As an educator-by-training, I have had quite a number of experiences with the education bureaucracy in dealing with their constant need to label our children. Learning disabled, special ed, gifted, deaf and hearing impaired, blind and partially sighted, and speech-and-hearing “handicapped” are just some of the ways we label our children. I’ve taught most of these “groups” and have always gone into each situation with the philosophy that all people learn differently and that it is my role as a teacher to provide opportunities for academic success for all of my students.But what is “academic success”? Ah, there’s the important question, because once you figure out what success is, then someone has to measure it. To adults, that means standardized testing, because it’s the easiest thing to do; everyone gets a grade and that’s how you get your label.

The funny thing is, we support this way of treating our children and then are astonished when they hate school, get bad grades, behave badly and even drop out. Kids are not stupid; they know when they’re being treated like numbers and if you don’t care about them, they’re not going to care about you or your standardized tests.

So what does all of this have to do with disability rights? Well, if you or your child do not learn in the way that is most suited to getting the highest test score, you get a label. When you get a label you probably get a 504 or Individualized Education Plan (IEP). What is the purpose of these? To make sure your child scores the best he or she can on those standardized tests. In spite of what the adults say, they’re not strength-based. They’re definitely not interest-based.

And if you’ve ever been a teacher who has had to write 504’s or IEP’s, you know that generally they are not very “individualized” as you pick things from banks of choices in various software programs. So if you do not learn in the few ways the bureaucrats say you should, you are set up to “fail”. It’s been my contention that this isn’t right.

Before I came onboard at CDR, I had been (and still am) known as an educational activist, so lately I have been representing CDR in some actions in Rochester concerning education reform. There are community groups such as Coalition for Common Sense in Education and Community Education Task Force which have been working on local education issues. I have begun attending their meetings and events. Groups such as these usually focus on all children and do not differentiate between disabled and non-disabled students.

This doesn’t mean that the Advocacy Department is changing its focus away from transportation, attendant services and housing issues. I am participating in order to form alliances with groups we do not usually consider allies to work on some common goals – like making sure our children with disabilities are treated fairly so that they, like the rest of our children, can be come independent, civic adults. We are hoping that these allies will work with us on other issues that we share as well.