Twitter Thread With 38 Reasons Why The School System Is Ableist Goes Viral
The education system is a topic that nearly everybody has an opinion about (a bit like the coronavirus) and has their theories on how to fix. And while our opinions might diverge, most of us can agree that it’s something that can (and should) be improved in some countries. It’s just a question of how, to what extent, and to what purpose.
One viral Twitter thread with 151k likes is causing a lot of debate online. User THE1EL3VEN stated that the school system is ‘ableist’ and listed her reasons why. An overwhelming number of Twitter users rushed to share their own reasons why school is ableist and praised the original poster for pointing out the flaws in the system.
Such a large amount of support for the thread shows that the underlying issues related to ableism in education are very real and are obviously important to a lot of young people. Ignoring these issues could lead to further problems down the line, as well. This is making us wonder, how the youngest generations are going to change the school system if so many of their members are aware of the major problems.
However, a minority of readers had a different opinion. Some critics had an issue with the fact that THE1EL3VEN seemingly found nearly every aspect of school life and following any rules to be problematic. According to some commenters, school is supposed to prepare you for adult life, not ignore reality and useful skills. But most people were in support of the original poster. What do you think of THE1EL3VEN’s thread? Do you agree or disagree with her statement that school is ableist? Why? Have a read and share your thoughts with everyone in the comment section.
One Twitter user sparked a discussion online when she listed the reasons why school is ableist
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With so many -isms floating around in modern life, it can be easy to get lost between all of them. In case you didn’t know, ableism is discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities and in favor of able-bodied people.
According to Chicago-based organization ‘Access Living’ that aims to protect civil rights, challenge stereotypes, and champion social reforms, ableism is a word that’s often left out of debates.
“The world wasn’t built with people with disabilities in mind, and because of that, the world we live in is inherently ‘ableist,’” explains Ashley Eisenmenger. She stresses that at the core of ableism is the assumption that disabled people require ‘fixing’ and that they’re defined by their disability.
Ableism can take many forms. Some of them overt, like segregating students with disabilities into separate schools. Some of them subtle like ‘ableism microaggressions’ which can include saying that something’s ‘retarded’ or that someone’s crazy. Eisenmenger says that words and phrases like this imply that disability is something that’s ‘bad’ rather than a “normal, inevitable part of the human experience.”
Other people pitched in with their own opinions about the education system being ableist
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So teaching pupils skills they will need in most jobs is ableist? Huh, who knew.
There's a difference in choosing to go into a job where you will need these skills, and being forced into these "skills". Speaking as neurodivergent myself, I could never work in retail, could never have an office job or be in a position that I'm face to face with a lot of people. There's plenty of jobs that don't require this. I'm in the UK and honestly? Both the UK and the US school systems need to step up their game when it comes to dealing with the mental health of their students. I've long believed that around the world, schools should have a class on mental health, and on the fact that not everyone is neurotypical. I'm not saying that everything has to change, but people do need to be more understanding.
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I completely understand how these things would be difficult or impossible for people with different medical conditions. However, it sounds like they're saying that a school is discriminating against those students merely by having certain broad requirements like "turn in assignments on time". It a teacher was told "my child needs to take a walk once an hour" but still insisted on the child never walking, that's one thing. But this sounds like they're saying that a teacher having a general class rule like "you can't just get up and leave for a twenty-minute walk whenever you feel like it" is discriminatory, and that seems a bit much.
In the US, at least, if you can document that a student requires special treatment due to a diagnosed medical condition (Which 99% of the time is something as simple as a doctor's note stating that the student requires X. You don't have to reveal the actual condition.), then the school will accommodate it provided the special treatment doesn't impact the other students right to learn. So if you bring a note saying that student X has a problem maintaining focus and that the teacher will need to dress as a clown to keep the student's attention, that probably won't happen. But if the note says the student needs to carry some snacks/candy/food in their pocket at all times and be allowed to eat said snacks/candy/food whenever needed, well that happens all the time.
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To the OP: Welcome to Earth! All you’re doing is failing to teach the students about the world, and when they finally enter it, they will be completely and utterly f****d. It’s cool that you want to help kids with disabilities, but really? This is a wee bit overkill, and again, you’re only delaying these kids having to deal with s**t a little bit, 5 years, 10 years.
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i think those are just called... rules. Able bodied or otherwise, the point is that there is uniformity so the underpaid, overworked teacher can corral the 30+ students they have to their charge and teach them. So ableism, at this point, is whining because someone else has a job to do, and you don't like how they go about it?
A lot of these aren't about the physically disabled, but rather about neurodivergents, like me. For us, conformity takes all our energy. We constantly have to accommodate neurotypicals, so many of us feel like our needs are not being met.
Load More Replies... Here are a few more exam0les of ableism: - forcing students to read books - telling students they need to learn to count - not allowing pets in school - preventing students from playing video games during lessons - forcing students to wear clothes - not allowing students to arrive and leave whenever they feel like it - expecting students to learn when they can't be arsed - speaking to students Teachers are evil dictators, the way they try to help kids learn!
You forgot making kids go to school, forcing kids to have a period for the consumption of food, not allowing kids to swear at the teacher, forcing kids to learn advanced mathematics like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, forcing the kids to go to the bathroom to pee
Load More Replies... If you hand in a project late that costs your company a contract how accommodating do you think your employer will be? Excuses don't cut it
Vincent - in school you practice turning it on time where the only consequence is your personal grade suffering. No practice doing that or getting used to the idea of teachers catering to the student and then hitting the real world, the consequence is not merely that person losing their job but it could cost the company and the coworkers they work for|with suffering. Working for people is a form of group work.
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As someone who grew up with ADHD, I learned very early in life that you learn to adapt to the world around you, not to expect the world to adapt to you. Neurotypical people can never truly understand, you can never really prove that you have an issue, and if there was accommodation for it, people with no issues would surely exploit it.
Jack I hope you've had at least some people willing to learn to adapt to your needs so you can have people you trust around you. I am trying every day to learn more and more of how to adapt to my partner's needs. He also has intense ADHD and other issues.
Load More Replies... In the US, this is what an IEP is for. When you are a student, this document legally protects you to have the accommodations you need to function at school. It doesn't give a student free license to behave disruptively in the classroom, but it does clearly plan for how diverse needs will be met.
Not necessarily. I have several developmental disorders such as ADHD and ASD but throughout most of my childhood my IEP was repeatedly ignored. And not just subtle exploitation of loopholes, I would speak up about something in my IEP and outright be told that they didn't care. It really messed me up and I still feel the effects it had on my mental health today.
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Criticizes the educational system, but misspells 'losing' and and peppers tweets with grammatical errors and other typos. Fail...
I noticed that. And that is why we go to school, to spell LOSING correctly.
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While i agree with some of these, I also wonder if the teacher's needs were taken into account as well. Teachers have a pretty tough time already and are held to a standard that they have to cover each semester. I completely understand the need to accommodate differences. I have a medical condition myself. Understanding and making sure people get what they need goes both ways.
The tweeter is most likely writing these as bad faith arguments for attention. The majority of these are obviously rules designed to enable large groups of children to....learn. I'm guessing they put it under the cloak of an 'ism' to stir the pot as much as possible...shame on the twitter user, shame on BP for posting it and shame on me for reading and commenting.
Correction: the OP is 15 years old & doing what all teenagers have done since time immemorial - complain about school...
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Oh good grief, you want students who don't have to participate, can miss as many school days as they want, can turn in late assignments in unreadable handwriting with no penalty, don't have to listen to the teacher because they're listening to their own music, allowed to get up and just leave the class for a "walk", shouldn't have a consequence for disrupting the learning of others students, never have to work with other classmates, and don't have to do anything out of their narrow comfort zone, and shouldn't be called on for an answer unless they agreed to it. While some of the concerns in the article are legitimate and should have been covered in a 504 or an IEP educational plan, the rest would cause the structure of the teaching and school to fall apart. Then they would be complaining about the interruptions, lack of discipline, unfairness that others don't have penalties, not ready for the expectations of college, the military, or the workforce....etc.
Was this an /r/EntitledPeople post? Boy, she's gonna hate it when she grows up and has to get a job and follow the boss's rules. I can see it now: Reasons My Job is Ableist: - Requires employees to be there on time - Not letting employees leave whenever they want to - Requires employees to talk to customers/clients/coworkers - Requires employees to follow a dress code - Rewarding employees for not missing days - Not allowing employees to use their cell phones or other devices during work - Forcing us to do things we don't want to but have to just for a paycheck - Forcing employees to work together as a team - Forcing employees to meet deadlines on projects
Man, you have issues worse than us, to not see that there are people that have a hard time living just because of how these rules force them to adjust to their learning environments.
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I personally am not affected by a disability, but this article, as said by a few original commenters, is focusing on every part of school rules and schedule and treating them like they’re unbendable laws. I totally get having anxiety, or a learning disability, or anything else, and not wanting to speak in front of a class, but public speaking may very well be an important skill that schools need to offer more help with, like so many other things! But some of these ARE just stupid. I had two diabetic kids in my class last year, both type one. They have a problem with their insulin (I think, not an expert here) levels? Haha, better get someone to walk you through the whole damn building to the nurse’s office every single time.
As a parent to a child with a learning delay and ..who is easily overwhelmed by sensory input I agree with OP. Her intent is that schools need to be more flexible in their instruction. Yes, teaching students how to present or speak in front of a group is important but forcing a student who is clearly uncomfortable to present is not teaching that student anything besides free and resentment. This is why IEPs exist. My son's IEP allows him to take a lap down the hall when needed - he knows he can only go to the end of the hall and back. He can choose to do work alone. He was offered, and gladly accepted, a single desk at the back of the classroom instead of sitting at group tables. When he has an outburst he is escorted to a calm down room and allowed to come back on his terms when he is ready without being further disciplined back in class. If you don't have someone who is neurodivergent in your life and if you have never watched that person struggle you might disagree with OP.
