On Disparity in Education: The Risks and Bravery of Being First

The school year is about to begin.

Being one of the first or the only students with any discernible divergence in any characteristic is dangerous, difficult, and involves tremendous courage. Over 50 years ago, at the beginning of a school year,  the Little Rock Nine walked with angry white mobs behind them into their local high school to exercise their right to a public education with their white peers. Initially, the Arkansas national guard blocked their entrance by order of the Arkansas governor. Eventually, President Eisenhower ordered  my stepfather's unit, the 101 airborne division, excluding my stepfather and all black soldiers, to escort the students to and from the high school. Time Magazine's 2007 Legacy of Little Rock article recap of the more than half century that has passed since these events reminds us that sadly, most of our schools are still bereft of equality and still segregated along racial and socioeconomic lines. Most schools today are also not truly inclusive of disabled students, particularly those who have apparent differences,  multiple challenges, or whose neurodivergence is clear and cannot be masked.

 The thing about relating historic events is that documenting them doesn't always impart the impact on those taking part in them.

Image description: Elizabeth Eckford. a tall black teenaged girl in a white and plaid dress, sunglasses, and short curly hair, tries ignoring the insults of Hazel Bryan (2nd from the R), and others in a crowd of taunting whites bullying her as she tries to reach Little Rock Central High School, September 4, 1957.

We frequently discuss bullying in schools, and how things must be done to stop it. Disparities in education amplify the likelihood of abuse of all minority pupils in  life threatening ways on a daily basis. When a student steps up and insists on exercising their right to a free and appropriate education, and that student's parents make the decision to support their son or daughter, an entire series of events is set into motion. These events that set the stage for disaster in the aftermath of victory evolve from the resentment of radical change by those who feel they benefit in some way from the status quo. Being new, different, first, has consequences. What happens if, unlike the Little Rock Nine, a student who is divergent is unable to inform parents when staff and other students are targeting them because they are different? What are their options? For those of us who were students of color in the 60s and 70s integrating all white schools, administrators, teachers, and staff were many times not our friends and some were our abusers. If you were verbally abused, bullied, beaten, or worse, some staff looked the other way. This reality of constant sustained maltreatment is a fact of public school life that parents might understand intellectually but are not able to grasp viscerally. Their divergent preteen or teen  must walk into that war zone each day alone.

In the fall of 2012 at Hillsborough County Florida's Rodgers Middle School, special needs student Jennifer Caballero walked out of her gym class. We will never know why. Jennifer's body was found 6 hours later by divers in a pond. 

Image is a photo of Jennifer Caballero
An 11 yr old Hispanic girl with dark hair
worn down with bangs. She is looking up.
Her mouth is open in what looks to be the
beginning of a smile.

The presumption made was that Jennifer's disability influenced her behavior and she simply wandered off. But every competent professional I have questioned on the topic of student wandering, elopement, truancy, and absenteeism stated that if a student wishes to leave an environment there is something wrong with the environment not the student. In fact, a week later, a different Hillsborough school district teacher failed to report that another special needs student in another middle school was missing from her classroom. If these students were not neurodivergent, many things would come into question. Are these students being bullied or ignored in their schools? What is happening to drive this low tolerance of the school environment? I know among those of us who were many times forced to integrate all white schools, the abusive environment was too much, and because those in a position of power had no interest or regard for the abused pupils, students would simply cease attending. No one would assume that if a typical student walked out the student was the sole problem. Only in school districts where extreme poverty exists, the school has a disproportionately high nonwhite population, or the student is in special education is this somehow an acceptable answer.  The Hillsborough County school district has the disturbing record of having three students, all minorities, all neurodivergent, die while in their care. Cases like these end up settled in lawsuits and forgotten. Meanwhile those critical factors in both the micro and macro cosmic milieu of the student preceding the catastrophic event are not addressed or changed. 

