Making a classroom accessible

I have had a chance to work with a number of individuals, both students and adults, who could be said to have disabilities. I have also discussed this issue in a number of my education classes, not the least of which makes it any less important to talk about. I don't have alot of in-depth experience working with physically handicapped indiviuals, though I did grow up with someone who has muscular dystrophy, and has long been confined to a wheelchair. I wrote a paper on my experiences with him for one of my methods classes, as well as the changes that our school needed to make to accomodate him and his electric wheelchair into as many classes as possible.

While I know that is the point of this article, I find it hard to write about it again. There are so many things that must be done to accomodate students into our classrooms physically, in regards to supply access, adequate room to maneuver, compensating for physical differences, etc. These are all important and should not be ignored, but I think a number of them could be addressed immediately as you prepare your artroom.

A much more important form of accomodation, in my opinion, is internal - how we view those with disabilities, how we see them as humans and students and not just disabled. I feel we also need to think about how we view all disabilities or important student issues - for example, we can tell if a student has a physical or mental disability, but can we as easily tell if they are suffering from an emotional or psycological problem? Again, I don't mean to ignore or short-change students with physical or mental impairments, but many other issues can be difficult for students to deal with and require some help or assistance as well.

In the end, I guess I hope to be the kind of teacher that can be open, approachable and welcoming to every student, no matter their differences. I hope to make my classoom not only easily accessible and maneuverable, but also an open and inviting atmosphere where every student can feel free to be themselves and be creative. That may be a rather cliche answer, but in this case, I feel one should try to be as positive and open as possible.