Advocacy
Advocacy
Introduction
Despite my students being 2nd and 3rd grade, their developmental ages of 4 and 5 caused me to devise a plan where they will practice advocating thier needs as individuals and neuro-diverse learners. They as individuals need to know when to advocate when they need help, when something is too overwhelming, and when they are being underestimated and, in actually, can complete a task independendently. This results in a 2 lessons each with a 2 part sequence. My students are not minorities but they do need to learn but it means to be special needs and to advocate those needs to face discrimination and unfair treatment. For this a lesson plan, school outing, and project in partnership with Guide Dogs For The Blind to show students ways to advocate thier needs, fight inequaltiy, and know it is ok to be different.
Advocacy Plan 1 (Too Much To Little Just Right --> I Can Teach You!
Central Focus
My students are not yet ready to advocate for racial equality for they still have trouble understanding the concept of race, ethnicity, and individuality. The main focus for their developemental stage I believe would thus be to provide skills for them to advocate for their own neuro-diverse equity through the practice of fundementals. The fundementals of saying when something is too much, too little, or just right in a respectful way is the foundation needed for them to not only advocate their own needs as students with special needs, but hopefully advocate for the needs of others in regards to inequality in the future. Furthermore their advocating for their ability as appose to their disability is the first step to challenging social stigmas of learning differences.
My students are passionate individuals but with NVLD, autism, and a variety of other differences, it is sometimes hard for them to identify systematic injustice. However, they are still very capable of practicing essential methods of advocacy especially when it comes to educational inequity. They themselves know they have qualities that make them learn differently and thus my focus is to teach them to advocate two basic premise and apply that to the world and community around them. Said premises are advocating when they have something and/or can do it and when they need assistance or if something is too overwhelming. Advocating when they can in fact complete a goal is crucial for it lie the groundwork for them to advocate for their own abilities. Many times, those with learning differences and special needs are looked at as incapable, thus I find with advocacy it is an essential skill for my students to learn when they can advocate an abilityboth written and orally. Said practice as show in the lesson plan is multi-dimensional and therefore lies the groundwork for them to advocate what they can do both in the classroom, at home, and out in the real world. Students after this lesson and upon review of their skills frequently return telling me how an individual attempted to do something forthem but with their knew advocacy abilities halted the interaction and successfully advocated they could in fact complete the task and even teach another individual how to do it. The first step to challenging systematic educational inequities for those with special needs is to give them skills that demonstrate their ability (not their deficit) and show the world they are capable of action, opinion, and success.
JH Advocacy Lesson 1 Final Draft.pdfAdvocacy (I can teach you).pptx
Above the the game used as an interactive tool to teach self advocacy is portrayed. The first step of the lesson that taught self advoacy is show in juxtaposition to the final step of the lesson sequence where a study completed an "I Can Teach You How To" writing assigment. The skills from the game in regards to self advocacy allowed the student to grasp the notion of the "I can!" self advocacy mentality which was then trasnsfered over to the final writing project.
Change This To The Name of Advocacy #2
Advocacy #2 Guide Dogs For The Blind Fieldtrip and Lesson Plans
The students completed braille writing worksheets as a result of the lesson that were put on display.
Advocacy Section Conclusion & Reflection
My students experience the world differently and although they are developmentally not yet fully aware of how others experiences may differ, introducing this project will begin to lie the foundation for my students to advcate for SPED rights and create pride for the accomidations they may require. It is of upmost importance that my students understand difference is ok. My students must learn to empathize with those that are different and then look inward at thier own difference and understand how to best advocate for those differences both for themselves and others in the future. My students gain the ability to advocate for thier ability and also acquire the skill to ask for accomidations when needed. Students also gained appreciation for the ability they did have. Some were moved by their new found apprecation for things like having two eyes that could see and as one student pointed out "two eyes and two bikes!" which swayed him to decide to donate one of his bikes to an organization that grants access to those that need more advocacy. The student also completed a writing piece on the process.