At last a voice of reason here. I'm surprised at a group that is normally compassionate that is not quite understanding here. I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, but I always knew I had it. Now some of these things, it must be difficult for the teacher. But some of them are out of line. I remember being forced to give a speech in elementary school, and ended up vomiting in front of everyone. You can bet I never heard the end of that.
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I get and understand the meaning and point of this post. That being said, what about the kids who follow the rules and try hard? Do they not get credit for doing the work right and on time? And the teachers have enough to worry about (like low wages) now they have to walk on tinny tiny eggshells. Are they allowed to talk or teach at all? My son has ADHD. I get it. He does need special attention and a fidget spinner helped him concentrate. When I was in grade school I would hyperventilate just thinking about being called on for an answer. Still wrecks my nerves thinking about it. But school has to have a point, and rules. I agree that this list should be considered, but ok like "points taken off for turning in papers late", what about the ones who turned it in on time, do they get extra credit instead? School is there not just for science and math. School helps us grow as people. So yes, schools do need to help students more, but there is a line where teachers become pointless if they aren't allowed to hardly speak to the kids. Teachers need better pay. They are there to teach, not just babysit.
When you have ADHD, you have to try ten times as hard as your peers, and let me tell you, you it is f*****g e x h a u s t i n g. How old is your son? Because I'm currently a freshman in high school and I've struggled all my life to get by. and the thing about turning in assignments on time, it's usually not from lack of trying, but from the fact that our brains have trouble retaining things that aren't interesting to us.
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I came to write a reply to this extremely ignorant post but see that apparently I am not the only one who thinks this article is completely ridiculous. I weep for the future.
It's not ignorant... it brings to light the problems that those of us with neurological differences go through at school and the lack of help we often get
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My friend with anxiety got a detention last week for not wanting to participate performing what we were working on in drama. She helped write the script and gave us tips on our acting but had no part in the play because she was too anxious to perform. Yet our teacher said that not performing in the play she had written entirely was lack of work. She had a panic attack when prompted to perform and ran off the stage. Having a detention for having anxiety is awful, but when she asked pastoral if she could talk to her mum on her phone about it they said the reason wasn't good enough. Eventually she was allowed but the fact they wouldn't let her staright away was s**t
I took drama as an elective in 9th grade. Huge mistake. What was I thinking? I hate talking in front of people. I was able to switch out mid year thank goodness. Never again will I put myself in that kind of situation. I up voted you😊
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I mean some of them are good things to point out like forcing kids to not fidget ect. Make sense. But some of them like presenting, is a good skills to have, as well as participating. I think that kids should have the choice to do it in front of the class or just in front of the teacher.
i had an eating disorder in school and i was over weight as well so was starving myself and the teachers calling me out for my weight then punishing me when i refused to eat
Schools suck at dealing with mental illnesses, they really should do something about it.
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This is the most ridiculous and whiny articles BP has ever polluted the internet with.
So I guess their schoolsystem forces disabled kids to do things they can’t? Because these are all normal rules and out here disabled kids get special attention to help with all that. Like dyslectic kids get more time to take a test, diabetic kids can eat when they need to, etc. You can’t just say they can turn in their assigments whenever they feel like it, because some kid might have trouble being on time. That’s not how the world works either, and that’s what kids are prepared for. If you have special needs that aren’t met in a schoolsystem, you go to a special needs school.
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking it's stupid. But to call it ableist is ridiculous. The tougher the school life, better you are prepared for life. Diamonds go thru hell and only then it shines. But not everyone is meant to learn at school and it's not the school's fault. Maybe consider home schooling with private tuitions or don't bother too much about grades as they don't truly reflect your intelligence and talents. A school cannot keep up with everyone's personality.
The purpose of school is to develop new abilities. Most of the poster's complaints about schools being abilist is like akin to complaints of a restaurant being foodist - they are weaponizing a word incorrectly. No one is born knowing French, how to read, or how to sit through a 60 minute presentation on something they need to know but don't care about. All growth is from doing something we do not know and/or uncomfortable with and school should push you to gain those new abilities I do .agree that accommodations need to allow everyone to gain those abilities and each student's needs should be addressed. Unlike the original poster, most of the reply comments pointing out problems were examples of true issues. I still want my schools to teach the blind and dyslexic to read, the anxious and socially challenged (like me) how to deal with speaking in front of others and sitting still, and the innumerate to control their finances. School must enable every student to be better.
Yeah OP went a little extreme when they called it 'ableism', but most of the things on this list, if they were to happen, would be really good for neurodivergent and disabled people. And of course, not all disabled people would need everything on the list to change: a person with dyslexia won't get much help from listening to music while studying, but for a person who over stimulates it makes all the difference.
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So teachers trying to help our kids with life lessons and forward thinking is being ableist????? Seriously. I'm glad I had to give oral presentations. I'm glad there were rules and guidelines. The OP must be one of the parents who believe all the kids deserve a trophy whether they win or lose. Life is unfair. Jfc. Deal with it.
So, as a teacher, I have to disagree with many of these. But the one about late work really annoyes me. I've got due dates, you've got due dates. Easy as that. How am I supposed to grade a student if they didn't hand in anything to grade at the time?
ADHD impairs object permanence. We may miss the due date because we forgot to put the paper in our folder or something like that.
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Students who need to have fidget tools, time to walk etc - anything out of the norm - needs to have PARENT who goes to the school with proper documentation (dr's recommendation etc) as to WHY and get it put in writing. Then there should be no issue. If school won't let you - go to school board. If school board won't let you - go higher. Just expecting the school to let EVERY student do whatever they say the need - we might as well just have daycare for K-12 students and shut down the country when these kids grow up.
But some of these are skills you just have to learn for some jobs. Being able to communicate in a small team or work as a small group is essential for jobs. The "I didn't get it done on time" doesn't fly well when there is money at stake for a firm. The expectation is you do it in the timeframe or speak up before it's late to get help/extenstions etc. Ok, marks off for stuttering or reading out poor scores is unfair...but unfair to everyone. I'm not in any way disabled but hated public speaking. I just get nervous and trembly - so that was unfair to me as an able bodied person. But it did prove I didn't want a job where that was a big part. I'm fine in small groups or to people who want to listen to what I'm saying (like a riding instructor for example)
I get a few of these, but some are just "teaching the class" as an example for bad and ableist behaviour. I'm in no way a fan of the current school system (in Germany - the one in the US I only know from an outsider's viewpoint of course), but a few of the things called out here are just ... complaining about a scholl actually doing what it is meant for. Also - it not only is ableist (I'll just take this assumption, regardless of some of the examples here), it also is dis-ableist in the way that you are not only punished if you are too slow, but also if you are too fast and then engage in antisocial behaviour, like looking out of the window. Seriously, that got me in trouble. Also, the stupid "you had a break, why didn't you go then?" - this caused exactly every single time I wet my pants in school, and when I decided not to take it anymore and to physically free myself when I am physically prevented from leaving the classroom ... got me in trouble for kicking my teacher's leg.
to the comments going against the article for the reason of it trying to set a class of uniformity and to get pupils used to real-life things, you need to consider that not all people see it that way and that they have their own opinions, and that for some of us (including me with severe anxiety and ADHD) that some of these rules weren't easy to adapt to throughout the years of school. let it be me who's about to graduate, yes, school teaches you what you need to know and the rules are just normal, basic ones to follow, but you need to see that we're seeing it a different way to call them ableist, and if you don't to not come at anyone neither the article for stating otherwise. edit: thanks to those who see it the same way i do. it's not easy having certain conditions with certain rules put up around you because even if you think it's dumb we see school this way, for us it's extremely difficult and there's no 'but' or any other excuse to come from a normal person that changes it, you have to get with the program and realize that for some of us, these rules made school incredibly challenging for us, and that we had to do these things and it only made our anxiety and ADHD much worse, so please, stop justifying it over the fact it's "normal" and "teaches us what we need to know", because for us, we only learned "painfully difficult", and "extremely stressful."
I believe I understand the article in the same way you do. Amazing the lack of compassion for those that are different.
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My son has a high IQ. He suffered from anxiety and depression, panic attacks. This is inherited, several people in our family have suffered from the same problem. School didn't know what to do with him. I E P and other things. His academics suffered, has add. They ended up putting him in the severely mentally disabled childrens class. He wasn't learning much but was tutoring them. This was high school. He stayed in the room all day and wouldn't socialize because of bullying. I had home schooled him in middle school, his testing results were awesome. But I was unable to do that by high school. Took him out put him in an alternative school. Got his diploma. His whole school life was miserable. Many of his teachers wouldn't acknowledge his add, and panic disorder. Told me he was spoiled as an because he was an only child. I said your school tested him, we had him to counselors, you have his paperwork. They were idiots.
Some responsibility has to lie with the types of parents who 'fight' for their children to remain in mainstream schools hoping that this will help their kids 'achieve'. Special schools aren't what they used to be. The amazing thing about ALN schools is their ability to understand that kids learn in different ways. Pupils are still able to sit exams and gain qualifications there, but most importantly, they get an educational programme that it tailor made to the individual. You can't expect mainstream schools to be as inclusive as is hinted at in this thread, they have to push kids into things like public speaking, neat handwriting and group participation.
This is nuts. Adults have to be able to concentrate (and not fidget) in order to do most jobs. Children need to do exercise (now more than ever) to combat obesity. You could say something similar for almost all of the points on the list. No, schools aren't perfect and in a perfect world education would be better tailored to individual needs. But until some invents an education system that does that and at a price that governments would sign up to, we're stuck with this one. And we could do a lot worse!
We should coddle students, so when they get into the real world they are completely unprepared. This is why the U.S. is falling behind so many other countries in just about everything from science and math to reading and critical thinking. This will just prepare people to be whiny Karens who feel entitled.
Hold up, so you're just going to stereotype your way through to justify the side of your argument by saying how people are gonna be coddled up to the point that they have no form of independence once they get older? Wrong. This is talking about how the rules affect people with certain conditions, not how people are going to have to get out of their way to make sure people are babied to the point of no return. Reread the posts, it's of how the rules make us people with severe anxiety and ADHD feel, not how we want people to make constant exceptions for us.
