Kelly's Blog!

In the article, Blaming Mothers: A Disability Perspective, Ruth Colker discusses the adversity mothers of children with disabilities face when advocating for their child’s education and how they are often blamed for their child’s disability. Colker talks about the 4  “blame the mother” strategies school districts use when trying to silence and dismiss concerned mothers. She also tells stories that echo the theme of these strategies: Blame mother for incompetence: A mother gets into a 4 year long court battle with her son’s school district to get her deaf son into a school for deaf children that could better service his unique needs. Blame mother’s assertive behavior for educational problems A mother in Pennsylvania was barred from speaking to anyone on her child’s IEP team except the special education director, who wrote emails with negative and unprofessional comments about the mother. Blame mother’s passive behavior for educational problems at school A mot...

Hey everyone! How all is well :-) Here are my questions/thoughts for this week's readings: What children's books would you suggest for discussing dis/ability in a kindergarten classroom? I think a Frida Kahlo lesson(s) would be a great way to teach my students about dis/ability through art and history. The book Frida by Jonah Winter is a great book that tells Frida Kahlo's story in a "K friendly" way.  *Would Liz Crow give this book her stamp of approval?* Out of the 20 ways educators can reteach dis/ability; which 5 do you think are most important?