take an action

Maybe the time has come for me to take an action...stand up..speak for what I believe in..argue for what I think is right..and what I know is wrong..today I came up with a very strange, yet painful fact: People with special needs are discriminated against. Thats a well-known fact. But it has more to it. They are not being discriminated against by what others would refer to as "normal" people, but by their very own people. By those who are supposedly different but on a different level. Levels do exist in their system. Maybe this should be our first issue that we need to solve instead of working on inclusion, equal rights...etc. I am not speaking generally. This is a very sensitive matter, and it does relate to where I work at right now.

It has been happening the second I moved into my new classroom. It has been happening for every single day. Starting with the materials, classrooms, toilets, food, and the way others perceive US. Our section. We do not have suffiecient materials. We do have ugly classrooms. Our toilets arent working AND not suitable for our students. We are always the last to receive the meals. The forgotten ones. The dead section. The silent students. Poor. Weak. Heart-breaking. All that applies to our section.

The image of our students today has been in my mind all day. They were simply dragged to the stage to 'look' like theyre part of the performance, when other students are actually performing in front of them and being clapped for. Ofcourse they have been rehearsing since ages. Our students were supposed to sit some place where they can not see the stage very well, because wheelchairs take so much space. And that space should be occupied by much more important individuals.

What hurt me the most, and what was so painful for me, was the "wheels of the bus" performance. Our class's favorite song. G's favorite song. The song they were promised to perform and sing. They were also dragged for the third time on stage. And were placed at the very back. Okay, well, maybe wheelchairs do take space. But why should G be standing behind when other students, who are NOT NOT NOT better than her in anyway, are sitting right in front of her performing and singing out loud. She can walk. She can run. She is WAY SMARTER THAN THEM. She does not have cerebral palsy. She's not part of the section. Thats why she should leave us. Yes I decided to give her up to the deaf section. I dont care if they dont want her, or have no space for her. She belongs there. With other students who are just like her. Students who communicate using sign language. Students who are taught how to read and write. Students who have a high chance of being admitted into a regular school environment, and get a job as they get older. She should be there. Not with me.

I am typing with tears in my eyes. I love her so much that I MUST give her away. I shouldnt be selfish and keep her with me. I'll be so unfair to her. Yes I love her, but I can not teach her. What happened today hit me straight into my heart. I couldnt stand there watching her with my group of students. She is different. And if the stupid center would treat students based on their disability, then she deserves to be part of a more respected section.