Reaction Paper
Christmas in Purgatory
A Photographic Essay on Mental Retardation
EDUC 5333 – Legal Aspects of Special Education
Ms. Sharon Cunningham, Instructor
R. Stacey Pollard
09/02/2016
Christmas in Purgatory; A Photographic Essay on Mental Retardation was written by Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan in August 1966. The copy reviewed for this assignment was printed by Human Policy Press, Syracuse, New York in 1974. This photographic essay brings to light the deplorable living conditions of men, women, and children who were residing in institutions for the mentally retarded. It was not published with the intent to criticize but with hope and expectations of much-needed changes. Renovations identified by Blatt and Kaplan care were
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Blatt and Kaplan shared the story of one attendant with one assistant who tried, to the best of their ability, to care for 100 severely mentally retarded ambulatory adults. Some care options consisted of the use of restraints, lack of clothing, and solitary confinement due to lack of manpower not necessarily because of patient behavior. Even though the difference in the quality of services is from one end of the spectrum to the other, my frustration with trying to provide a quality education for approximately 100 special education students with duties being divided between two special education teacher, who spend an extreme amount of time on paperwork and very little on direct instruction, three para’s, and one speech-language pathologist who only works two days per week is an injustice to my …show more content…
The pictures, even the ones that were hard to see, showed so much suffering. As I explored the pictures and words written, my mind kept thinking about how their lives were spent suffering in silence until Blatt and Kaplan created Christmas in Purgatory; A Photographic Essay on Mental Retardation. My favorite quote used was “A teacher who makes little or no allowance for individual differences in the classroom is an individual who makes little or no difference in the lives of his” by William Arthur Ward. I feel this quote was in direct reference to the attendant at The Seaside Institute who changed his life from one of alcohol and no purpose to a teacher that inspired hope and success in the residents he cared for. He did not allow passive behavior or limitations of his patients keep him from finding a way to teach. In conclusion, I feel that my reaction to the photographic essay is one of determination to always strive to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities. Identifying with the frustration of staff and administration from these institutions is no excuse to conform to the philosophy of the time. There is always room for changes, reform, and improvements. It seems that striving to become a teacher like the attendant who changed his life teaching his residents is an honorable
There are a various people prejudicially placed into classrooms for students with disabilities because of their race, gender culture/ethnicity, social class, gender and sexual orientation. The way a person identifies occasionally determines if they will be assigned in a class for students with disabilities. David J. Conner discusses Michael’s story, a participant researcher who was placed in a class for students with disabilities; some factors that contributed to the Michael being labeled as disabled is his race and class. Connor came to a realization that there appears to be a high number black and Latino students in classrooms for students with disabilities and he explores some of the reasons through Michael’s story.
Although life during the 1800s and early 1900s weren’t all that great, to begin with, compare that to how asylums treated patients during this time, the normal population life should have seen life as a simple breeze in the wind. There is a reason that our first thoughts when thinking of asylums is horror and it’s because of all of the horror shows that actually happen at these areas. Then comes in a place that has a new idea of treating patients, a new of thinking that never had been seen before. A new revolution when it comes to the psychological medical field. Step in Danvers State Hospital.
In the Social Work Speaks: National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Policy Statements the book provides the reader with a variety of problems in the educational system and how education can be improve based on the ideas of the NASW. The document touches on different topics that are affecting the students and the history of the programs that help shaped the education system. The selected topics below were selected in order to explain how is affecting the education system and how they can be improved. Education for Students with Disabilities and Special Needs
Society perceives disable people as unable of doing the daily duty’s that a normal person could do. But in fact, they are wrong. Nancy Mairs describes how she was able to teach writing courses and teach medical students on how to give neurological examinations, making reader able to see that although , she was a “cripple” , she was able to perform some of the work of a professional person in the work- field. According to Mairs’essay “with only one usable hand, I have to select my clothing with care not so much for style as for ease of ingress and egress, and even so, dressing can be laborious”(3). Making it almost impossible for Mairs to dress up, she was to put on the necessary clothes that she needed to be covered by a piece of fabric clothing.
