Journal 6

One day when I was at Pleasant View Elementary School, I was talking to my classroom teacher and she told me that the day before that a girl from the classroom nextdoor called another student the r-word. This truly shocked me. Where does a five year old child learn that word? Why did she think that it was okay to use that word?
The r-word was first used as a way to describe developmentally delayed people. It is an outdated and cruel term that is used to call someone stupid or slow. Even though this five year old most likely did not know the true meaning and was not meaning to be so hurtful, she was very rude. There is a campaign to end the r-word and it has people pledge to not say the hurtful r-word. The campaign to end the r-word states, “Why Pledge? The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It's offensive. It's derogatory. Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people.  Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions. Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language.”
Disability is not inability. Students should be included in “normal” classrooms so they can learn from each other. Students who have disabilities should not be counted out and teachers should want them to learn just as much as students without disabilities. Being able-bodied is valued in our culture and should not be. It is really demeaning and offensive that people still use the r-word to describe certain people. I think disabilities should be taught in schools to end the stigma and make everyone, regardless of ability, feel included.

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