Education Can Come from Unexpected Sources
A few months ago, I began teaching my general music students about the history of African-American “Work Songs” or “Spirituals” as they’re more commonly known today. This music, created out of the depths of human suffering and trauma during the horrendous four-hundred year period of enslavement in this country, has a deep rooted history, older than the United States itself. The story of this beautiful music, it’s painful origins and inspiring resilience is the story of American music, and represents one of the many rich legacies of African-American cultural contribution and creative achievement.
In teaching this lesson, I set out to give my students a foundational knowledge on enslavement in the United States. After a quick survey, it was clear that the majority of them didn’t have any true understanding of enslavement, an occurrence I’ve encountered frequently as an educator and performer of “Work Song” repertoire. Given the sensitivity concerning the graphic accounts and images associated with this period, I chose to introduce the topic by using excerpts from “Harriet,” a film featuring the brilliant Cynthia Arrivo as Harriet Tubman. We talked about the Underground Railroad, the ingenuity and courage of those who fled for their freedom and the coded messages contained in song, quilts and letters from that time.
The discussion was typical of many surrounding the period of enslavement in that most students were reserved in offering their opinions and feelings about such a raw emotional subject. However, there was one student who kept answering questions and stating historical facts time and time again. I was surprised, because he is usually quite reserved, and speaks very little—especially during class discussions. He went on to tell us all about Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and described the Underground Railroad in great detail, including travel routes and how to read certain coded navigational patterns stitched in quilts. A bit shocked, I asked him, “how did you learn about all of this?” His answer was astonishing.
“From Assassin’s Creed 3”, he said with his chest pushed out full of pride. “You can fight for the Union Army during the Civil War in that game, and help free the enslaved people”. He continued, “I do missions for them all of the time. Whenever they call on me, I do all that I can to help. We all need help and every little bit counts.” He spoke with the resolve of an active abolitionist purposed with helping others in their greatest time of need. His response left me speechless and my assistant in tears.
As an avid gamer with roots in 80’s and 90’s video arcade culture (think “Street Fighter II” and “Blazing Star”), I wasn’t attracted to the action adventure shooter games that became popular with later generations. However, that day I bought a copy of “Assasin’s Creed 3” with a profound admiration bigger than the game itself.
My education continues.
—Reginald Bennett, Jr., M.A
Funding for Students with Disabilities in Our Public Schools (Not as it seems)
According to an article in the January edition of “Teaching Exceptional Students,” a well-respected peer-reviewed journal for educators, so many of the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is government mandated, are not really being funded by the federal government, leaving local districts and states to pick up the slack.
This leaves many programs and resources either underfunded or non-existent. Who pays the price? The students of course. It is one thing to mandate but another to provide the money and oversight to make sure that children with special needs are taken care of properly.
I have seen this personally while coaching or doing professional development in the schools in the New York area, having had my child go through a suburban public school system. In many places the teaching staff is under-prepared, the materials not present and Universal Design for Learning is completely overlooked.
In some places this is due to lack of funds. In others there is a lack of awareness and willingness. However, most administrations and educators want to do right by their students and help provide them with opportunities to succeed. This is impossible without adequate funding and training.
We look at the drop-out rates and the ability to get higher education, vocational training or even low-level employment for students with disabilities and it is not encouraging. Surely our government can do better. These are all our children with tremendous potential and so much to offer our society. Let's not leave them behind.
—Dr. Carol K Kennedy, Ph.D.
Who Will Take Care of My Special Needs Child When I’m Gone?
One of the major concerns that parents and families of children with special needs have is the question, "what will happen to my child when I am no longer here to look after them?" I include myself in this category.
Regardless of finances, there is always that concern about who will really have their best interests at heart. And there are other questions, such as, how can we avoid placing this burden on siblings? Will their needs change over time as they get older?
Personally, I wonder about providing for my child while not overwhelming his sibling. Even if I set up a trust, who will be around to oversee it or be able to say "no" when a request is unrealistic or if services are needed? This week I met with a gentleman who has a son in exactly this position. Professionally he is a trusts/ estate lawyer, but deals with so many families in this situation that he decided to create Hope Trust, which is a website designed to provide services as needed for such individuals. This trust is in its early stages, but is forwarding-looking and offers so many resources based on a deep understanding and knowledge of the individual in need and provides an exciting solution to an issue we all worry about.
Some families have children who will have to be in life-long supported-housing/care. Some are on Medicaid. Other parents have highly-functioning children, yet still need some oversight and help, especially when things unexpectedly go wrong. Their child may experience needs that are emotional and financial or in the area of housing, legal, psychological, overall health or other unanticipated crisis’.
We all know that things can be going smoothly until suddenly they aren't. These are the types of issues that keep us all up at night, even in the best of situations. So let's think outside of the box and consider these kinds of trusts to give us and our families some peace of mind.
—Dr. Carol K. Kennedy, Ph.D.
Getting From One Place to Another
I attended a meeting at the United Nations Non-Government Organization Committee for Education Learning and Literacy that I belong to. The featured speaker was a beautiful young woman who has cerebral palsy who addressed the many challenges she faces as a person with disabilities, including body image, transportation, working and acceptance.
While she has a physical disability, she shares many of the concerns of those young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and other cognitive disabilities. Just being able to be accepted by her peers and other adults as "normal" has been a challenge, so she started a blog about beauty, especially for young women and girls with disabilities, and how to accept yourself as beautiful and worthwhile.
She also talked about one of the greatest challenges, which is transportation and how getting around New York City and other places from one destination to another affects her whole life in ways we cannot imagine. This includes getting to work on time or working late, getting to doctor's appointments, staying at a friend's home and then returning home and so forth.
Her use of Access-A-Ride, a service for NYC residents, is very unreliable and needs to be booked two days in advance. How can any of us anticipate where and when we need to be somewhere two days ahead of time on a regular basis? Just imagine that a friend asks you to have dinner or a boss asks you to work late but you have no way of getting there or back home. Most of us take getting around whenever we need or want to for granted, but in the disability community this is a huge concern, especially as adolescents transition to adulthood and begin to obtain independence.
—Dr. Carol K. Kennedy, Ph.D.