Reflection

    The number one thing that will stick with me forever is the "Teach Us All" video. I fear after watching it I realized how naive I was to think education as not as bad as it truly is. Finding out that today there even is a segregation in schools where students are not given the same opportunities and resources as others and because of that many leave districts and the poorer communities who cannot leave are stuck. The system does not try to keep students of color in schools and instead pushes them out. The teachers do not care enough to help students or learn about their home lives. It honestly was really eye opening for me and really did have me checking my privilege. I live in West Warwick which is a federally funded school system. We consist of 3 elementary schools, and then 1 middle and 1 high school. Two of the elementary are on the outskirts of town and are classified as suburban- I went to one of them. The other elementary school is in the middle of our town called the village of Arctic which is also technically suburban, but it is full of low income housing and apartments which to me always felt more urban- our middle and high school are also located in Arctic. When I went to middle school in 5th grade I was given a new demographic of West Warwick. I met so many new kids from so many backgrounds which is something my elementary school did not give me. I have always felt very inclusive and diverse coming from West Warwick and never thought my perception would be biased until watching Teach Us All. This video will genuinely stay with me my entire life and has only made my passion for teaching that much stronger because of it.

    "Aria" by Rodriguez was also a very meaningful assignment because it was something I connected to in my own life. I have always loved learning language and used to study random things when I was a child. I then became really involved in Spanish and also loved the idea of learning sign language. After many years and classes I have become successful in being able to hold a conversation in both. I have always felt very proud and sincere to be able to learn and help people and when I read "Aria" I felt awful for how those on the other side are hurt by society. America should be more inclusive to those learning English. It hurt me to know the American society tries to strip away their culture to conform to our society and because of that they lose a connection to their families and themselves. It reminded me of the stories my grandfather tells of coming to America when his father was an Italian immigrant trying to start a business. My family lost all connection from the language and refused to speak it due to wanting to be accepted in the American society. They also went so far to cut their last name in half to drop any connection to their Italian heritage- this last name has been passed down to my sister and I as our middle name. I am only inspired to keep learning and practicing language, to let others no they are capable of so much with their culture connected to them, and to help as much as I can. 

    "Ending Ableism in Education" by Hehir was meaningful to me as a person going into Special Education and loving the idea of teaching sign language to those who have communication issues or are deaf. It now reminds me of a brand new Disney+ original movie that came out last week called "Out of My Mind." The story follows an 11 year old girl in 2002 who has Cerebral Palsy and is learning how to communicate with a speaking device as she begins to integrate into regular education classrooms. The key points of this is the teacher and school does not believe in her ability to learn like the others due to her physical disabilities. She has been overlooked in her mental capabilities from her lack of communication until this speaking device helps her communicate. It is then we find out she has an extraordinary memory and is very intelligent. A quote from the movie that reminds me of this text is "Disabilities don't hold students back- schools do." This is so powerful and meaningful to me as a special educator because so many people do not believe someone could ever learn with a disability when in reality everyone learns at their own pace and more important than that- everyone deserves to learn.  

Watch Out of My Mind | Disney+

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