Julie Stauffer

<<You seem to be saying that we should just accept ourselves>>

That is EXACTLY what I'm saying.

<<And not try to improve ourselves>>

Didn't even imply that. I am saying that just because something is hard,
that you do poorly at something, doesn't necessarily mean there is anything
wrong with you. Just because you are "wired" different than some mythical
"median normal" person is "wired", doesn't necessarily mean there is
anything wrong with you. Improve away, work away, do whatever you think
will work for you. But the term disability strongly implies that there is
something inherently wrong with the person and I can't bring myself to
believe that different equals disabled.

Julie--mother of many square pegs

Bridget

> <<And not try to improve ourselves>>
>
> Didn't even imply that. I am saying that just because something is
hard,
> that you do poorly at something, doesn't necessarily mean there is
anything
> wrong with you. Just because you are "wired" different than some
mythical
> "median normal" person is "wired", doesn't necessarily mean there is
> anything wrong with you. Improve away, work away, do whatever you
think
> will work for you. But the term disability strongly implies that
there is
> something inherently wrong with the person and I can't bring myself
to
> believe that different equals disabled.
>
> Julie--mother of many square pegs

But you still seem to equate diagnosing what the "different" part is
with calling someone disabled. In the case of dyslexia, which
started this thread, expecting a dyslexic to learn to read without
any input from others is like expecting a blind person to learn
braille without any input. Sure, eventually that blind person will
stumble on braille by himself, but wouldn't it be much easier if
someone said, "Hey, there's this thing that might work for you, you
want to try it?" So why shouldn't a person who suspects dyslexia
look into the research and the methods others have found and use them?

And before you start saying that I'm equating dyslexia and blindness
and therefore calling dyslexics disables, define disabled? My cousin
is blind and the reason why I thought of the analogy. He has
accomplished way more in this lifetime than I could ever hope to, so
which of us is disabled?


Bridget
Nollaig Shona -- Síocháin ar domhan,
----------------------------------------------------------------------
At 18, our convictions are hills from which we look; at 45, they are
caves in which we hide.
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lynda

You don't have to be labeled "disabled" because you find out that you might
have something that "can be" a disability.

In fact, isn't that one of the great things about unschooling? Not having
to accept the labels that ps would put on one?

And, part of the origin of this discussion was that I said that there is
"real" dyslexia vs. all the non-professional diagnosing and labeling that
goes on in schools. I haven't figured out yet why folks would want to hang
onto using a label if they don't have to but that would seem to be what is
happening here.

Knowing what a "problem" or "obsticule" is that "might" place a hurtle in
ones path to learning something is NOT a bad thing. The bad thing is not
knowing and being frustrated or allowing it to limit one.

My grandfather use to say "Knowledge opens doors you thought were locked."
And he wasn't referring simply to education.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: Bridget <rumpleteasermom@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2001 9:31 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Digest Number 1651


>
> > <<And not try to improve ourselves>>
> >
> > Didn't even imply that. I am saying that just because something is
> hard,
> > that you do poorly at something, doesn't necessarily mean there is
> anything
> > wrong with you. Just because you are "wired" different than some
> mythical
> > "median normal" person is "wired", doesn't necessarily mean there is
> > anything wrong with you. Improve away, work away, do whatever you
> think
> > will work for you. But the term disability strongly implies that
> there is
> > something inherently wrong with the person and I can't bring myself
> to
> > believe that different equals disabled.
> >
> > Julie--mother of many square pegs
>
> But you still seem to equate diagnosing what the "different" part is
> with calling someone disabled. In the case of dyslexia, which
> started this thread, expecting a dyslexic to learn to read without
> any input from others is like expecting a blind person to learn
> braille without any input. Sure, eventually that blind person will
> stumble on braille by himself, but wouldn't it be much easier if
> someone said, "Hey, there's this thing that might work for you, you
> want to try it?" So why shouldn't a person who suspects dyslexia
> look into the research and the methods others have found and use them?
>
> And before you start saying that I'm equating dyslexia and blindness
> and therefore calling dyslexics disables, define disabled? My cousin
> is blind and the reason why I thought of the analogy. He has
> accomplished way more in this lifetime than I could ever hope to, so
> which of us is disabled?
>
>
> Bridget
> Nollaig Shona -- Síocháin ar domhan,
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> At 18, our convictions are hills from which we look; at 45, they are
> caves in which we hide.
> -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
>
>
>
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
> Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
> http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Bridget

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Lynda" <lurine@s...> wrote:
>
> Knowing what a "problem" or "obsticule" is that "might" place a
hurtle in
> ones path to learning something is NOT a bad thing. The bad thing
is not
> knowing and being frustrated or allowing it to limit one.

Yes, exactly. There seems to be a kind of throwing out of the baby
with the bathwater going on here. Just because you don't like the
way our current establishment uses the labels, does not mean you
can't use the available tools to solve problems.

Bridget
Nollaig Shona -- Síocháin ar domhan,
----------------------------------------------------------------------
At 18, our convictions are hills from which we look; at 45, they are
caves in which we hide.
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald