Self-Determination: Social Issues
I am a horrible content creator. But, what flaws can be acknowledged can also be improved.
Many of us are preparing for the upcoming AER International Conference, starting tomorrow in lovely St. Louis, Missouri. The session list is long and varying but there is one issue of greatest interest: how are we exploring and supporting the diverse concerns of our students.
Ableism. It is easy, and convenient, to believe that because of our job titles we are immune from such vile behavior. But truly, we are the product of the dominant features of our society and must account for its imbedded norms. We need it acknowledged in everything we do so that we can foster pride in our population, prepare them for the ills they will inevitably face, and fight against ingrained thoughts and behaviors amongst all of the people meant to be a support structure.
Intersectionality. How many of our students are truly dealing with one label? Having a visual impairment, like any disability, isn’t so profoundly powerful that individuals no longer have to deal with being non-white, queer, multilingual, or any other element that is a separation for what is foolishly considered the “norm” in a given society. Like all areas of education, a narrow group of people are responsible for the majority of curricula and concepts that guide our practice. It’s a good start, but we must expand to be better at what we do. There are other prejudices our students will face and other areas that can bring them pride in who they are.
I haven’t seen anything with these concepts ingrained in their titles, but I have some hope that they will address the issues to some degree. If they don’t, we have to be ready for the next time this event rolls around and not forget the power that can be done at chapter conferences and trainings in the time in between. Good intentions are valuable, but they are only a semi-colon to the larger conversation.