Educational Disparity

 Today's post will be on the importance of education, what it is, and the different forms that education can take.  Particularly, when you have multiple disabilities, like I do, it can make traditional forms of education extremely difficult to acquire.  I have experienced first hand the challenges that come with this due to my severe dyslexia, dysgraphia, fine motor skill deficiency, ADHD, Hight Functioning Autism (HFA), and cerebral palsy.  I do not say these things to complain, rather, I mention them in order to highlight the reasons why traditional education is perhaps not the best rout for myself and handicapped individuals.  

There are many things that I am capable of doing, and I have many talents.  I have an excellent memory and recall for specific topics like history, politics, music, and other social sciences.  I also have an acute awareness of the moods of people around me.  My background has helped me to have an appreciation for the acquisition of knowledge, and I am grateful for the efforts that have been given in an attempt to improve the education of the disabled.  However, I still think that the United States educational system is falling short in this regard.  Although handicap persons are now afforded the right to public education, this was not always the case, and that education is often lackluster and lacking in quality.  I don't say this to disparage the special education professionals, as there are many good teachers out there.  However, these professionals are underfunded, under supported, and often not given priority for their unique logistical problems.  

The United States education system is overall, underfunded.  This doesn't change the fact that this issue is most acute in the special education system.  I don't claim to know what the answers are, just that none of them will be easy.  Having been a student, I do believe that we as a society still need to build up the quality of our public education, giving handicapped individuals the ability to contribute to society in a meaningful way.  This may sound harsh, but it is my opinion that not all people with disabilities are capable of contributing to society in a financial sense.  I am by no means saying that we should get rid of those people, but I am saying that we ought to acknowledge that there are certain disabilities that mean that people who have them wont be able to contribute to the workforce.  

I would argue, that because of the attitude against handicapped individuals, we ought to reassess what it means to be a contributing member of society.  The fact of the matter is that some people will not be able to ever financially support themselves.  These people should still be taken care of and still can have skills, opinions, and connection that can contribute to the society as a whole. For handicapped people like me, who actually can contribute financially, and want to do so, getting an education is still nearly impossible.  Having taken college courses, and been on the Idaho government disability advisory panel, I understand these challenges and difficulties in terms of state time and resources.  

All of that being said, people with handicaps such as myself are being thrust into a system that was never successfully designed to accommodate them in the first place. Therefore, I would recommend that methods of education for those with disabilities be reassessed to create a model that is similar to that of European nations.  To allow handicapped people to be put to work, and given educational opportunities based off of what they can do, rather than focusing on accommodating our "deficiencies".  The requirement of a high school diploma for certain jobs is simply not necessary and a at times, a bit much.