school help: Anyone who wants to give advice! - Help.com

Anyone who wants to give advice!

The following is a one page paper i have written for a class. It is nothing like what I’m used to writing, so anyone who wants to comment about structure, spelling, grammar, content or whatnot feel free!

Today I have an appointment at Accessibility Services. This involves a trek down to the building on Huron ****. and then an elevator ride to the ninth floor. The first time I came here, I could not find the room. There is minimal signage to announce the location. Once inside the little waiting room, every inch of wall space is covered in pro-disability posters.

I’m at Accessibility Services today because, unfortunately, I cannot write exams like a “normal” person. This poses some difficulties at the end of semesters. Accessibility Services promises to do their best to “help” with my next set of exams. Since my circumstances are not typical I will need to file documents and fill out forms. Letters will be written explaining my “problem”. By doing all of this, I may be given permission to write my exams under different conditions. Before leaving, I am assured that none of the other students will know.

My visit to Accessibility Services leaves me overwhelmed with paper work, but it also gives me something to think about. I spent my appointment discussing what “my” problems surrounding exams are. Students are expected to write their exams in the “normal” fashion, or there is a problem with that student. This leaves me as the one that is not “normal”. I have had “some terrible chance event” happen to me, and now I am I must deal with my problems (Oliver, page 20, textbook). The University of Toronto recognises that I have a problem and in response have set up Accessibility Services to “help” me.

Exams written during the exam period are typically written in rooms with hundreds of other students and students must remain in the room for 3 hours. This method of administering exams puts individuals with a disability at a disadvantage. This is an example of an organisation (the University of Toronto) failing to meet the needs of disabled people (Oliver, page 21, textbook). The length of the exam, the time of day they take place, the pace they must be written at and the amount of people in the room are all factors controlled by the University of Toronto. Thinking about it in this way, it is the University of Toronto that has a problem.

Thus the problem of writing exams at the University of Toronto can be expressed in two ways. The individual model of disability would say “Cat has a problem writing exams at the University of Toronto”. The social model of disability would say “The University of Toronto has a problem setting exams for persons with a disability”. The evident difference between the two positions is the allocation of blame. Whenever the idea of a “problem” is brought up, it is followed by the concept of blame. Whoever the blame is bestowed upon also receives the job of fixing the problem. The result is this question: which party should have to do the work of changing, and adapting?
A safe conclusion is that there is more to be learned in the field of disability studies, by everyone.

This open post was written 1 month, 1 week ago | V/U/S: 141, 7, 5 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

school, disability, english (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

A logged in and verified Help.com member has the ability to setup a Friends List and invite others to help with posts.