CRUEL UNFAIRNESS OBSERVED... FROM THIS SIDE

-The way to stop discrimination on the basis of disability is to stop discriminating on the basis of disability-

It is very interesting how things work...

I am fully-qualified to be an Elementary School Teacher. I have successfully completed all of my NYS teaching certification exams, all pertinent Childhood Education courses and studies, all relevant workshops/training, appropriate NYS fingerprinting, student teaching and participant observer hours in classroom settings. I have worked directly with many Elementary students—analyzing their performance, adjusting lesson plans to best accommodate their learning needs, recording their progression, and implementing guided reading and classroom discussions. I have gotten excellent grades and education-related assessment feedback which proves my high teaching qualifications. I have had many professional advisors/mentors/supervisors, [who have had many years experiences involved in the Education field [teaching or administration] advise me that I am an ideal teacher candidate who not only performs all teaching-related tasks in an impeccable and effective manner, promoting a positive and engaging learning environment for all students, but who also would be an exceptional model for all children to reach their potential.  My wheelchair has never impeded or hindered my teaching skills or engagement with the students. In fact, I have proven time and time again to my teaching mentors how I able myself to complete certain teaching tasks and pedagogical college studies with reasonable accommodations which allow me to perform with as much success as anyone else.

All of these accomplishments…pretty impressive huh? Sure, but tooting my own horn is not the point I’m trying to make here. Try to infer what I’m getting at here. I have applied for 20+ teaching jobs, actually demoted myself for a Teacher Assistant position, hoping that maybe there may be a better chance to find something; and of those 20+ job applications, I’ve gotten called in for only 5 interviews! 5 rejections that is. Very interesting. “Let’s make her get all nervous, struggle to get ready to come in, reluctantly deal with the inconsiderate transportation bus just so we can masquerade as an equal job opportunity district…I mean it’s not like we have to hire her. Just make it seem like we’re not at all being discriminatory…and then we’ll give her some lame reason for not getting the job.” I just can’t help thinking about when I come in [with my wheelchair], they seem in shock to see this unusual monstrous creature…. “How dare she even think that she can come in here and taint our perfect walls, and possibly cause harm or mayhem to our students?...you know what, we’re not gonna even bother fully going through her qualifications or even bother reading her cover letter [which needless to say took me forever to type with my one functioning hand], and just say “you don’t have enough experience”

And I’m just thinking, umm, I just graduated so obviously the only classroom experience that I have is through fieldwork done at Adelphi. And oh yeah, even if they’re sincere about that, how am I ever going to gain “that experience” if nobody will hire me because I have no experience? Seriously!? And why do I think this? This is oftentimes how cruel unfairness can be perceived from the other side. And why do I think that they don’t even bother reading my cover letter? Because I specifically make sure to note in there “My teaching skills are blah, blah, blah…I implement blah, blah, blah in a classroom EVEN THOUGH I’M IN A WHEELCHAIR. And the best is when we’re talking through emails back and forth, they become slightly impressed, ask me to come in for an interview using the front steps, and I respond “Is there a wheelchair accessible entrance...maybe like a ramp in the back?” And the emails stop. Wow.

Honestly, I sometimes even feel like schools should want a handicapped teacher with a Master’s degree in their district. At the very least, it would make them look good—integrating “diversity”, “differences”, promoting motivation in their schools. Unfortunately, not many disabled people in this world willingly go through so much in life and can advocate for themselves like this.

“Advocating for yourself” is another concern of mine. More like an intriguing wondering. I wonder how people can be so cruelly unfair to disabled people? Taking advantage of their vulnerable state of minds/conditions. They must have some horrible childhood memories/traumatic events that have turned them into these evil creatures. This is the only way this kind of cruel unfairness can be perceived from the other side. I would think very intense feelings of insecurity, so they “attack” whoever is weak, so as to make themselves feel better.

“The hearts of small children are delicate organs. A cruel beginning in this world can twist them into curious shapes. The heart of a hurt child can shrink so that forever afterward it is hard and pitted as the seed of a peach. Or again, the heart of such a child may fester and swell until it is a misery to carry within the body, easily chafed and hurt by the most ordinary things.”

-Carson McCullers

I just genuinely feel horrible for these individuals. I am a well-educated person, able to speak and advocate for myself and I myself get extremely upset and depressed. What about those who can’t advocate for themselves? Just because of the label “disability”, people think they can treat them inhumanely and completely unfairly. All my life, I have just heard of unfair treatment of those with disabilities, but never quite understood it until now. It sucks for anybody to have to go through unfair/racial/prejudice/gender..etc. discrimination but to not be able to physically or mentally challenge that unfairness? That’s beyond words. Perhaps one day, in my job search, I will find a teaching outlet where I can pose as an advocate for these people, or a motivational speaker for Elementary students. So I’m going to leave you with this inspirational insight: There are people out there who can, who will fight for you.