#disabilities in the school system

[homosexual-trash]

My principal and superintendent are fucking ableist bitches and I hate them so here's a list of shit they've done to me (and/or my also disabled friends)

This first one isn't necessarily ableist, but it's annoying as fuck. My principal is so fucking adamant about me going to the office when I'm going to have a seizure even though we don't have a nurse at our school, and the staff clearly isn't trained to deal with my medical issues (as you will soon see). Also I'm not gonna walk to the office if I could collapse at any moment. I'm fine going to the bathroom

I use a cane, and I was going to go downstairs using the elevator, but it wouldn't come up (for context: the elevator has a door and a gate, both need to be shut in order for it to work) I tell the principal who was on the same floor as me, to find out that he fucking doesn't even know how it works. I explain to him and he the proceeds to spend THREE minutes talking about the flags hanging from the ceiling to teachers. I ended up being 5 mins late to class

Superintendent implied I was faking a seizure whilst I was having one. (I was in a single stall bathroom with my friend waiting for it to happen cause I felt it coming, it happened when he knocked, and he called it suspicious cause we were talking prior and went quiet when he knocked???) Also i can hear during my seizures.

Last year I had a seizure at my lunch table (I literally went limp) and he walked over to ask what was going on and despite being told what was going on, and that I was fine he FUCKING SHOOK ME.

I'm probably forgetting stuff, but yeah. If you work at a school for the love of GOD don't treat your disabled students like this. I fucking hope they either change or get fired

[mxmorbidmidnight]

You know those teachers who would have posters in their classrooms like “weird is a superpower” and “in a world where you can be anything, be kind” then would proceed to scream at a neurodivergent child until they cried.

[quartzdecay]

I have a request for people with experience with wheelchairs, if you personally use/used them or have people in your life that do: PLEASE COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM TO ME! TELL ME ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN SUCK! IN GENERAL OR SPECIFICS!

I need this information for a project I'm doing in my design class, wherein my group is going to attempt to prototype a wheelchair with both offroad and indoor capabilities, per say, that is still reasonably light and inexpensive. I'm asking this of you all on tumblr because to begin our project, we need to familiarize ourselves with the nature of this problem. We want our solution to actually be made with the opinions of wheelchair users in mind. I would be incredibly grateful if anyone could reblog or comment with any gripes they have about wheelchairs, especially in relation to their maneuverability, but anything works! Thank you so much for your time!

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

I don’t know who need to hear this.

but if highschool, college, university, or just anything like that is stressing you out to the point of suicidal thoughts and tendencies

you just have to quit, there’s nothing wrong with it.

your life is worth so much more than stupid grades or a degree.

for all the people in highschool who were always told “if you don’t do high school you will never get into college/university” I’m so fucking sorry but those people were lying their fucking asses off.

you don’t need a highschool education to get into shit, hell it’s mostly about the money. Knowledge is awesome and valuable but it’s not worth killing yourself for.

don’t burn out in highschool literally this is not even a fucking joke it DOES NOT MATTER fuck highschool.

grades are a sham, the education system is flawed as hell, and your life IS WORTH MORE THAN A 100%/A+

your life is worth so much more than that, grades don’t matter you’ll hurt yourself so much if you keep thinking that.

you can homeschool, you can become a apprentice, you can learn well anything you want online now! You can call up a local science teacher and ask them to tutor you, HELL! do whatever it takes to keep your life and your love for knowledge.

school sucks, I know too many people to say otherwise. Your feelings are valid you ARE NOT A FAILURE for not doing amazing at your homework or at school fuck anyone who says that!

genuinely those fuckers don’t know shit about anything, learning is mistakes and failures and learning FROM IT if you never got a chance to try again how is it your fault you didn’t improve?

don’t kill yourself over school that is such a stupid thing to do, you can quit school and still get a education!!!! people just want you to stay in school and get abused and stressed to death.

I taught myself so much, because the current ways we teach people fucking sucks ass.

remember the grades and numbers and all that shit does not matter, what matters is that you love learning things and you keep learning.

I will fucking slap you dead ass in the face if you say anything more, if your family is abusive and you have to be a high achiever? WELL still don’t fucking kill yourself over their dumb fuck obsession with you being “good at school” there’s no such thing as winning and losing at learning!!!!!!!!

