism in a Diverse Society), who contributed to shaping and supporting this symposium:
- Madeline Culbert, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management; Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Jair Guardia, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management. (est. 08/2021)
- Hallie Ingrim, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management
- Thomas Leonard, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Bryan McCurdy, School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 05/2022)
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