Load More Replies... I have been in the public school system for 10 years so far, and it is in desperate need of repair. There are hundreds of issues, some that go far beyond the schools themselves.
First of all, if you're going to come up on this thread to tell people that their conditions do not matter because everyone has to suck it up and move on no matter how they feel, then you're practically brainless. We aren't talking about how the equality treatment goes to "treating us to our standards", it goes to telling you how much harder ADHD and other similar conditions (but not limited to such) make learning for us. It's so much harder in school for us, and that's literally all we're trying to say. We are NOT saying to give us some form of another treatment or to bend the rules in any way shape or form for us, because we simply are too distracted in class, we are TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MORE DIFFICULT CERTAIN RULES AND MANDATORY TASKS MAKE IT FOR US. GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND STOP CRITICIZING WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THIS WAS POSTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
And if you have any issue of some sort, please do comment against what I just said, I'll be glad to argue it out so you can get the point right through your head should you STILL not understand the significance of this article.
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Wow! This comment section is different than normal I feel. There are long paragraphs debating.
Yeah... it's a particularly messy one this time. Like, I never comment on anything but some of the responses to the OP have made me come out of the woodwork
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I agree with a lot of these, but some of these are things you need to do to get a job, and some really are just good skills to have for when you're an adult.
This is absolute bullshit. While some of these things are annoying as hell, a lot of them are just life. And even the ones that are annoying, are in general, not "ableist." Ableism specifically means prejudiced against people with special needs or disabilities, it does NOT mean a minor inconvenience.
Eh, some of these are minor inconveniences and some are absolutely essential. Getting marked down for not making eye contact? Minor inconvenience, annoying but I'll move on. Constantly being compared to a grade A neurotypical student and that your subconscious habit of stimming is bad? That's a bit more severe. Being called a 'special student'? Bring. It. On. (Btw I have ASD)
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Wow I was not expecting such an ableist comment section on such an important post. I love how people speak up against oppression but then they're the ones who are oppressing people's thoughts. Dang BP, I thought we were better then this
Just because some take a progressive stance on a certain issue doesn't mean they must ride the progressive train to the ends of the world. How are thoughts opressed here? By providing reasonable arguments to debate? The only way thoughts are opressed is by enforcing censorship and limiting free speech. Finally, I still don't get what an abliest comment section means.
Load More Replies... Half are reasonable in a sense, and some are dumb. (Reasonable in sense-if someone legit has an issue, teacher makes mental note and quietly does things like avoids the student talking in front of the class, not marking off for stuttering, so that it is not embarassing and so others don't catch on and take advantage of it themselves). Yes, you should lose points for late work without a valid reason vs excuse. You cannot go to work and hand in work late. We didn't always have this issue-or did we and it was ignored|unrecognized, or are kids needing more social skills and ability to sit still due to their lack of movement and being glued to a screen?
First off, these posts aren't declaring that people must prepare to step out of the way for those who think the rules are ableist, but how much harder it makes learning, for people with severe ADHD and anxiety, stress, overthinking issues, etc. If you're not one of those people then you literally don't need to be on this post because it's for people who can see from both sides, not for those who think people saying the rules above are ableist are just mindless (karens) people.
As an introvert, I hated school. I hated being last picked in gym, I hated gym. I hated presentations. I hated being called on. I hated group anything. I hated getting math problems right, but got 'F' because I "skipped steps". Sorry, my brain gets to answers and my hand skips them on paper! FU!
Sadly, these are so true. I hate presenting in front of a class, last time I did I wasn't really able to breathe, and any time I took a breath it sounded like I was crying, and I hated every minute of it. Also, I really wish we had sign language classes! I've been super interested in sign language, but don't know where to start learning.
If I'm talking and more than 3 or 4 people are listening to me I get flushed and stutter and just about pass out. Knowing I had to read or give a presentation in class was torture. But I got through it. Didn't help me, but I got through it.
Load More Replies... While I agree with what everyone in the comments is saying, please bear in mind that this list applies to a class of ppl that you've likely never been and will never know the struggles of (or maybe do: It just seems like most commenters here are neuro typical). For example, take the ones about needing some kind of repetitive movement to focus. As a neuro divergent person, the only way I can focus in classes/lectures is by taking pages and pages of notes. I had to train myself to do that though because all of the other ways I could do that repetitive motion I needed would be singled out and result in a scolding from the teacher. While I agree that some of these are bad if every student gets to do them, they are beneficial for people with ASD, ADHD and dyslexia/discalcula. Also, for those who say these are skills that wiIl help go able to get a job, how am I meant to get a job if my condition isn't dealt with in the right way? Ignoring it will make life unbearable and work impossible.
As with many things in life, I think it's the *way* the original poster said it and not their *message* that is raising eyebrows. For example, if they had said something like "here are some things that can be difficult for children with different needs - schools should provide accommodations on a case-by-case basis so every child gets a proper education", I can't imagine anyone disagreeing with that. By phrasing it as "schools setting up basic rules is ableist!", it makes people react defensively.
Load More Replies... I got points taken of of an end of year project bc I was not only doing it front of my class I was doing it front of two other classes as well. I was fidgeting with my hair and my hands and was very nervous and I got docked for it.
Reading many of these comments...I'm disappointed. Jesus Christ, have some compassion or empathy. If that's too hard then maybe at least a little understanding. Instead of making assumptions, being judgemental or downright insulting, imagine that you were suffering from anxiety or depression or a physical limitation and you were treated like that. I suffer from a chronic illness. It causes extreme fatigue, horrendous pain throughout my body that most couldn't imagine. And yet I still went to school. I went to school and suffered silently for seven years and caused untold damage to my body and mind because of people like you (not those who are taking this seriously) I worked harder than most people in my high school to just keep up. That is a fact. Suffering from constant pain and fatigue and anxiety and depression, I still tried to get assignments in on time and show up for class even when I was in no state to do so.
Here is the thing: there is a valid argument to be made that schools don't do enough to cater or even identify neurodivergent students. Myself, I wasn't identified as being on the autism spectrum until I was a few weeks away from my 40th birthday, because I was so high functioning, even though I had been telling my parents for decades that there was something off about me. This isn't about being coddled; this is about helping everyone learn skills at a young age that will help them deal with a world that won't or can't always conform to them. While there are many advantages (especially for parents) if the version of autism is being high-functioning, but the huge downside is that everyone just expects you to "suck it up" and figure it out on your own; which is harder to do when you literally don't know how to make friends and create a new support system and later in life can't hold down a job.
However this list does come across as whining (especially when talking about meeting deadlines and getting up whenever one feels like), even if the spirit behind it does come from a place of truth. The Prussian system of education (what is what is used) is deeply inefficient and actually not very good at teaching most students. It also doesn't help that many factory or trade jobs are either demonized or sent out of the country, so schools no longer feel a need to have them in schools anymore.
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While I agree with a lot of these, nowhere else in life are you allowed to miss days and deadlines like that.
"Not offering sign language classes/Mandatory sign language classes" ? How can both be bad? Why not just say, "Limited to only one kind of air to breath" bunch of nonsense. As for disabled or those with special needs. Schools make accommodation for those.
Autistic person here. Many of us on the spectrum (including myself) have nonverbal episodes. It can be difficult or even impossible to talk during these times. Since most people don't know sign and there are some times where I can't write what I need to say so I have to force myself to speak (which feels terrible). If everyone knew sign language, then everyone could communicate all the time. Plus some of us don't speak at all. Also deaf people exist
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Um, nearly everything in this list is EXACTLY what IEPs were created for. And this isn't a new concept. I graduated high school 22 years ago and never had to adhere to a time limit on tests - even the SAT. I also had bum knees, not even anything properly diagnosed until I was an adult, so I sat out of most physical education classes without it even being in my IEP. I also had extended time on assignments and many other provisions - all for an ADHD diagnosis. My daughter has an ASD diagnosis and she gets fidgets, yoga balls, and so many other things. They even give kids alternative seating options without an IEP in many schools now because they've realized little kids need to move. So I'm sorry, but I dispute this list. I do agree with the parts about standing in front of the class and other things like that that are torturous for certain plpeople (like introvert me with anxiety that wasn't diagnosed until adulthood)... there are many teachers that are just extroverted asshats though.
So...the whole US when it comes to economy, employment, and education is ableist? As someone from the US and neurodivergent myself, that sounds about right...wish it wasn't...Also deadlines are fine, just not stuff that's unmanageable.
"Forcing students to sit in their seat and stay seated for multiple hours at a time." THIS. My school is all-virtual for at least this week due to a few COVID cases. I only ever get up out of my chair to go the bathroom or to eat lunch. Also, I am an introvert, so presentations are not that pleasant for me. And about participation- what if we simply don't understand the material(geometry proofs, looking at you)?
Personally as someone with multiple invisible disabilities I thank public schools for giving me a chance to practice most of these skills in a safe environment while also teaching able children about people's differences and how not to judge. These times were hard and made me cry sometimes but without them I would be completely unable to function in the real world let alone with any independence.
Problem with this concept is by being accommodating to one group, you are actually harming another group. For example, there are some people who technically have a "low IQ". i.e. they aren't academically smart. But they are hard working and have good "street smarts". Giving these people credit for handing things in on time, working hard, presenting well, working well in groups... this is the areas where they shine, and by saying "those things don't matter for marks"... well now you are demoralizing a different segment of the school population.
They make an interesting overall point, but if you cut out repetitive content and idle complaining this whole thing would be like 3-5 tweets.
A lot of kids have undiagnosed neurodivergences, or the are diagnosed but teachers dont believe you even with a note. Also teachers think anything you do that they don't expect or understand is rude, and then you get yelled at even though you are trying your hardest.
Ok, this is going to be my last comment of the day, because I am done with this post. So done. So, as my last note, let me ask you some questions. Have you ever talked to someone while a building is burning behind you, and been told you can't turn around? Have you ever taken a test with glasses made of kalaedescopes? Have you ever had to take a cold shower everytime you're just about to talk to someone? Have you ever been told you've offended someone but you can see no reason why? And, most of all, have you been told that you can't catch up? That you're worthless, spineless, that there's something wrong with you if you can't do well in school?
