|
 Sticks
and Stones
by Sandy Alperstein, Our Children Left Behind, MAY 12,
2004
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
With words,
we govern men. - Benjamin Disraeli
Yesterday, in “Truth of the Heart,” Debi Lewis wrote so
poignantly about the tragic results that can occur when
educators label children. She concluded that “[w]hen
administrations start to back off the notion that kids must be
sorted by label, our children can finally be viewed as
incredible assets instead of liabilities.”
Debi’s words reminded me of similar thoughts expressed by Kathie
Snow, a well known Colorado advocate, in her essay, “People
First Language:”
Words are powerful. Old and inaccurate descriptors, and the
inappropriate use of these descriptors, perpetuate negative
stereotypes and reinforce an incredibly powerful attitudinal
barrier. And this invisible, but potent, attitudinal barrier is
the greatest obstacle facing individuals who have been labeled.
When we describe people by their labels (medical diagnoses), we
devalue and disrespect them as individuals. Would you want to be
known primarily by your psoriasis, gynecological history, the
warts on your behind, a balding pate, or any other condition?
Worse, labels are frequently used to define a person’s potential
and value! In the process, we crush people’s hopes and dreams
and relegate them to the margins of society. When we hear a
person’s label, we (mistakenly) think we know something
important about him, and we give great weight to the label,
using it to determine how/where a person will be educated, what
type of job he will/won’t have, where/how he’ll live, and more.
In effect, a person’s future is often cast by others, based on
the label. Today, millions of children and adults with
disability labels are effectively “incarcerated” behind the
walls of “special (e.g., segregated) places:” special ed
classrooms, congregate living quarters, day programs, sheltered
work environments, and more—all because of the label that’s been
assigned. Labels have the potential to ruin people’s lives.
These thoughts stuck with me as I read about the amazing journey
of a group of self-advocates in Washington State. As reported in
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on April 12, 2004 in a piece
called “Lobbying from the grass roots,” a group of grassroots
disability rights advocates endured an “arduous” legislative
session that “forever changed this group of citizen lobbyists.”
Described by one of these self-advocates as “an amazing
adventure,” these ordinary citizens battled against the odds to
achieve passage of a bill that would require the use of People
First language in all future official state documents. (“People
First” language is a way of describing someone which puts the
person ahead or his or her label – such as “child with a
disability” instead of “disabled child.”) “We want to be seen as
a real person,” said one self-advocate. Another said, “It might
not impact everyday life now…It’s kind of a trickle-down
effect.” Finally, another advocate concluded: “For future
generations, it’s my hope that people are spoken of in
respectful manners. And if this is the beginning of that, then
that’s wonderful for us and wonderful for everyone – as
individual advocates and together as a group – to say that we
were the beginning of that time that set a precedent.” You can
read about the twists and turns that finally lead to their
surprising victory in this piece, and perhaps you will see the
parallels to our fight to save IDEA for our kids. (I sure did –
the twists and turns, the “on again, off again” vote, and
hopefully, the final victory! And I don’t know about you, but
for me this has certainly been “an amazing adventure” that has
“forever changed” my life!)
If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt
thought. - George Orwell
Words and labels, as Kathie Snow points out, can be used to
include. But they can also be used to exclude. In this regard,
the opposite of People First language may be “edu-speak,” a form
of jargon that is taking over in our schools, according to a
Washington Times article, “Flunking the Jargon Test.” According
to this article, all the jargon being used in the education
field today is “specifically designed to be confusing. ‘It
reinforces the divide between schools and families.’” All this
at a time when, according to this article, schools “need to
involve parents in their child’s education, rather than alienate
them with incomprehensible jargon.”
Talk about jargon! Nowhere is jargon more prevalent than in
special education! It’s a veritable alphabet jungle out there!
All those acronyms – IEPs, FBAs, BIPs – the list goes on and on.
And if that isn’t bad enough, then there’s all that “code talk”
swirling around us, with the rollout of No Child Left Behind and
the reauthorization of IDEA. At least with acronyms, a parent
can get a list of commonly used ones and eventually learn them.
Not so with “code talk.” “Code talk” uses everyday words, but in
anything but an everyday manner. At least with acronyms, the
parent knows that he or she doesn’t understand; with “code
talk,” the frightening thing is that the parent is lead to
believe that he or she does understand, when in fact he or she
doesn’t! As Shari discussed in her Home page article, “NCLB: A
Context for Breaking the Code,” “some code words that sound very
benign on the surface could actually translate into your child’s
worst nightmare.”
So People First language is not just about being “politically
correct” – it’s about a whole new way of thinking about (not
just speaking about) people with disabilities. And jargon and
“code talk” are not just cute little ways of communicating
within a group – they are about excluding some while including
others.
Let’s all pay attention to what’s being said out there –
especially now, during an election year, with flowery rhetoric
on the one hand, and IDEA under attack on the other. Let’s pay
attention to which candidates and legislators truly walk the
walk, not just talk the talk. And, as always, let us know what
you’re hearing!
Our Children Left Behind [OCLB] was created and is
owned/operated by parent volunteers (Sandy Alperstein, Tricia &
Calvin Luker, Shari Krishnan, and Debi Lewis). Permission to
forward, copy, and/or post this article is granted provided that
it is done in its entirety and is attributed to the author(s)
and
www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com. For more about OCLB or to
share information, please contact
parentvolunteer@ourchildrenleftbehind.com.
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