 As a student who survived things happening sometimes right under the noses of well meaning classmates and good teachers, I wonder how I can emphasize the depth of the crisis here. It isn't just a crisis of one district school system. It is a crisis of attitudinal ableism that permeates the present education environmental infrastructure such that when harm comes to a student, the student, who is the victim, is blamed. It was not the fault of Elizabeth Eckford and the other eight black students who tried to attend high school that each day of their school year was a hell of angry white mobs hurling insults and threatening harm; nor that this maltreatment continued inside the school as well. It was the fault of the setting they were forced into and those who administrated it. Leadership sets the tone for how any student is treated in school. What you see in the picture of Elizabeth above is akin to what is faced by many disabled students in general and neurodivergent students in particular throughout their academic lives. The more apparent the difference the higher the rate of daily maltreatment. The "cover your public entity's behind" approach to school administration does nothing to insure the welfare of students at high risk for victimization. When someone is noticeably behaviorally, intellectually, or physically different, isolating them from their peers will not help reduce bullying and maltreatment. Segregating them within the greater general population of students doesn't help either. I want to end this cycle of secret harm that happens even when our children have made some headway towards inclusion by in some way shape or form entering their neighborhood schools as Henry Frost has. We need to understand that the Henrys of the world are paying a high price in trade for their insistence on justice and what is right. We need to step our support of them up a notch as a community. Doing so might be one of many ways to help prevent the deaths of students like Jennifer, while protecting the mental health and welfare of students like Henry and my own son Mustafa.

This is an example of an idea simmering in my head. A kind of roadmap maybe. When a new divergent student transitions into a neighborhood school there should be a transitioning plan in place for all parties involved (beyond the IEP of the student) whose aim is the safe absorption of the student into the academic and social life of the school. This could be done if stakeholders:

1. Acknowledge that both the first students to enter full inclusion and the fewest of any minority group will be gaped at, maltreated, and jeered at behind the backs of staff and administrators. So it falls upon the faculty, administration and staff to create bridges to introduce these students to the student body at large and ask for volunteer peer mentors to actively take on goodwill ambassador roles for students transitioning into fully inclusive environments.

2. Arrange mandatory team teaching and inclusive education training for staff and teachers that includes understanding and overcoming ableism, spotting red flags indicating bullying or maltreatment of divergent students, and a toolkit for transitioning to an inclusive classroom teaching protocol that mitigates bullying and fosters inclusion by example.

3. Create anonymous, safe, procedural protocols for reporting incidences of abuse against special needs students that protect faculty, staff, and students from retaliatory action from superiors or aggressive peer groups. 

4.  Create a route for either virtual or onsite observation of schools and classrooms where true full inclusion is working and auditing schools where it is not. Compare what is being done right with what is going wrong and include all shareholders as equal members in making inclusive schools safe academic environments for all.

 I cannot ask Henry Frost how his year in his neighborhood school went. It is a personal thing that he

Image of Henry Miles Frost and his service dog, Denzel,
Henry is holding two signs the large one in white, reads
"The Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted equal rights to all
people." "I am a person". "I want these rights".

may not be ready to discuss. Ever.  I can only guess. I can only guess what may have been on Jennifer Caballero's mind when she decided to leave the gym on the last day of her life. I can only imagine what was going on in Elizabeth Eckford's mind when the picture posted above was taken on September of 1957. Having been in their positions, I can only salute these brave souls, and pledge solidarity from a fellow survivor. And to brave Jennifer Caballero, rest in peace. We will remember you. Change is going to come. 







Links
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1663841,00.html 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/body-of-missing-11-year-o_n_2007099.html
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/teachers/hillsborough-teacher-fired-for-letting-special-needs-student-wander-away/2164074
http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/10/10/social-media-helps-student-with-autism-find-his-voice/

On The Pros and Cons of Public Disclosure Of Private Information By Morénike Onaiwu

I saw a post online that motivated me to write this. A lot of my thoughts are largely derived from a statement I drafted last year in a private group.

I'm writing today to share some food for thought for those families who are considering the pros and cons of whether or not to publicly disclose intimate details about a minor child, such as issues related to personal hygiene, "aggressive" behavior, sexual orientation, HIV status, sensitive matters about an adopted or foster child's family of origin, etc.