If you answered no, congratulations, you don't need to worry about this list. This is just the naive mollycoddling ideas of a stupid 15 year old girl on Twitter. For everyone who answered yes to at least one, and who answers yes all the time... Well, the list becomes a little less 'special favours' and a little more 'survival tactics'. So please, consider that when you say this list is bullshit. I'm sorry I took it here, but it frustrates me that people think this is something that is easy to deal with. It's not. Neurodivergent and disabled people deal with scenarios similar to the ones above every day. Think about that.
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So basically OP just wants to complain about following any kind of rules, and learning social and life skills. This “article” sounds like it was written by a whiny petulant. Op, go take a nap
I personally don't have a problem with most of these issues, but I can totally understand why someone would. I do REALLY hate group projects. Regardless of how ableist they are, they just suck in general. I always end up doing all the work. Which sucks. Also, presentations/ making kids read/ calling randomly are kind of the worst. Super scary.
Good luck creating a happyland where everyone is a stupid lackwit who needs help wiping his rear.
I'm sorry that the system wasn't there to help you with that when you needed it, grow up and realize we're talking about modern day adhd and stress, and how it affects our way of maneuvering through a learning environment.
Load More Replies... Everyone getting at this article saying that its bullshit or whining should maybe talk with a psychologist about their clients. A dysfunctional school system with some (not all!) teachers that use the gap in power between them and their students to force, ridicule or punish doesn't teach anything but fear and the feeling of not being enough. Nothing that prepares you for the tasks and requirements of work life at all. What harm is there in doodling or stimming if it doesn't make a sound? Why do kids have to be forced into something that makes them feel severely uncomfortable and anxious? The problem and I see it in the responses here as well is, that a lot of people including teachers still lack the understanding that we are all are different and that what seems nothing to one can harm someone else for life. I don't agree with everything in the article and yes, we need to learn certain skills to get through work life but, and its a very big BUT, it always depends on HOW those skills are taught. Bad comparison but... I can teach a dog not to crap on the carpet by hitting him. A lot of people in this comments would cry out loud if I were to suggest that but have no problem if a kid, that's already frightened, gets mentally or sometimes physically abused and yes, a lot of things that happens in schools with bad teachers borders on abuse. Or you can use patience and try to work out what would work best.
About the music thing: When I was in sixth grade the teacher would only play Christian music. I wrote an anonymous letter telling her how it could be offensive to myself and others who did not share her religion, and luckily she stopped. But seriously, don’t force your religion on others.
In my estimation this is 70% legitimate concerns and 30% whining. Education can't be one size fits all, and some students do have "special" needs. On the other hand, there is no excuse for turning in assignments late, or chewing gum in class, or having smart phones as a distraction. All kids need to learn certain things, to develop certain skills; but different minds work differently.
@Freya the Wanderer That is true. Having boundaries and time limits is useful for everyone. However, I think too many people in the comments are outraged by what they see as 'unreasonable spoon feeding', when even some of the more seemingly small and 'petty' things on the list would be useful to someone. Like, I know if I got marked down for not making eye contact I would be gutted (I'm high functioning ASD). I think many of these are being taken as surface level, and people are not considering which conditions and how these measures help.
Load More Replies... Going outside for recess is "ableist"? Are the school also dictating what to play, or are they pretty much leaving them alone like they did with me when I was in school. You basically have 30 minutes of fresh air. When I was in high school I knew one girl in a wheelchair that was a competitive wheel chair racer and another guy missing an arm a varsity track star. I recently found out that I have high functioning autism and known I have had ADHD for the last 15 years, and I still told my sister, a math teacher don't treat the students that differently from "normal" students. Things like due dates for projects are that crazy to meet. As others have mentioned if you have doctors' and specialists' notes, schools will make accommodations.
Some of these make sense to be mad about, like taking points off of a presentation for stuttering, but a lot of these are just rules...
Public schools are set up for the average student, whatever that is, and grossly underfunded. It really isn't possible for teachers to do better within the current system. I'm all for totally changing how public education happens, but I'm also trying to figure out an alternative for my kid. I wish all neurodivergent, fidgety, "gifted" students could have a better experience, but I gotta look out for my own.
No, US public education is not "grossly underfunded". (This is a typical myth/knee-jerk reaction to a problem like this.) Per student spending in the US is second only to Luxembourg according to the World Economic Forum. And INSIDER.com looked at US Department of Education, World Bank, and Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and put the US second only to Norway in per student spending. This shows pretty clearly that US public education is not "grossly underfunded". So how is it other countries can spend less than the US but get better results?
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Are schools supposed to allow students to do whatever they please then? Sure let a child walk around for no reason without supervision and miss some of the lesson. Sure, let a child pull out something to eat and distract the entire class or possibly cause an allergic reaction. Sure, let a student hand in assignments whenever they feel like because teachers and administrators have nothing but time. Sure, don't assist children with their social skills because they'll absolutely never need to interact or work with others when they become adults. 99% of this list sounds like a immature "adult" wrote it. Are some rules antiquated? Sure, but many encourage order, which without, we're left with chaos and everyone doing what they want, when they want and how they want to. Smh
Letting a kid get away from sensory overload that overlapping voices can cause is not "no reason"
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My school has an elevator and so does me gym, we also have language classes (Spanish, Latin) and pe is graded by your effort for us :)
PE is just running laps endlessly. Then we lose free time easily from one person talking a sentence. One. Sentance.
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It's not just ableist, it's also adultist. The adults think they know what's best for a young person without even taking the time to get to know them. I say this as an adult with experience working in school systems. It breaks my heart that almost everyone commenting here is so indoctrinated into a broken system that they're actually defending it. And while yes an IEP may offer protections, how often does it get followed? And worse many parents of students with IEPs (at least in the school systems I've worked in) don't really have the capacity to navigate the confusing special ed system let alone be able to advocate when an IEP isn't being followed (which happens often because of, well, ableism and adultism). Some of these things may seem like whining but that's the problem - if you view it as whining instead of viewing it as someone calling out a broken system, things will always remain broken.
My brother in christ, 95% of these comments are just people being ableists. The person in the article is NOT whining. They are simply listing things that schools enforce that are much harder for us ND students. I'm pretty sure they don't mean "skip school" or whatever. Also, if you're just going to complain about the person in the article being "whiny" and not actually taking the time to understand what it's like for NDs, then you shouldn't be here. I agree with the article, so deal with it.
I feel as if a lot of these people in the comments do not know any people with invisible disabilities who would struggle in a standard school environment. Accommodations would only be given to the kids who need them, but you'd rather watch them suffer in silence.
I have Autism and ADHD, my attention span dies and spawns if i see or hear something interesting. I hate working in groups, and a few weeks ago my english teacher made everyone present something special to them which freaked me out because i hate public speaking
omg if one more uneducated neurotypical comments on this article im going to lose it. Lots of school rules prevent those on the ADHD and Autism spectrums from being able to regulate our behavior. Eye contact is incredibly uncomfortable unless you REALLY trust another person, and headphones help regulate noise. walking helps bring us down from sensory overload. self-stimulation (stimming) helps us regulate our behavior
A lot of people are talking about IEP plans for kids who need them. But they aren't talking enough about the other kids. Every kid I know has had a mental breakdown over school. Every. Single. One. They're sleep-deprived because they have so much homework that doing anything else at night requires going to bed at midnight or later. They often have unreasonably high standards their parents hold them to. You forget your homework one week? Congrats, your grade just went down. Do you choose to sleep instead of study? Congrats, you're failing. The school system is so bad. And nobody knows how to fix it. Because that's just the reality we live in, where they are constantly told grades are over their mental health. And it's not okay.
You want a "fidget toy" ? Chew on your pencil like your folks did. LOL
Wouldn't let me copy and paste, so here's a link to a google doc going through this. (By me, I'm the one who went through this. I don't know why.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xa_BhY9l8WuoxHbj8pIdy2lvI9i93tLeQ1Lj4nwDfaM/edit
Some of these I agree with, but many are silly. Many of these skills they’re complaining about will be necessary in the adult world so it’s important they learn them young. As far as the music thing...I’m the adult you’re the child. I think that is important for kids to understand.
And so begins the end of time. This society is spiraling around the bowl.
I'm in 8th grade and I eat lunch at 1:18 pm. I don't eat breakfast to make myself less picky and more grateful for the awful school food. Dinners at home are awesome
I hate having to worry about my grades 24/7 let me be a kid honestly also not caring about mental issues when school gives us the most mental issues (for me anyways)
Is this a joke? Life is "ableist" you moron. I can get on board with paralyzed people being allowed to skip gym class or something.. but reading in front of class? The horror! (yeah, I hated that too, but I did it, and I survived) Get your head outta your ass and stop being such a whiny victim, maybe stuff will look up.
Then you haven't read the one about how being vegan is bad for the environment.
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If there are no rules at all, no rewards, no grades and student can do whatever she/he wants then why bother at all? Why would anyone learn anything? And who would be discriminated if everyone gets the same grades no matter how or when they do it? That would be final discrimination of hard working and smart people. Even more, it would be an introduction to the society that doesn't have any motivation to work and improve. And I am saying all of that from the position of the parent who has a child with serious vision disability (genetic disease left him with less than 10% of central vision). He will probably never be a neurosurgeon but he is doing the best he can and is one of the most successful kids in his class.
Doing group work without the option to do it alone and presenting it is the worst
Anything to protest things that are designed to make your life better. This, while it may seem liberal, is really part of the anti-intellectual crusade. “Learning isn’t fair!” Chuh, okay.
Wow, the ancient school systems being unfair? Couldn't have guessed that.
They're not teaching spelling nowadays it appears. Losing/loosing.
I'm going to have to disagree with pretty much everything in this post. Punctuality, organization, group participation, public speaking. these skills are necessary for successes in the real world. For instance I have a Bachelors degree in a very lucrative high demand field and I got very good grades in school, but with the exception of punctuality I am not good at these other skills. Because of this I will most likely be passed over for many promotions in my career.