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WINNING OR LOSING IN LEARNING!

genuinely there’s no such thing! You just don’t get it the first time! But learning and education is about love for knowledge it’s about kindness and respect it’s about finding new things it’s about being happy and knowing things you never did before!

it’s not about you “failing” it’s about learning that’s fucking it.

don’t kill yourself over the modern education system take fucking strikes, advocate for no time limits, advocate for better mental healthcare, advocate and SCREAM protest against it all.

your life is worth living, your life is beautiful and you have done everything to deserve it, you are someone is is worth something, and I will listen and we will fight.

you will get to the next day you will get to the next one after that you will live happily even if you think it’s impossible.

you will and you will love you will cry and you will see and dream and live a life YOU want.

abolish school, and we will make a new system that isn’t fucking what it was!

you are worth so much more than grades and papers, so don’t think so hard about it. You are you and you are worth it <3

-sincerely your local suicidal fucker

[vela-pulsars]

Sorry for the lack of activity, working on mods, but throwback to when I was hunting for a college to join and 90% of my interactions on student fairs went like this

[adorawasright]

(not spop)

i rewatched toh's "yesterday's lie" the other day, and while i enjoy this episode on its own, i think it ended up being confusing as the show went along. mostly bc yesterday's lie makes luz look bad for running away.

it turns out that summer camp wasn't all that bad since vee made some cool friends there, and camila drove to camp with luz instead of going to work, not to mention how much camila supports luz's interests. even vee herself calls luz out, even calling her ungrateful for throwing camila and everything else away.

and smth that keeps bothering me is that, as far as i'm concerned, we don't see luz actually being bullied, not even in flashbacks. what we do see most of the time is luz putting other ppl's lives in danger. she was supposed to learn to separate fantasy from reality, as said in the very first episode. which... doesn't even happen in the long term, since luz gets to have both worlds.

like, we see, for example, luz fearing she'll get ridiculed by amity, or worrying vee is going to embarrass herself. additionally, luz is protective of willow and her other friends when they're bullied themselves. like, these are valid reactions of someone who was bullied in the past. but again, when we do see luz interacting with her peers before the demon realm, she often creeps them out or straight up puts their lives in danger. i don't recall seeing anyone outright bullying luz for her interests.

yesterday's lie poses an interesting perspective, "what if luz stayed?". but it also doesn't make sense since the show is also trying to tell us that luz wasn't happy in the human realm, and wouldn't be happy in summer camp, and that she was indeed being marginalized. thanks to them showed camila's side of the whole thing, that she was pressured into sending luz to camp because of the school principal (iirc). but again, even the flashbacks show the other kids mostly being creeped out by luz, nothing more than that.

in conclusion: i do not understand what toh was trying to tell us. at first, it shows that luz didn't need to run away, that she needed to mature and separate fantasy from reality. but then the show contradicts itself entirely by not having luz go through that kind of growth, because school, society overall is in the wrong. and they don't give a lot of nuance. it's like luz doesn't have to grow up.

(and this is because i haven't even touched on the fact that luz is so attached to good witch azura because of her dad. this is never brought up again.)

[laconic-void]

To the people whose interests are literature, math, history, science, or anything else typically taught in school: I am so sorry.

I am sorry that you constantly have to hear people talking about how boring your interests are, how much they hate them, and how they "will never be useful in the real world." I am sorry the education system couldn't do its job of making learning these subjects enjoyable for students, particularly disabled ones, and that you have to face the consequences. I am sorry to the disabled students in question whose experience and interest with the subject was tainted by ableism.

No matter what you're interested in, there's another person out there who shares your fascination, and they rightfully think it's totally rad! Keep on going!

[reddpenn]

Are you a mineralologist or some other discipline of geology? Or are you just the most knowledgeable amateur ever? I'm an amateur geomorphologist, but I don't know as much about landforms as you do about minerals ❤️

No, I am just a hobbyist!

[alongtidesoflight]

prayer circle i wanna talk to anora tonight so y'all need to send me the prayers babes

[waitingforlostsouls]

Can't help but think about how once during an accommodations meeting with my school, they ended it early because we wanted to record. The issue was that previously only one person did not want to be recorded. However, they brought in over eight people who were not on the original list to sit in on this meeting. And when my mother went to press record, they ended the meeting early and people scattered. They grabbed their things and ran. We never even got past introductions. So I was there crying, while my mom sat there without anything to do, all while the principal and assistant principal never offered to give us a minute and stood there staring at me. Then the principal had the audacity to ask me "So, what do you think should have gone differently?" I think I'll forever be glad I decided to say "We should have been told there was a change to the attendance before we came" instead of some self criticizing bullshit.

You know why? Because the next meeting, the assistant principal who had stood there and watched me cry tried to say we were the best of pals, and that I was always down there in the office with her. They break the law and they don't care, and the systems meant to keep them in check sit by and watch. All the costs for lawyers, advocates, and independent services are all on the family of the disabled person. My school didn't even have an elevator for people in wheelchairs to use. They had to go outside in the cold, through a fire exit, to get to their classes downstairs.

So no, you're not my friends if you do that to people. You're not my friends if you stand by and watch me cry while proding me and breaking the law. You can take your kumbaya shit and shove it. I don't know you.

[nonconstories]

Someone pissed me off a couple of days ago

So! Below are several links to programs and foundations that promote adult literacy! Hundreds of millions of adults world wide were failed by their education system and now must fend for themselves while trying to read contracts and hospital bills and infographics from the CDC. But they don't have to be alone, and it is never too late to learn!

