Cornerstones of success for students with disabilities

Good morning Kay,

Nice to hear from you. It's tricky waters in the disability in education field these days. I teach a course at the University of Connecticut medical school called Public Health Issues of Disability and one of the main themes of the course is that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". One of the interesting trends these days is to get away from "disability labels" which is laudable in itself however it has some pretty interesting unintended consequences. There are rumblings in this country that school districts are interested in this movement not from an inclusion standpoint but from an economics/let's save some money/reduce the rolls of special education standpoint. Of course the whole notion of disabilty is really secondary when compared to the fundamental flaws of an education structure that is designed as Ivan Illich writes to produce a certain guaranteed amount of failure. I have always thought that we do mainstreaming in a backwards fashion. We should be mainstreaming "typical" kids into special ed as a better model (although not always in practice!) of education.

One of the things that I stress to my staff, and that I stress to secondary educators when I do talks about getting kids with challenges to learning ready for college is that there are three cornerstones to success in life, understood after 30 years of observing the differences between the kids with disabilities who "make" it and those who don't.

1. Emotional Self-regulation skills particularly differentiating finely between things like supportive and encouraging "stage fright" and debilitating anxiety, justified pride in legitimate accomplishment and false pride in outcomes not necessarily related to input.

2. Positive and balanced self-regard (not of the "you can be anything you want to be" variety that really addresses more the anxiety needs of the parents and professionals than the needs of the students) that is based on a strong awareness of strengths and weaknesses, a strong sense of self-worth and ability to contribute to a community.

3. An internal sense of drive or "personal mission statement" that transcends occupational limitiations and boundaries (i.e. not "I want to be a teacher" but "I want to make a positive difference in the lives of future generations as my legacy to the universe")


For each of these three areas I also firmly believe that an integral approach is not just important but necessary to success. You cannot start a diet to improve your physical health without a vision/spirit, and an emotional connection, and a cognitively congruent thinking process, etc.
In the same way you cannot begin to overcome the difficulty of living with a disability without having an understanding of how that disability has had an impact in all areas of your being and life.

Looking forward to further conversations.

Peter Love, MPH, PhD
Director Learning Resource Center
Mitchell College
New London, CT
USA

Words that young people use to describe spirituality

I am a PhD student at the University of Melbourne - at the Youth Research Centre. I am currently interviewing young people about their experiences and expressions of spirituality with a view to finding a common language of talking about spirituality.

Here are some words that young people use:

Respect
Kindness
Community
Working Together
Relationship (Relational)
Help Each Other
Belong
Creativity
Flow
Light
Colour
Love self and others
Know each other
Connection
Friendship
Special
Contribute
Unique
Nurture
Passion
Direction
Human
Open-mindedness
Willingness
Interaction
Part of Big Picture
How you fit into the world/universe
Personal
Growth
Growth
What we do affects others/each other
Web of interconnection

Posted by Jacqueline

The D word

My research work for a PhD is using Action research and looking at Learning Difficulties (dyslexia) in the community and in particular in higher education.

In Australia it seems that the D word is not in Education policy with all the ramifications of a hidden, disempowered , marginalized people. And yet the overall LD numbers are continuing to go up exponentially.

Some students may develop a lifetime of 'learned helplessness', shame etc and more... some are resilient and find their niche and are fine BUT the others?? Jail,drugs,mental health, etc The irony is that in higher education students ( the resilient ones) who may need some help with a scribe for lectures for example, has to tested ( pay for it themselves) and labelled dyslexic in order to get funding from the Disability Act!

I believe we need to 'reinscribe' it to be a learning difference/ways of knowing/style etc rather than a 'deficit' and part of the medical model. NZ they have just acknowledged dyslexia - Ministery of Education,and an new group which sounds like they are going down the path of advocacy and gift/talent of dyslexia I see we may change soon in Australia

I liked what Sue was saying about the words that are 'in' or 'out' and remember when I started in Mental health everything was mental illness. I insisted on calling my community project Mental Health and I was seen as a radical back in the 1980's. I'm thought to be radical now when I do information sessions in the community on the 'D' word and am inspired to continue when I hear parent stories of how they have approached schools and been told that their child wasn't dyslexic ( and the family have a history of it) and the confusion this causes and the lack of help given. I could go on ...

I have body/mind therapy background and work with the outstanding work and ideas of the late Dr Tomatis. My website leads on to other links (www.soundeducation.com.au)

His concept of of the voice/ear/brain as a regulator of perceptions makes sense and now we see he was 'correct' and it is being 'proven' now with current technology- yet 50 years ago it was revolutionary for an ENT to think holistically! He views listening starts in utero where the rhythms of the mothers voice connect the fetus and start the journey into language and learning. Great stuff, it brings about huge AH Hahs and spiritual development. In practice we work with the mother (and fathers too) and can help the integration process of mind/body/spirit and learning.

Any thoughts on this from anywhere would be appreciated....in anticipation...

Posted by Kay

What's in a word?

Words seem to have a fashion, particularly in the field of education. Some words are out, and others are in. Some are out because they are associated with meanings and attitudes we are wanting to move away from, or have loaded meanings, or meanings which appeal to some people or not others, or because we have yet to have a conversation and agree on shared meanings.

As I am writing curriculum documents I am in a dilemma. I would like to include words which make sense to people - that they can go "Aha! Yes, I know what this means and what it looks like in my classroom." On the other hand I would like a curriuclum document to be something for the future as well as now. So can I put in words that might challenge the reader and draw them forward?

Words that I would like to include are ones that capture soul, transformation, flourishing... what it means to be a holistic being with humanity and integrity. But reality check - I am writing a science curriuclum! So what words can I use, and can't I use?

Sense of wonder and awe is OK.

Creativity and imagination are OK, but insight isn’t.

Having a hunch is OK, but intuition isn’t.

Being in a community of practice is borderline.

Ethics is Ok, but humanity isn’t.

Being at home in the world/universe is out,
but being technology literate is in.

How are other people affected by words, and how might words limit what is possible?

Posted by Sue

Welcome

Welcome to a new group blog hosted by the Holistic Education Network of Tasmania. Our authors are educational practioners from around the world.