I happened upon a really interesting thought yesterday.
When I was in middle school, I loved my English Language Arts class and "stems" tests that we took every Friday. For three years, I dedicated myself to studying the ancient Greek and Latin "stems", which I learned from practically all of the words that we use today. By the time I entered high school, I could predict the meaning of an unfamiliar word just by recognizing the roots that I had learned in Ms. Reece's class. I still use these old roots to help me in college; they give meaning to and clear frustration when I am given an assignment that I am not prepared for (which happens far too often).
Anyways, back to my discovery. The past few weeks have been eye opening to me for many reasons. I have witnessed special needs students praising God, I have encountered anxiety and stress, and I have realized that we way too often unfairly place labels on individuals who may not be exactly as the rest of us are. For example, when telling people about my major, I use two words to describe the clients of the type of work that I want to pursue. Unknowingly, I myself was placing labels, and had been for far too long.
The Latin stem, dis-, means "apart", "away," and "having a negative force" (dictionary.com). The English language is full of words that are created from this root--displaced, disown, dislike, disadvantage, disgraced--all of which have a negative connotation. Among these words are two that I mentioned above: disorder and disability. Dictionary.com defines disorder as "a lack of regularity, a dysfunction", and disability as "a lack of adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability, an incapacity." We, the "normal people", have labeled different individuals. We have cast them off from the rest of society. We think that we are the ones who are deserving. We are to blame.
As someone who has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and a future helper of children with disabilities, this issue hits home. Because of a uniqueness about me, I have felt apart from society. That being said, I've adapted. I've learned to live with my difference. Others, though, aren't so lucky. Toddlers, teenagers, and adults are every day being rejected for their differences. We are letting their differences define them from the first glance we take.
I have discovered that what we see isn't always what we get. Take away the infamous root from some of these words. Disadvantaged becomes advantaged. Disgrace becomes graced. Disorder becomes order. Disability becomes ability. What do these words have in common? The definitions of these words have a central accord: they mean power, normalcy, and success.
As I see it, we are limiting those who are different from us. We are at a disadvantage. We are causing disorder. We are disabling ourselves. We are labeling them apart from society, thinking that we have the upper hand. In some cases we most certainly do, but this is not always the case.
Take Lauren (a pseudonym for a hard of hearing girl that I worked with a few weeks ago) for example. When talking to her, I realized that like me, she wanted to teach children with special needs. Honestly, at first I wondered how she would
succeed with that career. Then I saw her calm an autistic boy when he got upset. Magically, the tears stopped and laughter ensued. I was floored. I saw how great Lauren was and recognized how difficult it would have been for me to make the boy's smile reappear.
One of the reasons that I want to teach and provide therapy for special needs kids is because of their drive and passion to exceed. It is truly incredible how hard they are willing to work to overcome their difference and prove society's label wrong. I consider myself extremely blessed already to have the opportunity to work with them and learn from them as I study more in the future.
-Emily
When I was in middle school, I loved my English Language Arts class and "stems" tests that we took every Friday. For three years, I dedicated myself to studying the ancient Greek and Latin "stems", which I learned from practically all of the words that we use today. By the time I entered high school, I could predict the meaning of an unfamiliar word just by recognizing the roots that I had learned in Ms. Reece's class. I still use these old roots to help me in college; they give meaning to and clear frustration when I am given an assignment that I am not prepared for (which happens far too often).
Anyways, back to my discovery. The past few weeks have been eye opening to me for many reasons. I have witnessed special needs students praising God, I have encountered anxiety and stress, and I have realized that we way too often unfairly place labels on individuals who may not be exactly as the rest of us are. For example, when telling people about my major, I use two words to describe the clients of the type of work that I want to pursue. Unknowingly, I myself was placing labels, and had been for far too long.
The Latin stem, dis-, means "apart", "away," and "having a negative force" (dictionary.com). The English language is full of words that are created from this root--displaced, disown, dislike, disadvantage, disgraced--all of which have a negative connotation. Among these words are two that I mentioned above: disorder and disability. Dictionary.com defines disorder as "a lack of regularity, a dysfunction", and disability as "a lack of adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability, an incapacity." We, the "normal people", have labeled different individuals. We have cast them off from the rest of society. We think that we are the ones who are deserving. We are to blame.
As someone who has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and a future helper of children with disabilities, this issue hits home. Because of a uniqueness about me, I have felt apart from society. That being said, I've adapted. I've learned to live with my difference. Others, though, aren't so lucky. Toddlers, teenagers, and adults are every day being rejected for their differences. We are letting their differences define them from the first glance we take.
I have discovered that what we see isn't always what we get. Take away the infamous root from some of these words. Disadvantaged becomes advantaged. Disgrace becomes graced. Disorder becomes order. Disability becomes ability. What do these words have in common? The definitions of these words have a central accord: they mean power, normalcy, and success.
As I see it, we are limiting those who are different from us. We are at a disadvantage. We are causing disorder. We are disabling ourselves. We are labeling them apart from society, thinking that we have the upper hand. In some cases we most certainly do, but this is not always the case.
Take Lauren (a pseudonym for a hard of hearing girl that I worked with a few weeks ago) for example. When talking to her, I realized that like me, she wanted to teach children with special needs. Honestly, at first I wondered how she would
succeed with that career. Then I saw her calm an autistic boy when he got upset. Magically, the tears stopped and laughter ensued. I was floored. I saw how great Lauren was and recognized how difficult it would have been for me to make the boy's smile reappear.
One of the reasons that I want to teach and provide therapy for special needs kids is because of their drive and passion to exceed. It is truly incredible how hard they are willing to work to overcome their difference and prove society's label wrong. I consider myself extremely blessed already to have the opportunity to work with them and learn from them as I study more in the future.
-Emily