ProLiteracy: A network of educators, researchers, and advocates which provides research reports, learning materials, and other support to adult education programs. They assist with connecting volunteers to local programs and provide guidance and support to community leaders trying to use their programs' findings to advocate for social and political change.

Adult Literacy League: An adult education program in Central Florida, which aims to provide students with one on one attention to foster growth and confidence. It also offers English Second Language courses and job skills training, and each new student receives a comprehensive assessment to determine the best plan for them.

Saint Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center's Foundational Skills Program: A 100% free adult education program aimed at adults reading below a fifth grade level. It operates year round and is either in person or remote, and they now have a GED testing center that is open to students and the public alike.

Washtenaw Literacy: A free network of trained tutors for adults in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Adult Learning Program (Las Vegas/Clark County): Free education classes to those lacking a high school diploma, those seeking to learn ESL, and adults who read below an eighth grade level. Also assists in students' search for gainful employment. Nevada got so fucked by COVID and the education/literacy numbers in the South West are grim. Please help these guys.

Hawaii Literacy: In addition to helping adult residents of Hawaii Island learn to read and write AND bridging the education gap in Hawaii's underserved children, they offer computer literacy classes, ESL classes, and a bookmobile. 1 in 6 Hawaiian adults struggle to read and write.

[mouchee23gamma]

USA students with disabilities and disorders: LISTEN UP!

In the USA, a huge issue has gone unnoticed by our government, despite the cries of my people. Since the creation and implementation of IEPs and 504s for students with disorders and disabilities in school systems, this problem has plagued school systems on a national scale.

‘What is this problem?’ Is what you may ask. Well, I shall tell you from my perspective (and other students) as a female who has autism, ADHD, and GAD.

The problem is that school systems are allowing staff to discriminate and ignore students with IEPs and 504s. When I was in 9th grade, I had an English teacher who wouldn’t follow my IEP, which is illegal to do. Even with my case manager and parents communicating to him that he had to follow my IEP, he wouldn’t listen and lied about his actions. My case manager reported him to the higher ups of the school and her supervisor, but they didn’t even reach out to him, nor did they ever get back to us.

I was warned by many students with IEPs about this English teacher, as they also experienced the same exact situation where he refused to follow their IEPs. He was (and likely still is) the only option for 9th grade English, besides the English class for those who may have things like dyslexia or those who struggle with English in general.

I could’ve taken him to court, unfortunately though, I only found that out after I moved schools.

The next year, in my new school, my new case manager ignored my concerns and refused to talk about making a few changes to my IEP. She brushed me off by saying that I would be fine.

I wasn’t fine.

I ended up switching to online school, where I would be at home, yet still receiving the proper education through online meetings and programs.

Those of us who are students with IEPs and disabilities or disorders, especially under the age of 18, are oppressed and our cries for help are ignored.

We are SUFFERING. IEPs are NOT a privilege, they are a NECESSITY for those of us who have it!

My best friend who also has an IEP keeps me updated on the happenings of the school I went to (the one with the English teacher mentioned in the first paragraph) about how those of us in special education or/and have IEPs are being treated.

I have researched and read of so many incidents and situations like mine.

There is a HORRIFYING amount of mistreatment of my community, my people, with disabilities, disorders, and IEPs among schools across the nation.

How could schools claim to treat everyone fairly and that consequences for discrimination will ensue, when the teachers are the ones who discriminate more than most of the students and get away with it?

We need to change, and we need to revolt against schools who let staff get away with discrimination of those of us with disabilities, disorders, and IEPs!

WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED! WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHT TO EDUCATION!

To my dear readers, please share this post across social media platforms to spread the support we so desperately need. Please share this among family and friends, coworkers, and even teachers and school staff.

[mxmorbidmidnight]

between bullying, disability burnout, constant accidents (ie, being accidentally body slammed by almost full grown men), excessive stress, more bullying, horrific and large scale junk food consumption during exam seasons and overall shit fuckery, School is managing to single handedly SLAUGHTER my health. god someone send healing potions. the weakness in my dragon hide is EDUCATIOn. GOOD LORD!

[squirrelbee]

auDHD culture is being so damn angry at the education system because they don't even manage to teach the neurotypical kids how to work with their brains instead of against them, let alone neurodivergent students

[gayvampyr]

i hate the idea/trope that poor kids who do well in school don’t need any support when it comes to college, or that they all get full-ride scholarships. i don’t do well in school now that i’m in uni but i was a straight-A student throughout all of middle & high school and i got 1 (one) scholarship for $500/semester, which is less than 5% of my tuition. i didn’t have the opportunities or knowledge a lot of the other wealthier kids had, whose parents and grandparents and siblings had gone to college too. like we don’t all end up getting exactly the help we need, and i know the poor kids who weren’t straight-A students had an even harder time getting into college, if they did at all. it’s rough out here for all of us. the only sure-fire way a kid could get guaranteed financial assistance was if they had knowledge of the system and the time and money to pursue them. it sucks

[tanzdoesthings]

having an assignment where the whole topic is “is it worth it to suffer for art” is really making me think.