Not sure how it's a joke, to grow up in a learning environment with such rules, making people with conditions do poorly, severely compared to those that don't. You're trying to say that it's a joke, how bad these rules make people with severe ADHD and anxiety struggle in their everyday life? The only joke is how small your brain is to not be able to form a proper understanding of how there are people that have difficult times learning in environments with these rules.
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If you get an A for breathing then I should get an A despite breaking eye contact in a presentation. Seriously though, chill out. Like, while calling some of these things ableism might be a bit extreme a lot of them sure as hell are useful to neurodivergent people. Look up stimming - that's a particularly nasty one that ppl on the spectrum have to deal with. Like, half the list can help stimmers. All I'm saying is many of these would improve the quality of education for someone disabled/neurodivergent.
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Timmy, you do realize that some millenials are almost 30, right?
Load More Replies... So teaching pupils skills they will need in most jobs is ableist? Huh, who knew.
There's a difference in choosing to go into a job where you will need these skills, and being forced into these "skills". Speaking as neurodivergent myself, I could never work in retail, could never have an office job or be in a position that I'm face to face with a lot of people. There's plenty of jobs that don't require this. I'm in the UK and honestly? Both the UK and the US school systems need to step up their game when it comes to dealing with the mental health of their students. I've long believed that around the world, schools should have a class on mental health, and on the fact that not everyone is neurotypical. I'm not saying that everything has to change, but people do need to be more understanding.
Load More Replies... I completely understand how these things would be difficult or impossible for people with different medical conditions. However, it sounds like they're saying that a school is discriminating against those students merely by having certain broad requirements like "turn in assignments on time". It a teacher was told "my child needs to take a walk once an hour" but still insisted on the child never walking, that's one thing. But this sounds like they're saying that a teacher having a general class rule like "you can't just get up and leave for a twenty-minute walk whenever you feel like it" is discriminatory, and that seems a bit much.
In the US, at least, if you can document that a student requires special treatment due to a diagnosed medical condition (Which 99% of the time is something as simple as a doctor's note stating that the student requires X. You don't have to reveal the actual condition.), then the school will accommodate it provided the special treatment doesn't impact the other students right to learn. So if you bring a note saying that student X has a problem maintaining focus and that the teacher will need to dress as a clown to keep the student's attention, that probably won't happen. But if the note says the student needs to carry some snacks/candy/food in their pocket at all times and be allowed to eat said snacks/candy/food whenever needed, well that happens all the time.
Load More Replies... To the OP: Welcome to Earth! All you’re doing is failing to teach the students about the world, and when they finally enter it, they will be completely and utterly f****d. It’s cool that you want to help kids with disabilities, but really? This is a wee bit overkill, and again, you’re only delaying these kids having to deal with s**t a little bit, 5 years, 10 years.
Load More Replies... i think those are just called... rules. Able bodied or otherwise, the point is that there is uniformity so the underpaid, overworked teacher can corral the 30+ students they have to their charge and teach them. So ableism, at this point, is whining because someone else has a job to do, and you don't like how they go about it?
A lot of these aren't about the physically disabled, but rather about neurodivergents, like me. For us, conformity takes all our energy. We constantly have to accommodate neurotypicals, so many of us feel like our needs are not being met.
Load More Replies... Here are a few more exam0les of ableism: - forcing students to read books - telling students they need to learn to count - not allowing pets in school - preventing students from playing video games during lessons - forcing students to wear clothes - not allowing students to arrive and leave whenever they feel like it - expecting students to learn when they can't be arsed - speaking to students Teachers are evil dictators, the way they try to help kids learn!
You forgot making kids go to school, forcing kids to have a period for the consumption of food, not allowing kids to swear at the teacher, forcing kids to learn advanced mathematics like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, forcing the kids to go to the bathroom to pee
Load More Replies... If you hand in a project late that costs your company a contract how accommodating do you think your employer will be? Excuses don't cut it
Vincent - in school you practice turning it on time where the only consequence is your personal grade suffering. No practice doing that or getting used to the idea of teachers catering to the student and then hitting the real world, the consequence is not merely that person losing their job but it could cost the company and the coworkers they work for|with suffering. Working for people is a form of group work.
Load More Replies... As someone who grew up with ADHD, I learned very early in life that you learn to adapt to the world around you, not to expect the world to adapt to you. Neurotypical people can never truly understand, you can never really prove that you have an issue, and if there was accommodation for it, people with no issues would surely exploit it.
Jack I hope you've had at least some people willing to learn to adapt to your needs so you can have people you trust around you. I am trying every day to learn more and more of how to adapt to my partner's needs. He also has intense ADHD and other issues.
Load More Replies... In the US, this is what an IEP is for. When you are a student, this document legally protects you to have the accommodations you need to function at school. It doesn't give a student free license to behave disruptively in the classroom, but it does clearly plan for how diverse needs will be met.
Not necessarily. I have several developmental disorders such as ADHD and ASD but throughout most of my childhood my IEP was repeatedly ignored. And not just subtle exploitation of loopholes, I would speak up about something in my IEP and outright be told that they didn't care. It really messed me up and I still feel the effects it had on my mental health today.
Load More Replies... Criticizes the educational system, but misspells 'losing' and and peppers tweets with grammatical errors and other typos. Fail...
I noticed that. And that is why we go to school, to spell LOSING correctly.
Load More Replies... While i agree with some of these, I also wonder if the teacher's needs were taken into account as well. Teachers have a pretty tough time already and are held to a standard that they have to cover each semester. I completely understand the need to accommodate differences. I have a medical condition myself. Understanding and making sure people get what they need goes both ways.
The tweeter is most likely writing these as bad faith arguments for attention. The majority of these are obviously rules designed to enable large groups of children to....learn. I'm guessing they put it under the cloak of an 'ism' to stir the pot as much as possible...shame on the twitter user, shame on BP for posting it and shame on me for reading and commenting.
Correction: the OP is 15 years old & doing what all teenagers have done since time immemorial - complain about school...
Load More Replies... Oh good grief, you want students who don't have to participate, can miss as many school days as they want, can turn in late assignments in unreadable handwriting with no penalty, don't have to listen to the teacher because they're listening to their own music, allowed to get up and just leave the class for a "walk", shouldn't have a consequence for disrupting the learning of others students, never have to work with other classmates, and don't have to do anything out of their narrow comfort zone, and shouldn't be called on for an answer unless they agreed to it. While some of the concerns in the article are legitimate and should have been covered in a 504 or an IEP educational plan, the rest would cause the structure of the teaching and school to fall apart. Then they would be complaining about the interruptions, lack of discipline, unfairness that others don't have penalties, not ready for the expectations of college, the military, or the workforce....etc.
Was this an /r/EntitledPeople post? Boy, she's gonna hate it when she grows up and has to get a job and follow the boss's rules. I can see it now: Reasons My Job is Ableist: - Requires employees to be there on time - Not letting employees leave whenever they want to - Requires employees to talk to customers/clients/coworkers - Requires employees to follow a dress code - Rewarding employees for not missing days - Not allowing employees to use their cell phones or other devices during work - Forcing us to do things we don't want to but have to just for a paycheck - Forcing employees to work together as a team - Forcing employees to meet deadlines on projects
Man, you have issues worse than us, to not see that there are people that have a hard time living just because of how these rules force them to adjust to their learning environments.
Load More Replies... I personally am not affected by a disability, but this article, as said by a few original commenters, is focusing on every part of school rules and schedule and treating them like they’re unbendable laws. I totally get having anxiety, or a learning disability, or anything else, and not wanting to speak in front of a class, but public speaking may very well be an important skill that schools need to offer more help with, like so many other things! But some of these ARE just stupid. I had two diabetic kids in my class last year, both type one. They have a problem with their insulin (I think, not an expert here) levels? Haha, better get someone to walk you through the whole damn building to the nurse’s office every single time.
As a parent to a child with a learning delay and ..who is easily overwhelmed by sensory input I agree with OP. Her intent is that schools need to be more flexible in their instruction. Yes, teaching students how to present or speak in front of a group is important but forcing a student who is clearly uncomfortable to present is not teaching that student anything besides free and resentment. This is why IEPs exist. My son's IEP allows him to take a lap down the hall when needed - he knows he can only go to the end of the hall and back. He can choose to do work alone. He was offered, and gladly accepted, a single desk at the back of the classroom instead of sitting at group tables. When he has an outburst he is escorted to a calm down room and allowed to come back on his terms when he is ready without being further disciplined back in class. If you don't have someone who is neurodivergent in your life and if you have never watched that person struggle you might disagree with OP.
At last a voice of reason here. I'm surprised at a group that is normally compassionate that is not quite understanding here. I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, but I always knew I had it. Now some of these things, it must be difficult for the teacher. But some of them are out of line. I remember being forced to give a speech in elementary school, and ended up vomiting in front of everyone. You can bet I never heard the end of that.
Load More Replies... I get and understand the meaning and point of this post. That being said, what about the kids who follow the rules and try hard? Do they not get credit for doing the work right and on time? And the teachers have enough to worry about (like low wages) now they have to walk on tinny tiny eggshells. Are they allowed to talk or teach at all? My son has ADHD. I get it. He does need special attention and a fidget spinner helped him concentrate. When I was in grade school I would hyperventilate just thinking about being called on for an answer. Still wrecks my nerves thinking about it. But school has to have a point, and rules. I agree that this list should be considered, but ok like "points taken off for turning in papers late", what about the ones who turned it in on time, do they get extra credit instead? School is there not just for science and math. School helps us grow as people. So yes, schools do need to help students more, but there is a line where teachers become pointless if they aren't allowed to hardly speak to the kids. Teachers need better pay. They are there to teach, not just babysit.
When you have ADHD, you have to try ten times as hard as your peers, and let me tell you, you it is f*****g e x h a u s t i n g. How old is your son? Because I'm currently a freshman in high school and I've struggled all my life to get by. and the thing about turning in assignments on time, it's usually not from lack of trying, but from the fact that our brains have trouble retaining things that aren't interesting to us.
