They were not self-contained enough for the more dangerous and cruel members of the teenage population to get to them. Using the “tards” to pull pranks or worse was common because they could be talked into doing things so easily. Years before Glen Ridge, I remember the problem of rapes happening on campus where “normal” guys got sex from the special education girls. Also, the district did not have separate buses that transported special ed., so they rode the regular buses (Lord of the Flies on wheels) too and from school.
In my high school, there was an unofficial zero-tolerance policy about picking on the disabled kids. Not so much as in, “they get special priviledges”, but that if the principal or one of the teachers caught you, you knew you were in deep shit. Like that was one thing they were really serious about.
I’m not saying it didn’t happen – though it wasn’t all that severe, usually. But if some jock was pushing around some kid from the special ed class? I don’t even want to think about how our principal would’ve reacted.
That being said, I still don’t think he needs to wear the letter. Let him get the letter that’s the one for his particular catagory (it’s the same for the JV kids, after all – they don’t get varsity letters). I’m not saying this will necessarily “teach him a lesson”. However, if down the road, someone tells him, “oh, you only got that because they felt sorry for you!” that might really hurt. Why are the letters in his catagory somehow not good enough? Because they’re for special ed? Why not just judge him on his own merits, rather than compare him to the varsity kids? The reason I posted said “glurge” wasn’t so much because of the story itself, but because of the comments from Snopes – that it was basically feeling sorry for the kid, and giving him a false victory. Looking at him as “The Special Kid”, rather than as an actual individual. Do you really think he’d like it if he found out he only got the letter out of pity? I’m guessing THAT’S what would happen – someone would tell him, “you only got that letter because they felt sorry for you!” He’d probably feel like shit.
What about this: what if one of the varsity kids wanted to wear a letter from one of his group? For whatever reason, doesn’t matter – do you think that would be cool? I don’t.
And by the way, if somehow having a different lettering system for the SE sports programs is somehow “demeaning”, then why isn’t having separate teams for them demeaning as well? :dubious:
Again, you’re assuming a lot here. It may be something as simple as he admires a particular kid in his class and saw the jacket the kid wore and told his mom about that jacket, and she got him a letter because he wanted a jacket like that. It might be that she explained to him how the other kid earned the varsity letter, and he didn’t understand the explanation. Whatever: the mom made the call that this was the best thing for him, having a lot more information about the situation than you or I did.
If he’d shown up wearing a Spongebob T-shirt, he might similarly face taunting from douchebags about it. But his mom and he are the ones who made the call, and absent any clear sign that it’s a terrible call, it’s theirs to make. Not sure why you think you’d know what’s best for him better than his mom does.
Wasn’t there a news article a while back about some Down syndrome kid who “climbed Mount Everest” in the sense that he made it to one of the base camps?
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It may be something as simple as he admires a particular kid in his class and saw the jacket the kid wore and told his mom about that jacket, and she got him a letter because he wanted a jacket like that.
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That isn’t what his mother said.
Regards,
Shodan
But the reason DOES matter. If a varsity athlete wanted to wear a special education letter because he admires the special education athletes, he volunteers as their team manager, and wants to show his solidarity, that would be quite admirable–the makings of a made-for-TV movie starring Valerie Bertinelli. If a varsity athlete wanted to wear a special ed letter because he thinks calling himself “special” is hilarious, then he’s a douche. And his peers would be so busy telling him so that the school administrators wouldn’t have to say a word.
If someone’s being a douche, punish him for being a douche. But wearing an emblem is not sufficient for douchedom. Context matters.
Just like the context here matters. This isn’t someone who’s trying to pass himself off as a varsity athlete. It’s a kid who thinks a specific symbol is cool and hopes some of the coolness rubs off on him. He’s not being a douche. He’s not hurting anyone who isn’t intentionally looking to be hurt.
The mom basically thinks that there should be no distinction between the types of “Letters” that are awarded to students. All students should be equal.
I don’t know if that was her original motivation last year when she bought her son the letter jacket, but that is her stance now.
I know, I worked my ass off in Physics 1A and 1B and only got a** B**. That was really unfair because I worked harder than those dumb physics majors who just breezed through it. I should have gotten the same **A **grade they got based on my trying my hardest.
I’m really sorry–not for your B, but for your lifelong struggle with Down’s Syndrome and autism. I had no idea.
Because apparently he wants to, it will make him happy and it isn’t hurting anything.
