As I’ve said, you have to be willing to stare something in the face and deny its existence. And if you’ve listened to me for more than a minute, you know how passionate I am about encouraging all of us to see beyond what we think we’re looking at. Make sure you’re settled in and you’re listening and ready for the wave that’s about to overtake you as she and I kind of collide in this space of synergy, because we’re going to talk today about transcending disability. No one needed to build it – it was always there.So you’re not going to want to miss any aspect of this. To be part of that kick ball game – playing tag with freedom. Things, like watching from a window recess wanting The hall by fellow students who did not, nor could not understand. Simple things, like the looks and comments as we walked down Simple things, like going to a school assembly,Īlways separated. Provided countless lessons of what it meant to be oppressed and suppressed. There were always chores to do and we responded as we had been taught to do at home. In turn, they relied on our compassion and empathy. They tried to provide some dignity best they could. Some of the SE teachers suspected that we did not belong but they did not have answers for us. SE teachers dealing with countless challenges always multitasking – always pro-actively finding solutions. Especially those sacrifices, the courage, the love. The message from them was always crystal clear – “We provide the sacrifices, the substance, the roof, the courage, the love. But being in school, regardless of whether the opportunity had worth, was good enough for now. As far as my parents were involved, this was a time of ongoing frustrating confusion. An experience that I would in time come to view from other perspectives. The result was that, like others who had taken such tests, we were placed in Special Education. to deal with the confusion without answers. In retrospect, what I was feeling was degradation, ignominy, humiliation. Tears flowing without knowing yet their origin. After what seemed to be an eternity, the secretary reentered and noticed that I had not moved beyond my name and was crying in silence – the kind of weeping when tears gush down an expressionless face – staring in trauma. The pieces of paper were filled with multiple choice questions. Now I was alone with a stranger speaking a strange language with authority. My mind was blank as I was still dealing with leaving my mother’s side – the safe space she always provided. Instructions were repeated in the same Slooooow, LOUD voice, with an occasional Sign – as if speaking slower and louder would result in comprehension. She spoke SloI was taken to a room and provided a piece of paper and pencil. The registration day was memorable as a Latina mother and school secretary, who did not speak another language, tried to communicate. Education was put on pause as we followed parental employment from NY, to Boston, toDetroit. My first formal schooling in the USA took place roughly 18 months after we arrived. Playground, social language began to take hold, but academic language remained a couple of years behind through adulthood. It was like learning to walk again with weights strapped to those boots that we were always being reminded to pull up. The third and fourth times with embarrassment. “What did you say?” “Would you please repeat that!” … again, again and again. Babbling turned into annoying accents for others. The coordination of tongue, mouth, teeth, lips, nose, palate and throat would require serious re-education and practice. The deluge was relentless – homonyms, homophones, homographs, heteronyms – does anyone have a cognate handy? But the actual phonetical sounds were not the only barrier. Oh my! The “to, too, two” and their amigos kept on coming like a tsunami – threw, through – new, knew – mail, male – bass, base – plain, plane – genes, jean – dear, deer – dye, die – write, rite, wright. ’T’ sound followed by selecting my trusted a, e, i, o, ‘u’ sound and voila! – “Tú” Easy, right? I was not even close. My dominant left side of the brain quickly addressed the linguistic logic required. ¡¿Qué?! What did she say? No, no, no, how could they all sound like ‘¿tú?’ The teacher put them on the board and pronounced each. I remember the first time that I saw the words Significant variables while the other constant exceptions to sounds and rules. One deals with consistent sounds that can be relied upon without Spanish and English are like oil and water – theyĭon’t mix.
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