Load More Replies... I came to write a reply to this extremely ignorant post but see that apparently I am not the only one who thinks this article is completely ridiculous. I weep for the future.
It's not ignorant... it brings to light the problems that those of us with neurological differences go through at school and the lack of help we often get
Load More Replies... My friend with anxiety got a detention last week for not wanting to participate performing what we were working on in drama. She helped write the script and gave us tips on our acting but had no part in the play because she was too anxious to perform. Yet our teacher said that not performing in the play she had written entirely was lack of work. She had a panic attack when prompted to perform and ran off the stage. Having a detention for having anxiety is awful, but when she asked pastoral if she could talk to her mum on her phone about it they said the reason wasn't good enough. Eventually she was allowed but the fact they wouldn't let her staright away was s**t
I took drama as an elective in 9th grade. Huge mistake. What was I thinking? I hate talking in front of people. I was able to switch out mid year thank goodness. Never again will I put myself in that kind of situation. I up voted you😊
Load More Replies... I mean some of them are good things to point out like forcing kids to not fidget ect. Make sense. But some of them like presenting, is a good skills to have, as well as participating. I think that kids should have the choice to do it in front of the class or just in front of the teacher.
i had an eating disorder in school and i was over weight as well so was starving myself and the teachers calling me out for my weight then punishing me when i refused to eat
Schools suck at dealing with mental illnesses, they really should do something about it.
Load More Replies... This is the most ridiculous and whiny articles BP has ever polluted the internet with.
So I guess their schoolsystem forces disabled kids to do things they can’t? Because these are all normal rules and out here disabled kids get special attention to help with all that. Like dyslectic kids get more time to take a test, diabetic kids can eat when they need to, etc. You can’t just say they can turn in their assigments whenever they feel like it, because some kid might have trouble being on time. That’s not how the world works either, and that’s what kids are prepared for. If you have special needs that aren’t met in a schoolsystem, you go to a special needs school.
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking it's stupid. But to call it ableist is ridiculous. The tougher the school life, better you are prepared for life. Diamonds go thru hell and only then it shines. But not everyone is meant to learn at school and it's not the school's fault. Maybe consider home schooling with private tuitions or don't bother too much about grades as they don't truly reflect your intelligence and talents. A school cannot keep up with everyone's personality.
The purpose of school is to develop new abilities. Most of the poster's complaints about schools being abilist is like akin to complaints of a restaurant being foodist - they are weaponizing a word incorrectly. No one is born knowing French, how to read, or how to sit through a 60 minute presentation on something they need to know but don't care about. All growth is from doing something we do not know and/or uncomfortable with and school should push you to gain those new abilities I do .agree that accommodations need to allow everyone to gain those abilities and each student's needs should be addressed. Unlike the original poster, most of the reply comments pointing out problems were examples of true issues. I still want my schools to teach the blind and dyslexic to read, the anxious and socially challenged (like me) how to deal with speaking in front of others and sitting still, and the innumerate to control their finances. School must enable every student to be better.
Yeah OP went a little extreme when they called it 'ableism', but most of the things on this list, if they were to happen, would be really good for neurodivergent and disabled people. And of course, not all disabled people would need everything on the list to change: a person with dyslexia won't get much help from listening to music while studying, but for a person who over stimulates it makes all the difference.
Load More Replies... So teachers trying to help our kids with life lessons and forward thinking is being ableist????? Seriously. I'm glad I had to give oral presentations. I'm glad there were rules and guidelines. The OP must be one of the parents who believe all the kids deserve a trophy whether they win or lose. Life is unfair. Jfc. Deal with it.
So, as a teacher, I have to disagree with many of these. But the one about late work really annoyes me. I've got due dates, you've got due dates. Easy as that. How am I supposed to grade a student if they didn't hand in anything to grade at the time?
ADHD impairs object permanence. We may miss the due date because we forgot to put the paper in our folder or something like that.
Load More Replies... Students who need to have fidget tools, time to walk etc - anything out of the norm - needs to have PARENT who goes to the school with proper documentation (dr's recommendation etc) as to WHY and get it put in writing. Then there should be no issue. If school won't let you - go to school board. If school board won't let you - go higher. Just expecting the school to let EVERY student do whatever they say the need - we might as well just have daycare for K-12 students and shut down the country when these kids grow up.
But some of these are skills you just have to learn for some jobs. Being able to communicate in a small team or work as a small group is essential for jobs. The "I didn't get it done on time" doesn't fly well when there is money at stake for a firm. The expectation is you do it in the timeframe or speak up before it's late to get help/extenstions etc. Ok, marks off for stuttering or reading out poor scores is unfair...but unfair to everyone. I'm not in any way disabled but hated public speaking. I just get nervous and trembly - so that was unfair to me as an able bodied person. But it did prove I didn't want a job where that was a big part. I'm fine in small groups or to people who want to listen to what I'm saying (like a riding instructor for example)
I get a few of these, but some are just "teaching the class" as an example for bad and ableist behaviour. I'm in no way a fan of the current school system (in Germany - the one in the US I only know from an outsider's viewpoint of course), but a few of the things called out here are just ... complaining about a scholl actually doing what it is meant for. Also - it not only is ableist (I'll just take this assumption, regardless of some of the examples here), it also is dis-ableist in the way that you are not only punished if you are too slow, but also if you are too fast and then engage in antisocial behaviour, like looking out of the window. Seriously, that got me in trouble. Also, the stupid "you had a break, why didn't you go then?" - this caused exactly every single time I wet my pants in school, and when I decided not to take it anymore and to physically free myself when I am physically prevented from leaving the classroom ... got me in trouble for kicking my teacher's leg.
to the comments going against the article for the reason of it trying to set a class of uniformity and to get pupils used to real-life things, you need to consider that not all people see it that way and that they have their own opinions, and that for some of us (including me with severe anxiety and ADHD) that some of these rules weren't easy to adapt to throughout the years of school. let it be me who's about to graduate, yes, school teaches you what you need to know and the rules are just normal, basic ones to follow, but you need to see that we're seeing it a different way to call them ableist, and if you don't to not come at anyone neither the article for stating otherwise. edit: thanks to those who see it the same way i do. it's not easy having certain conditions with certain rules put up around you because even if you think it's dumb we see school this way, for us it's extremely difficult and there's no 'but' or any other excuse to come from a normal person that changes it, you have to get with the program and realize that for some of us, these rules made school incredibly challenging for us, and that we had to do these things and it only made our anxiety and ADHD much worse, so please, stop justifying it over the fact it's "normal" and "teaches us what we need to know", because for us, we only learned "painfully difficult", and "extremely stressful."
I believe I understand the article in the same way you do. Amazing the lack of compassion for those that are different.
Load More Replies... My son has a high IQ. He suffered from anxiety and depression, panic attacks. This is inherited, several people in our family have suffered from the same problem. School didn't know what to do with him. I E P and other things. His academics suffered, has add. They ended up putting him in the severely mentally disabled childrens class. He wasn't learning much but was tutoring them. This was high school. He stayed in the room all day and wouldn't socialize because of bullying. I had home schooled him in middle school, his testing results were awesome. But I was unable to do that by high school. Took him out put him in an alternative school. Got his diploma. His whole school life was miserable. Many of his teachers wouldn't acknowledge his add, and panic disorder. Told me he was spoiled as an because he was an only child. I said your school tested him, we had him to counselors, you have his paperwork. They were idiots.
Some responsibility has to lie with the types of parents who 'fight' for their children to remain in mainstream schools hoping that this will help their kids 'achieve'. Special schools aren't what they used to be. The amazing thing about ALN schools is their ability to understand that kids learn in different ways. Pupils are still able to sit exams and gain qualifications there, but most importantly, they get an educational programme that it tailor made to the individual. You can't expect mainstream schools to be as inclusive as is hinted at in this thread, they have to push kids into things like public speaking, neat handwriting and group participation.
This is nuts. Adults have to be able to concentrate (and not fidget) in order to do most jobs. Children need to do exercise (now more than ever) to combat obesity. You could say something similar for almost all of the points on the list. No, schools aren't perfect and in a perfect world education would be better tailored to individual needs. But until some invents an education system that does that and at a price that governments would sign up to, we're stuck with this one. And we could do a lot worse!
We should coddle students, so when they get into the real world they are completely unprepared. This is why the U.S. is falling behind so many other countries in just about everything from science and math to reading and critical thinking. This will just prepare people to be whiny Karens who feel entitled.
Hold up, so you're just going to stereotype your way through to justify the side of your argument by saying how people are gonna be coddled up to the point that they have no form of independence once they get older? Wrong. This is talking about how the rules affect people with certain conditions, not how people are going to have to get out of their way to make sure people are babied to the point of no return. Reread the posts, it's of how the rules make us people with severe anxiety and ADHD feel, not how we want people to make constant exceptions for us.
Load More Replies... I have been in the public school system for 10 years so far, and it is in desperate need of repair. There are hundreds of issues, some that go far beyond the schools themselves.
First of all, if you're going to come up on this thread to tell people that their conditions do not matter because everyone has to suck it up and move on no matter how they feel, then you're practically brainless. We aren't talking about how the equality treatment goes to "treating us to our standards", it goes to telling you how much harder ADHD and other similar conditions (but not limited to such) make learning for us. It's so much harder in school for us, and that's literally all we're trying to say. We are NOT saying to give us some form of another treatment or to bend the rules in any way shape or form for us, because we simply are too distracted in class, we are TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MORE DIFFICULT CERTAIN RULES AND MANDATORY TASKS MAKE IT FOR US. GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND STOP CRITICIZING WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THIS WAS POSTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
And if you have any issue of some sort, please do comment against what I just said, I'll be glad to argue it out so you can get the point right through your head should you STILL not understand the significance of this article.
Load More Replies... Wow! This comment section is different than normal I feel. There are long paragraphs debating.