Oliver Sacks, M.D. is a physician, a best-selling author, and a professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. The New York Times has referred to him as “the poet laureate of medicine.” He is best known for his collections of neurological case histories, including The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, Awakenings, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain and An Anthropologist on Mars. Awakenings, his book about a group of patients who had survived the great encephalitis lethargica epidemic of the early twentieth century, inspired the 1990 Academy Award-nominated feature film starring Robert De Niro and Robbin Williams. •••Oliver Sacks is An Anthropologist on Mars construe stories of individuals with neurological disorders as paradoxical
1908, a small wooded town, nestled in Pennsylvania, has just opened its doors to a new kind of care. The care for the uncared and unwanted people that live in the area now have a place to go. The name Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution of the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic, has been spelled out on a sign in front of an assortment of buildings with a great amount of land surrounding it. The idea of opening Pennhurst, was to house those who were disabled and to provide assisted care to the people with developmental disabilities. People viewed this place as a model institution that was the result in the so called progressive era to be a resolution to the public society to deal with those who are disabled.
Understanding the history of special education and its impact on individual lives provides educators and families with a positive perspective on student’s academic and social achievement. Special education services were almost non-existent and with the passage of Public Law 94-142 everything changed. As the law continues to evolve, the rules and regulations become more prevalent. Handicapped and disabled students educational careers can now include reading, language arts, math, live skills training, vocational readiness, and various work training programs. Society has significantly become more understanding and aware of people with disabilities since the establishment of Public Law 94-142.
In the essay, “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs uses humorous diction and a positive tone to educate people about life as a cripple and struggles of people with disabilities. She does this to show how hard it is to be disabled and how it differs from the life of someone without a disability. She talks about the struggles and the fears that disabled people must deal with on a daily basis. Mairs use of rhetoric creates a strong sense of connection and understanding for the reader. Nancy Mairs is successful in using detailed imagery, diction, and tone to educate her readers about the difficulties of living with a disability.
A life of severe disability, is not a life worth living. Therefore, an infant born with a severe physical or cognitive impairment should not be allowed to live. Or any person for that matter, regardless of age who suffers from a severe cognitive disability should be lawfully killed. At least that is a belief held by a certain professor at Princeton University. Harriet McBryde Johnson, a disability advocate and lawyer had the opportunity to debate these beliefs with Professor Peter Singer.
Social welfare Policy Paper: Americans with Disabilities Act As social workers we have the opportunity to work with different populations of people. The population that I have decided to pursue are individuals with mental illness. Legislation can have a major impact on my career as well as the individuals we serve. In this paper I am going to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it relates to Social work values.
People with disabilities have faced several challenges with their own experience over time. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three different writers expressing their diverse experiences through essays. Each present their perspective in different angles but share similar themes of frustration, thriumphs, and the need for equality. Nancy Mairs is a strong woman who claims to be a feminist and has also been living with MS since her early MS diagnosis. Throughout her essay, Disability, she exposes the lack of representation of the disabled in media.
Imagine receiving a task of writing simple alphabets with your toes, and being expected to complete it without any help rendered. Does it not seem like an impossible feat? This is exactly how it feels like for people who suffer from mental disabilities to write out letters A to Z using their hands. Just thinking about it, I can already imagine the frustration. Looking at the bigger picture, imagine the anxiety and anger that they face everyday, having to wake up daily to try and complete a series of tasks that society expects of you, although it is much harder for you to.
Conclusion In conclusion, after determining my own philosophy of special education I am better equipped to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Informed by this course, laws related to special education, and own beliefs, I have created an ideal classroom plan. I am also more aware of comfort level and fears in regard to special education.
The sound of birds chirping garishly outside my window, wakens me from a deep slumber. Opening my eyes, I see the morning sun’s rays illuminating my room. I’m longing for sleep to engulf me back into its warm embrace. My father ruins any hope of going back to sleep as he hollers upstairs that breakfast is ready. Standing up and doing a morning stretch is when I first smell it.
It is not possible to reach broad conclusions about all students with disabilities, and even within groupings, caution should be exercised. Distinctions between categories of disability are not absolute. There is a wide range of severity, with and without co-occurring conditions. It is necessary to consider some broad groupings of students with somewhat similar conditions to understand their needs and the services they require. Respect and understanding will be notice when children of differing disabilities and cultures play and learn together.