Everything he ever gets will be from pity. Really. And I’d be shocked if he could begin to understand the difference between "earned’ and “really earned” or whatever. Downs and autism? He’s very likely entirely, or close to entirely, non-verbal. Subtle nuance is going to be lost here.
No. no, it’s not. Thank you for pointing that out.
Just tell everyone you got the A. That doesn’t hurt anyone, and anyone who objects is just being a selfish jerk.
Regards,
Shodan, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate, and NFL MVP three years running
You, as well, have been fairly successful at hiding your struggles with severe intellectual and social disabilities. Of course your analogy would be ridiculous if you were not so afflicted. I’m learning so much about my fellow posters today!
I’m not sure where the idea that this kid is so severely disabled comes from. Yes, he’s been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and “autism”*. But both of those have a very wide range of possible disability - there are people with Down’s syndrome who live independently or with limited assistance, who hold jobs and even some who attend college. Similarly, people with “autism” might be severely disabled or they might be only mildly impaired.
I have no idea how disabled this kid is- I’m sure he is disabled enough to be in special ed. What I don’t know (and I don’t think any of us know) is how close he falls to the dividing line where if he had been just slightly less disabled, he wouldn’t have been in special ed.
- Autism is in quotes because I’m not entirely sure what the mother means by “autism”.She might mean autistic disorder or she might mean he’s “on the spectrum”.
As someone who does have a Ph.D, I am not threatened by you claiming to have one. I like to think that my accomplishments and abilities speak for themselves and don’t hinge on the claims of some internet guy.
Now, if we’re getting paid to post here based on our educational attainment, I’d probably feel differently about you faking the funk. But since the status conferred by a Ph.D is of the Mickey Mouse bullshit variety, I have no reason to care about what a bunch of electrons named Shodan says about himself.
All right, this is my third warning in as many days in this thread. I don’t care how offended anyone is. I don’t care how sensitive anyone is. Personal insults are not permitted.
One more violation of any sort and this thread will be closed as counter-productive.
My apologies.
You’re missing the point. Your accomplishment of the Ph.D. doesn’t speak for itself. Because it isn’t very hard to get a Ph.D. Even someone with Down syndrome can get one.
You don’t need to write a thesis, and you don’t need to do any original work. Getting a Ph.D. doesn’t mean you did any of those things. You tried, and that’s enough to show that you deserved it.
Getting an A on a test means exactly the same thing if you studied hard and got a 98, or if you studied hard, spelled your name wrong, and left the rest of the test blank.
That’s all an A means, or a Ph.D., or a varsity letter.
Regards.
Shodan
No, indeed, she’s not: you are. The point is that we treat people with severe intellectual disabilities differently from how we treat neurotypical people, for very good reason. Analogizing to how we treat neurotypical people is a piss-poor analogy, as I pointed about above with a regrettable over-the-line jab.
And even someone with Down syndrome can get a school letter.
Receiving a Ph.D at my particular institution DID mean that I had to write a thesis and perform original research. I didn’t get a Ph.D for “trying”.
But it is possible to get a Ph.D for “trying”, I’m sure. Probably from a diploma mill somewhere. And? A person who has a Ph.D from such an institution is easy to distinguish from individuals who actually did doctorate-level work. I’m not at any risk of having my job taken away from me by someone who is an imposter or wanna-be.
The fact that you’re equating these things blows my mind.
Earn enough A’s and you can get into an Ivy. Earn a Ph.D and you can teach in one. A varsity letter signifies only that some administrator somewhere thinks you have sufficient school pride. If a letter at one school means you’re a football legend and a letter at another means you showed up to band practice, just how meaningful is the thing, really?
It’s a freakin’ letter. As I said at the beginning of the thread, the ocean floor is lined with these things. Ten years from now, 99.5% of the students at this school are not even going to remember what happened to their letterman jackets. The remaining folk will be those who peaked in high school. Like this kid. I really don’t think the school administration should be fighting over something as inane as this, even if the mom is one of those annoying people who can’t let shit go.
Because if the mom won’t let this go, what else won’t she let go? And if it isn’t this annoying mom, there are all the other annoying moms and dads, guardians, grandparents, etc., who will see this example and think, make enough noise, get enough press, and their little special snowflake can have everything it (pronoun used on purpose) wants. Sometimes a line has to be drawn and an established rule enforced. No one wears unearned letters seems simple and fair.