Yeah... it's a particularly messy one this time. Like, I never comment on anything but some of the responses to the OP have made me come out of the woodwork
Load More Replies... I agree with a lot of these, but some of these are things you need to do to get a job, and some really are just good skills to have for when you're an adult.
This is absolute bullshit. While some of these things are annoying as hell, a lot of them are just life. And even the ones that are annoying, are in general, not "ableist." Ableism specifically means prejudiced against people with special needs or disabilities, it does NOT mean a minor inconvenience.
Eh, some of these are minor inconveniences and some are absolutely essential. Getting marked down for not making eye contact? Minor inconvenience, annoying but I'll move on. Constantly being compared to a grade A neurotypical student and that your subconscious habit of stimming is bad? That's a bit more severe. Being called a 'special student'? Bring. It. On. (Btw I have ASD)
Load More Replies... Wow I was not expecting such an ableist comment section on such an important post. I love how people speak up against oppression but then they're the ones who are oppressing people's thoughts. Dang BP, I thought we were better then this
Just because some take a progressive stance on a certain issue doesn't mean they must ride the progressive train to the ends of the world. How are thoughts opressed here? By providing reasonable arguments to debate? The only way thoughts are opressed is by enforcing censorship and limiting free speech. Finally, I still don't get what an abliest comment section means.
Load More Replies... Half are reasonable in a sense, and some are dumb. (Reasonable in sense-if someone legit has an issue, teacher makes mental note and quietly does things like avoids the student talking in front of the class, not marking off for stuttering, so that it is not embarassing and so others don't catch on and take advantage of it themselves). Yes, you should lose points for late work without a valid reason vs excuse. You cannot go to work and hand in work late. We didn't always have this issue-or did we and it was ignored|unrecognized, or are kids needing more social skills and ability to sit still due to their lack of movement and being glued to a screen?
First off, these posts aren't declaring that people must prepare to step out of the way for those who think the rules are ableist, but how much harder it makes learning, for people with severe ADHD and anxiety, stress, overthinking issues, etc. If you're not one of those people then you literally don't need to be on this post because it's for people who can see from both sides, not for those who think people saying the rules above are ableist are just mindless (karens) people.
As an introvert, I hated school. I hated being last picked in gym, I hated gym. I hated presentations. I hated being called on. I hated group anything. I hated getting math problems right, but got 'F' because I "skipped steps". Sorry, my brain gets to answers and my hand skips them on paper! FU!
Sadly, these are so true. I hate presenting in front of a class, last time I did I wasn't really able to breathe, and any time I took a breath it sounded like I was crying, and I hated every minute of it. Also, I really wish we had sign language classes! I've been super interested in sign language, but don't know where to start learning.
If I'm talking and more than 3 or 4 people are listening to me I get flushed and stutter and just about pass out. Knowing I had to read or give a presentation in class was torture. But I got through it. Didn't help me, but I got through it.
Load More Replies... While I agree with what everyone in the comments is saying, please bear in mind that this list applies to a class of ppl that you've likely never been and will never know the struggles of (or maybe do: It just seems like most commenters here are neuro typical). For example, take the ones about needing some kind of repetitive movement to focus. As a neuro divergent person, the only way I can focus in classes/lectures is by taking pages and pages of notes. I had to train myself to do that though because all of the other ways I could do that repetitive motion I needed would be singled out and result in a scolding from the teacher. While I agree that some of these are bad if every student gets to do them, they are beneficial for people with ASD, ADHD and dyslexia/discalcula. Also, for those who say these are skills that wiIl help go able to get a job, how am I meant to get a job if my condition isn't dealt with in the right way? Ignoring it will make life unbearable and work impossible.
As with many things in life, I think it's the *way* the original poster said it and not their *message* that is raising eyebrows. For example, if they had said something like "here are some things that can be difficult for children with different needs - schools should provide accommodations on a case-by-case basis so every child gets a proper education", I can't imagine anyone disagreeing with that. By phrasing it as "schools setting up basic rules is ableist!", it makes people react defensively.
Load More Replies... I got points taken of of an end of year project bc I was not only doing it front of my class I was doing it front of two other classes as well. I was fidgeting with my hair and my hands and was very nervous and I got docked for it.
Reading many of these comments...I'm disappointed. Jesus Christ, have some compassion or empathy. If that's too hard then maybe at least a little understanding. Instead of making assumptions, being judgemental or downright insulting, imagine that you were suffering from anxiety or depression or a physical limitation and you were treated like that. I suffer from a chronic illness. It causes extreme fatigue, horrendous pain throughout my body that most couldn't imagine. And yet I still went to school. I went to school and suffered silently for seven years and caused untold damage to my body and mind because of people like you (not those who are taking this seriously) I worked harder than most people in my high school to just keep up. That is a fact. Suffering from constant pain and fatigue and anxiety and depression, I still tried to get assignments in on time and show up for class even when I was in no state to do so.
Here is the thing: there is a valid argument to be made that schools don't do enough to cater or even identify neurodivergent students. Myself, I wasn't identified as being on the autism spectrum until I was a few weeks away from my 40th birthday, because I was so high functioning, even though I had been telling my parents for decades that there was something off about me. This isn't about being coddled; this is about helping everyone learn skills at a young age that will help them deal with a world that won't or can't always conform to them. While there are many advantages (especially for parents) if the version of autism is being high-functioning, but the huge downside is that everyone just expects you to "suck it up" and figure it out on your own; which is harder to do when you literally don't know how to make friends and create a new support system and later in life can't hold down a job.
However this list does come across as whining (especially when talking about meeting deadlines and getting up whenever one feels like), even if the spirit behind it does come from a place of truth. The Prussian system of education (what is what is used) is deeply inefficient and actually not very good at teaching most students. It also doesn't help that many factory or trade jobs are either demonized or sent out of the country, so schools no longer feel a need to have them in schools anymore.
Load More Replies... While I agree with a lot of these, nowhere else in life are you allowed to miss days and deadlines like that.
"Not offering sign language classes/Mandatory sign language classes" ? How can both be bad? Why not just say, "Limited to only one kind of air to breath" bunch of nonsense. As for disabled or those with special needs. Schools make accommodation for those.
Autistic person here. Many of us on the spectrum (including myself) have nonverbal episodes. It can be difficult or even impossible to talk during these times. Since most people don't know sign and there are some times where I can't write what I need to say so I have to force myself to speak (which feels terrible). If everyone knew sign language, then everyone could communicate all the time. Plus some of us don't speak at all. Also deaf people exist
Load More Replies... Um, nearly everything in this list is EXACTLY what IEPs were created for. And this isn't a new concept. I graduated high school 22 years ago and never had to adhere to a time limit on tests - even the SAT. I also had bum knees, not even anything properly diagnosed until I was an adult, so I sat out of most physical education classes without it even being in my IEP. I also had extended time on assignments and many other provisions - all for an ADHD diagnosis. My daughter has an ASD diagnosis and she gets fidgets, yoga balls, and so many other things. They even give kids alternative seating options without an IEP in many schools now because they've realized little kids need to move. So I'm sorry, but I dispute this list. I do agree with the parts about standing in front of the class and other things like that that are torturous for certain plpeople (like introvert me with anxiety that wasn't diagnosed until adulthood)... there are many teachers that are just extroverted asshats though.
So...the whole US when it comes to economy, employment, and education is ableist? As someone from the US and neurodivergent myself, that sounds about right...wish it wasn't...Also deadlines are fine, just not stuff that's unmanageable.
"Forcing students to sit in their seat and stay seated for multiple hours at a time." THIS. My school is all-virtual for at least this week due to a few COVID cases. I only ever get up out of my chair to go the bathroom or to eat lunch. Also, I am an introvert, so presentations are not that pleasant for me. And about participation- what if we simply don't understand the material(geometry proofs, looking at you)?
Personally as someone with multiple invisible disabilities I thank public schools for giving me a chance to practice most of these skills in a safe environment while also teaching able children about people's differences and how not to judge. These times were hard and made me cry sometimes but without them I would be completely unable to function in the real world let alone with any independence.
Problem with this concept is by being accommodating to one group, you are actually harming another group. For example, there are some people who technically have a "low IQ". i.e. they aren't academically smart. But they are hard working and have good "street smarts". Giving these people credit for handing things in on time, working hard, presenting well, working well in groups... this is the areas where they shine, and by saying "those things don't matter for marks"... well now you are demoralizing a different segment of the school population.
They make an interesting overall point, but if you cut out repetitive content and idle complaining this whole thing would be like 3-5 tweets.
A lot of kids have undiagnosed neurodivergences, or the are diagnosed but teachers dont believe you even with a note. Also teachers think anything you do that they don't expect or understand is rude, and then you get yelled at even though you are trying your hardest.
Ok, this is going to be my last comment of the day, because I am done with this post. So done. So, as my last note, let me ask you some questions. Have you ever talked to someone while a building is burning behind you, and been told you can't turn around? Have you ever taken a test with glasses made of kalaedescopes? Have you ever had to take a cold shower everytime you're just about to talk to someone? Have you ever been told you've offended someone but you can see no reason why? And, most of all, have you been told that you can't catch up? That you're worthless, spineless, that there's something wrong with you if you can't do well in school?
If you answered no, congratulations, you don't need to worry about this list. This is just the naive mollycoddling ideas of a stupid 15 year old girl on Twitter. For everyone who answered yes to at least one, and who answers yes all the time... Well, the list becomes a little less 'special favours' and a little more 'survival tactics'. So please, consider that when you say this list is bullshit. I'm sorry I took it here, but it frustrates me that people think this is something that is easy to deal with. It's not. Neurodivergent and disabled people deal with scenarios similar to the ones above every day. Think about that.
Load More Replies... So basically OP just wants to complain about following any kind of rules, and learning social and life skills. This “article” sounds like it was written by a whiny petulant. Op, go take a nap
I personally don't have a problem with most of these issues, but I can totally understand why someone would. I do REALLY hate group projects. Regardless of how ableist they are, they just suck in general. I always end up doing all the work. Which sucks. Also, presentations/ making kids read/ calling randomly are kind of the worst. Super scary.
Good luck creating a happyland where everyone is a stupid lackwit who needs help wiping his rear.
I'm sorry that the system wasn't there to help you with that when you needed it, grow up and realize we're talking about modern day adhd and stress, and how it affects our way of maneuvering through a learning environment.
Load More Replies... Everyone getting at this article saying that its bullshit or whining should maybe talk with a psychologist about their clients. A dysfunctional school system with some (not all!) teachers that use the gap in power between them and their students to force, ridicule or punish doesn't teach anything but fear and the feeling of not being enough. Nothing that prepares you for the tasks and requirements of work life at all. What harm is there in doodling or stimming if it doesn't make a sound? Why do kids have to be forced into something that makes them feel severely uncomfortable and anxious? The problem and I see it in the responses here as well is, that a lot of people including teachers still lack the understanding that we are all are different and that what seems nothing to one can harm someone else for life. I don't agree with everything in the article and yes, we need to learn certain skills to get through work life but, and its a very big BUT, it always depends on HOW those skills are taught. Bad comparison but... I can teach a dog not to crap on the carpet by hitting him. A lot of people in this comments would cry out loud if I were to suggest that but have no problem if a kid, that's already frightened, gets mentally or sometimes physically abused and yes, a lot of things that happens in schools with bad teachers borders on abuse. Or you can use patience and try to work out what would work best.
About the music thing: When I was in sixth grade the teacher would only play Christian music. I wrote an anonymous letter telling her how it could be offensive to myself and others who did not share her religion, and luckily she stopped. But seriously, don’t force your religion on others.
In my estimation this is 70% legitimate concerns and 30% whining. Education can't be one size fits all, and some students do have "special" needs. On the other hand, there is no excuse for turning in assignments late, or chewing gum in class, or having smart phones as a distraction. All kids need to learn certain things, to develop certain skills; but different minds work differently.
@Freya the Wanderer That is true. Having boundaries and time limits is useful for everyone. However, I think too many people in the comments are outraged by what they see as 'unreasonable spoon feeding', when even some of the more seemingly small and 'petty' things on the list would be useful to someone. Like, I know if I got marked down for not making eye contact I would be gutted (I'm high functioning ASD). I think many of these are being taken as surface level, and people are not considering which conditions and how these measures help.
Load More Replies... Going outside for recess is "ableist"? Are the school also dictating what to play, or are they pretty much leaving them alone like they did with me when I was in school. You basically have 30 minutes of fresh air. When I was in high school I knew one girl in a wheelchair that was a competitive wheel chair racer and another guy missing an arm a varsity track star. I recently found out that I have high functioning autism and known I have had ADHD for the last 15 years, and I still told my sister, a math teacher don't treat the students that differently from "normal" students. Things like due dates for projects are that crazy to meet. As others have mentioned if you have doctors' and specialists' notes, schools will make accommodations.
Some of these make sense to be mad about, like taking points off of a presentation for stuttering, but a lot of these are just rules...
Public schools are set up for the average student, whatever that is, and grossly underfunded. It really isn't possible for teachers to do better within the current system. I'm all for totally changing how public education happens, but I'm also trying to figure out an alternative for my kid. I wish all neurodivergent, fidgety, "gifted" students could have a better experience, but I gotta look out for my own.
No, US public education is not "grossly underfunded". (This is a typical myth/knee-jerk reaction to a problem like this.) Per student spending in the US is second only to Luxembourg according to the World Economic Forum. And INSIDER.com looked at US Department of Education, World Bank, and Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and put the US second only to Norway in per student spending. This shows pretty clearly that US public education is not "grossly underfunded". So how is it other countries can spend less than the US but get better results?
Load More Replies... Are schools supposed to allow students to do whatever they please then? Sure let a child walk around for no reason without supervision and miss some of the lesson. Sure, let a child pull out something to eat and distract the entire class or possibly cause an allergic reaction. Sure, let a student hand in assignments whenever they feel like because teachers and administrators have nothing but time. Sure, don't assist children with their social skills because they'll absolutely never need to interact or work with others when they become adults. 99% of this list sounds like a immature "adult" wrote it. Are some rules antiquated? Sure, but many encourage order, which without, we're left with chaos and everyone doing what they want, when they want and how they want to. Smh
Letting a kid get away from sensory overload that overlapping voices can cause is not "no reason"
Load More Replies... My school has an elevator and so does me gym, we also have language classes (Spanish, Latin) and pe is graded by your effort for us :)
PE is just running laps endlessly. Then we lose free time easily from one person talking a sentence. One. Sentance.
Load More Replies... It's not just ableist, it's also adultist. The adults think they know what's best for a young person without even taking the time to get to know them. I say this as an adult with experience working in school systems. It breaks my heart that almost everyone commenting here is so indoctrinated into a broken system that they're actually defending it. And while yes an IEP may offer protections, how often does it get followed? And worse many parents of students with IEPs (at least in the school systems I've worked in) don't really have the capacity to navigate the confusing special ed system let alone be able to advocate when an IEP isn't being followed (which happens often because of, well, ableism and adultism). Some of these things may seem like whining but that's the problem - if you view it as whining instead of viewing it as someone calling out a broken system, things will always remain broken.
My brother in christ, 95% of these comments are just people being ableists. The person in the article is NOT whining. They are simply listing things that schools enforce that are much harder for us ND students. I'm pretty sure they don't mean "skip school" or whatever. Also, if you're just going to complain about the person in the article being "whiny" and not actually taking the time to understand what it's like for NDs, then you shouldn't be here. I agree with the article, so deal with it.
I feel as if a lot of these people in the comments do not know any people with invisible disabilities who would struggle in a standard school environment. Accommodations would only be given to the kids who need them, but you'd rather watch them suffer in silence.
I have Autism and ADHD, my attention span dies and spawns if i see or hear something interesting. I hate working in groups, and a few weeks ago my english teacher made everyone present something special to them which freaked me out because i hate public speaking
omg if one more uneducated neurotypical comments on this article im going to lose it. Lots of school rules prevent those on the ADHD and Autism spectrums from being able to regulate our behavior. Eye contact is incredibly uncomfortable unless you REALLY trust another person, and headphones help regulate noise. walking helps bring us down from sensory overload. self-stimulation (stimming) helps us regulate our behavior
A lot of people are talking about IEP plans for kids who need them. But they aren't talking enough about the other kids. Every kid I know has had a mental breakdown over school. Every. Single. One. They're sleep-deprived because they have so much homework that doing anything else at night requires going to bed at midnight or later. They often have unreasonably high standards their parents hold them to. You forget your homework one week? Congrats, your grade just went down. Do you choose to sleep instead of study? Congrats, you're failing. The school system is so bad. And nobody knows how to fix it. Because that's just the reality we live in, where they are constantly told grades are over their mental health. And it's not okay.
You want a "fidget toy" ? Chew on your pencil like your folks did. LOL
Wouldn't let me copy and paste, so here's a link to a google doc going through this. (By me, I'm the one who went through this. I don't know why.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xa_BhY9l8WuoxHbj8pIdy2lvI9i93tLeQ1Lj4nwDfaM/edit
Some of these I agree with, but many are silly. Many of these skills they’re complaining about will be necessary in the adult world so it’s important they learn them young. As far as the music thing...I’m the adult you’re the child. I think that is important for kids to understand.
And so begins the end of time. This society is spiraling around the bowl.
I'm in 8th grade and I eat lunch at 1:18 pm. I don't eat breakfast to make myself less picky and more grateful for the awful school food. Dinners at home are awesome
I hate having to worry about my grades 24/7 let me be a kid honestly also not caring about mental issues when school gives us the most mental issues (for me anyways)
Is this a joke? Life is "ableist" you moron. I can get on board with paralyzed people being allowed to skip gym class or something.. but reading in front of class? The horror! (yeah, I hated that too, but I did it, and I survived) Get your head outta your ass and stop being such a whiny victim, maybe stuff will look up.
Then you haven't read the one about how being vegan is bad for the environment.
Load More Replies... If there are no rules at all, no rewards, no grades and student can do whatever she/he wants then why bother at all? Why would anyone learn anything? And who would be discriminated if everyone gets the same grades no matter how or when they do it? That would be final discrimination of hard working and smart people. Even more, it would be an introduction to the society that doesn't have any motivation to work and improve. And I am saying all of that from the position of the parent who has a child with serious vision disability (genetic disease left him with less than 10% of central vision). He will probably never be a neurosurgeon but he is doing the best he can and is one of the most successful kids in his class.
Doing group work without the option to do it alone and presenting it is the worst
Anything to protest things that are designed to make your life better. This, while it may seem liberal, is really part of the anti-intellectual crusade. “Learning isn’t fair!” Chuh, okay.
Wow, the ancient school systems being unfair? Couldn't have guessed that.
They're not teaching spelling nowadays it appears. Losing/loosing.
I'm going to have to disagree with pretty much everything in this post. Punctuality, organization, group participation, public speaking. these skills are necessary for successes in the real world. For instance I have a Bachelors degree in a very lucrative high demand field and I got very good grades in school, but with the exception of punctuality I am not good at these other skills. Because of this I will most likely be passed over for many promotions in my career.
Not sure how it's a joke, to grow up in a learning environment with such rules, making people with conditions do poorly, severely compared to those that don't. You're trying to say that it's a joke, how bad these rules make people with severe ADHD and anxiety struggle in their everyday life? The only joke is how small your brain is to not be able to form a proper understanding of how there are people that have difficult times learning in environments with these rules.
Load More Replies... If you get an A for breathing then I should get an A despite breaking eye contact in a presentation. Seriously though, chill out. Like, while calling some of these things ableism might be a bit extreme a lot of them sure as hell are useful to neurodivergent people. Look up stimming - that's a particularly nasty one that ppl on the spectrum have to deal with. Like, half the list can help stimmers. All I'm saying is many of these would improve the quality of education for someone disabled/neurodivergent.
Load More Replies... Timmy, you do realize that some millenials are almost 30, right?
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