This whole disclosure thing has been discussed many times. There are many different ways to handle different situations. However, I need to speak up about this today. Because "different" does not equal bad. And it sure as heck does not equal SHAME.

My family has made our personal choices. WITH OUR CHILDREN'S BLESSINGS we disclose SOME things publicly about ourselves, while others remain more private matters. In some areas, we have told family, all close friends, and have disclosed to others, i.e. some acquaintances and classmates, on a "need to know" basis; in others, only family is aware. And that's okay. We are living proof that you can exist--and thrive--somewhere between public disclosure and selective disclosure, as we have done for nearly a decade.

Every family is different, and what works for family A won't work for family B. It's important that I say that, because I truly believe that. But I also have to note that even though it is *said* by many, including publicly disclosing families, that "either choice" (openly/publicly disclosing, or not) are *equally* good choices, it seems pretty evident to me that it's not universally viewed that way.

People who are public are lauded as heroes, and it is implied AND SOMETIMES explicitly stated that those who aren't public in the same way that they are are fearful, secretive, or ashamed.

And I'm sorry, but that's bull stuff. For my family, we don't in any way live a shameful, secretive double life.

Despite the fact that we are not public about every aspect of our lives, we live a fulfilling, shame-free life as a proud multicultural, multinational, neuro-diverse, adoptive, HIV affected family of color. We don't lie nor ask members of our family to lie about anything related to our circumstances. We have never hidden the truth from our children, and and speak openly with and in front of them about many related matters.

Our children are well-informed, confident, supported, secure, and loved. Few other 10 and 12 year olds can tell you as much as mine can about stimming, echolalia, sensory issues, HIV transmission methods, different classes of HIV meds, adherence, opportunistic infections, treatment as prevention, etc.

There is nothing wrong with publicly disclosing families. I have the utmost respect for what you are doing. However, I'm freakin' tired of many of you throwing those of us who (for good reason) have made different choices than you under the bus!!!!

It is fully possible to work diligently to dispel stigma, increase awareness, and promote acceptance without publicly disclosing sensitive details about a minor child. There are many ways to be an advocate--even a public advocate--that do not require such disclosure.

You can be public. But I still think you should consider exercising some decorum. I don't believe that the world needs to know that your child's birth mom was a meth addict. I don't think the world needs to watch a YouTube clip of your autistic child having a meltdown. I don't think the world needs to know that your teen smears feces. I don't think the world needs to know that your internationally adopted 3 year old child Kalkidan Morgan who lives in Anytown USA is HIV+, complete with full name, pic, address, city, etc. (Edited to add this: I am not hating on public HIV adoptive families, but some [NOT ALL] need to re-assess their method and their motives.)

As an advocate myself, I totally get the desire to get involved in community affairs. But I'm a mom first. That will ALWAYS come before my advocacy. And as a mom, in conjunction with my family I have made a decision regarding disclosure that works for us--selective disclosure rather than public disclosure. It might not work for YOU, but it works for US; SHAME ON ANYONE WHO SAYS THAT WE ARE LIVING IN SHAME.

This is super long, but the main point is that there is a need for public families, and we have all learned from them. For some of you, those who have been public were an influencing factor in helping others. And that's a blessing.

But keep in mind that the water's fine on the other side. I'm not just saying "it's fine" when it's not truly. I mean it's really fine. It's not only okay to not be public, for some families it is the better choice. Period. Please think about these things and consider all factors and all sides of this. Don't just follow the status quo.

And by the way...

If you don't like what I have to say, please unfriend me. I'm not interested in a back and forth about this. If we can't respectfully disagree, then we can't respectfully be "friends."

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Morénike Giwa Onaiwui is the founder of the former Positive Playdates, a playdate group (now merged with a local nonprofit) that connected HIV affected families and refugee youth, and of the newly launched Advocacy Without Borders, an initiative to reduce disparities through education, community advocacy and self-empowerment. Additionally, Morénike is currently involved in a variety of leadership efforts related to Ryan White Part D advocacy, namely the "Save Ryan White Part D!" Initiative. See her complete biography here.