In this post, I want to spend a little time reflecting on the focus we as educators place on the language of our students’ diagnoses. I am, in no way, suggesting that students should not be diagnosed, nor should there be less emphasis on responsible, thorough, and thoughtful assessment to comprehensively understand a student’s difficulties with learning. I am, however, wanted to encourage dialogue regarding how we use the “disability” language and the extent to which we focus on the particular diagnosis in our work with families and students.
I watched an activity once where a brilliant Special Educator gave each of her students a coffee can covered with paper. On the paper, the kids were asked to write or draw about the “labels” they had heard used to describe them as students and learners. Most identified the names of their disabilities and also included words that depicted how they viewed their abilities. Heartbreakingly, many included words like, “dumb,” “lazy,” “slow,” “disorganized,” “bad at school.” The teacher had the students stand in a circle and she told them that these “labels” were holding them back. The words we use about ourselves and one another matter, and it was time to rip off the bad labels. With a flourish the students ripped off their labels and then, with a clean sheet of paper attached to the can, the students created new labels for themselves and one another with truer words about themselves. Interestingly, the “bad” labels were all drawn with dark colors. Soon the room was filled with bright colors as the kids “labeled” themselves. I share this activity because I appreciated that the teacher confronted the issue of labels directly and fairly. She empowered her students face those labels - those words, feelings, and beliefs that make students give up on school and (worse) give up on themselves. It can be easy to forget how hurtful those words can be and how significantly they can dominate how a child thinks and feels about him or herself. This is especially true when those labels are the only thing that guarantees access to the supports in school they need. But I don’t want my students to have to confront those labels. I want to do that for them - erasing from their beliefs about themselves that they are somehow limited. And I want to confront those labels for every parent waits to ask for help from a school because they fear the “Label” that will be attached to their child, obscuring the full view of their child. So what is there to do about this? Well, it is clear that a lot of educators and administrators recognize this problem and are working to shift the paradigm. Schools that have integrated Positive Behavior Supports strive to provide just right and just-in-time intervention, giving students the support they need. Some schools, such as the one where I teach, have the flexibility and staffing to provide every student with just the right amount of support - no more, no less. We integrate the support from the beginning and back it off over time. More than anything, I want to encourage all those wonderful teachers in our world to remember what it means to a child and family to be “labeled.” And to make sure that the family and especially the child knows that you see him or her - fully and wholly. Kids are so much more than their diagnoses. If we forget that, how can we ever expect them to the brilliant work they are so capable of?
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AuthorLoved Wife. Archives
August 2018
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