8
Commentary
January 20, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Disability Discrimination
Faculty of Education Fosters an Unsafe Environment
Maverick Medeiros Commentary Contributor content warning: ableist slurs
A
fter insomnia wrought havoc on my studies, resulting in me taking a year off from school, I decided to enroll in the Faculty of Education in 2018. I had some misgivings about my program choice because I lacked the volunteering experience that many people in the faculty have. Despite my struggles with social interactions, I planned on trudging through my major because I viewed this degree as a means of teaching abroad in a Germanspeaking country or the United States. Unfortunately, the time I spent in the Faculty of Education was fraught with challenges and I could not accomplish what I set out to do. Initially, I enjoyed the time I spent in the Faculty of Education. However, as the semester progressed, I had to deal with a bevy of group projects, which made me feel isolated. I had a hard time finding anyone who wanted to work with me. Most students in my education classes would sit with their cliques and they would establish groups therefrom. Although this made group projects more difficult for me, I figured that this obstacle would not be insurmountable since most assignments were done individually. By the midway point of my first semester, I began to question whether I had the capacity to become a teacher. Two of my education classes contributed to the fostering of such a belief. In one of my classes that touched upon the psychology of teaching, the professor of this class used the term “mental retardation” to speak about students with severe learning disabilities. Students in this class were often rowdy and would speak among themselves during the lecture; however, when he uttered “retardation,” you could have heard a pin drop. This remark caught me by surprise as I found it very unbecoming of an institution such as McGill, which I assumed would not stand for such archaic terminology. Although I am typically not a stickler for words, this term deeply hurt me. As someone who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, (a disorder often characterized as a form of autism) I found it deeply offensive that a representative of the Faculty of Education referred to students with mental and physical disabilities as “mentally retarded.” Although Asperger’s may not be as debilitating as other disabilities, it did not stop administrators and teachers from making my scholastic experience difficult by reproaching me for my body language, social
skills, and shyness. The professor’s choice of words dredged up these memories and reinforced an archaic view of mental health. As a result, my deep distrust toward the Faculty of Education festered. I erroneously assumed, however, that my condition would not hinder me much in the Faculty of Education. A few weeks after the aforementioned incident, I decided to speak up in one of my other education classes despite the fact that I often find class participation to be uncomfortable. When I did so, the professor told me that if I wanted to become a teacher, I would have to learn how to project my voice. I assured her that I would find a way to make it all work out even if speaking aloud is not my strong suit. She was unsatisfied with my response, and consequently made me stand in front of the class to read out my answer, arguing that no one heard me when I initially answered. The first time this occurred, I brushed it off, figuring it was a one-off. However, the next time I raised my hand and answered, the professor made me stand in front of the class once again. After I finished reading out my answer, my peers who were sitting at the back of the classroom began to laugh and snicker at me. It was incredibly uncomfortable. I was the only student in the class who was called out for not projecting their voice. Whenever I finished speaking, my peers just stared at me blankly and I had to make an awkward trek back to my desk as they eyed me. Although the professor’s actions may have been well-intentioned, they left me feeling isolated and alone. By the end of my classes in November, I had become completely disillusioned with the Faculty of Education. I had a couple of days before the field experience began to come to an end and I could forget about these unfortunate experiences that I had. Leading up to my field experience, I had to fill out forms and provide them to my coordinating teacher (CT) and supervisor. The form asked for the typical information that one would expect of such a document. It also included a question concerning what we would like to accomplish during the field experience. I mentioned how I wanted to assess whether teaching would be the appropriate profession for me. Regrettably, members of the Faculty of Education would later wield this very response against me in justifying some of the actions they would take against me. The goal of the first field experience is to sit in the back of the classroom to observe the teaching methods that our CT uses and the
Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor ways in which students respond thereto. Our CT wanted us to eventually go around the class and ask the students if they needed help. I did as instructed and asked them if they required additional assistance. Most students rejected my offers of help and opened themselves up to the other two student teachers that were present in the classroom. Moreover, the students, who were (for the most part) in grade 11, already had their minds set on trade school and showed little interest in using class time to complete the assignment. From what I gathered, many students had already finished the assignment and were merely granted additional time if they needed it. Thus, I decided to step
back since badgering students my body language. Earlier, I informed about their assignments would not my supervisor that I had misgivings about the faculty and the teaching accomplish anything. profession. My supervisor vowed to make contact with the Internship and Student Affairs Office (ISA), which, among other things, oversees conflicts that arise during field experiences. By the end of the week, she informed me that the Internship Office told her to fail me because it seemed likely that I intend on changing faculties. With two weeks remaining, I already knew that I was going to fail the class no matter what I did. The Internship Office made a concession That very same week, my by exempting my field experience supervisor pulled me out of class and grade from my GPA. Nevertheless, I told me that my CT complained about still had to trudge through two more my seemingly flippant attitude and weeks of my field experience.
I was the only student in the class who was called out for not projecting their voice.