Kent with his Gold Medal

This past week there has been quite the discussion generated by my post about my brother, Kent, and the honour roll policy at his high school. Blog posts, Twitter conversations, Facebook chats, Ning Discussions, emails, phone calls, and staff meetings have all been generated from the post. Needless to say, I’m quite shocked. My initial intention for that post was to simply generate some discussion among my classmates regarding inclusive policies and to find out what we can do as new teachers about them, if we feel they should be revised or changed. Little did I know that post would receive over 400 views in 4 days. Nor could I foresee that the post would make it to Kent’s school in less than 24 hours and that I would be receiving a phone call regarding it just over a day later.

Obviously, the school was upset about the post. They should have been, I did not take the time to mention all of the great things they have done for Kent over the years. I made them out to be the bad guy, when in all actuality, they do a tremendous job regarding inclusive education, especially with Kent. If anyone knows that, it is me and my family. Kent was allowed to start kindergarten two years early to get used to communicating with others and the school environment as early as possible. He has always had incredible teachers and assistants (most of which I also had) who have went the extra mile for him, no matter how difficult that may have been at times. These teachers also have made an effort to be educated regarding the Kent’s educational needs and have coordinated with the Saskatchewan Pediatric Auditory Rehab Center (SPARC) to ensure that Kent’s needs were being met and that his equipment was functioning properly. He has never been turned away from anything extracurricular and always has been included wherever he has desired to be. He was able to have a contributing part of school plays in his younger years and has always been able to participate in schools sports. In his sports, coaches have made sure that officials were aware of his disability and how it might affect the game. The list goes on and on. What this school has done for Kent over the years will no doubt give him the tools and skills that will allow him to successful in his years beyond high school. Our family was lucky to live in a community with a school so willing to put an effort forth like they have.

I would have loved to have brought the issue up to the school at some point in a much different fashion. I wish I would have had the opportunity to address the issue personally, or perhaps with my family. I do not want to hide behind my blog. My intentions were to generate some discussion with my classmates and to find out a effective way to address the issue.

Because of how the post brought up the issue, there has also been alot of debate regarding the ethics of this post. I have discussed it with my classmates and it has been discussed by many others on Dean’s blog. From what I have gathered, there is no right answer for this. It can be argued either way whether or not this post was ethical. Ethical or not, I know I will be much more careful next time. I stepped on some toes that I had not intended to. I made a school that is very good at inclusive education, look like one of the horror stories we sometimes hear about in my education classes. In the future, I will be addressing the issues with the right people before mentioning it on my blog. I want to be the one who informs them about the issue. As the principal told me, they simply weren’t aware of the issue and the impacts it had on students. A simple email, phone call, or visit may have ultimately had the same final result.

Even though I did not approach the issue the best way possible, it did spark a change. In my phone call a week ago, I was told that the school had held a staff meeting regarding the topic and spent some serious time re-evaluating how they approach their honour roll system. Throughout the week, the principal also contacted his superiors and other schools to see how others are handling similar situations. Yesterday, I received another phone call about the situation. The school has changed the policy to include students who are in regular, adapted and alternative instruction. Personally, I think this says alot about the school Kent attends and how they are very willing and open to make necessary accommodations.

I hope more schools will follow the example set by his school and continue moving in the right direction for inclusive education. I also hope more people will not hesitate to address issues they feel need to be addressed, simply bringing them up can go a long way. If they do, I hope they can do it in a better way than I did.

Right now, my younger brother, Kent, is on the final stretch of his high school career, and set to graduate at the end of June.  Just like anyone in his shoes, he couldn’t be more excited to be done and is counting down the days.  I remember how slowly those final few months seemed to go by.  As Kent’s older brother, I am extremely proud of him.

Kent is profoundly deaf which, as you might imagine, has made his education a struggle over the years.  When he was three years old, he was a recipient of a cochlear implant.  I will spare you the details, since that is not what this post is about, but essentially this implant has allowed him to hear, albeit not as clearly as non-deaf people can (if you want to learn more about Cochlear Implants, check out this site).  Despite his implant, he obviously has some communication difficulties.  His speech and vocabulary is less than what is expected for his age, but incredible considering the challenges he faces every day that most people could not possibly imagine.  Because of this, he has had to take some modified classes, which cover the exact same material, just with simpler language.

Kent’s work ethic and the knowledge he has gained because of it makes my high school efforts look pathetic.  Despite his disability, Kent has been able to achieve over an 80% average.   I find this incredible.   I couldn’t imagine battling through a disability like his and achieving like he has. I  have given up because of much, much less difficult challenges on many occasions.

I graduated top of my class receiving the Governer General’s Academic Medal and was on the honour roll at the school since seventh grade.  In my eyes, what I achieved academically doesn’t even come close to what Kent has.  Kent has never been on the honour roll and I have never seen his efforts, which greatly outweigh many, recognized at a school awards night.   Below is an excerpt from the school’s student handbook.

Schools are academic institutions. We honour academic excellence in several ways in [our] School:

HONOUR ROLL:

The Honour Roll is printed in our graduation exercise program each year. To be included on

the Honour Roll a student must have achieved an average of 75% (or better) to the end of

term three.

HONOUR WALL:

To be listed on our honour wall, a student must have achieved a final

average of 80% or better

But wait, didn’t I say he has had over an 80% average?  I certainly did, but if you ever walk through the halls of our school, you will  not find Kent’s name on the honour roll  plaques. Why?  Apparently, if you take any modified classes, you are no eligible to be on the honour roll.  I’m sure you can imagine the thoughts that came into my head and the words that came out of my mouth when I finally learned about this earlier this year.

Are the achievements of students with disabilities not good enough? Are their accomplishments not worthy enough to be listed side by side those of able-bodied students?

I dug around a little more and found this on the school’s website (copied word for word):

A] VISION STATEMENT – Students will be knowledgeable, independant and respectful lifelong learners who contribute positively to society.

B] MISSION STATEMENT - To create a positive learning environment that ensures student learning and personal growth.

C] VALUE STATEMENTS - We Value:

1. Recognition of all student successes in academic and extra-curricular activities.
2. Independant learning so that all students achieve personal growth.
3. Community involvement.
4. A safe, caring, respectful learning environment that promotes lifelong learning.

Kent at school

I hope I’m not the only one who sees the problem with this picture.   How can you possibly think a positive learning environment is being created when this is happening?   Clearly, these so-called “values” are not something that are taken seriously.  We value the recognition of all student successes in academic and extra-curricular activities? Either this is being overlooked or Kent doesn’t fit in the category of all students.

I vividly recall him being upset on the days of both mine and my sister’s graduation, since the honour roll students were shared in the ceremony programs.  In no way, does this promote lifelong learning.  What motivation is there for him to continue working this hard?

What is the purpose of an honour roll anyways?  Surely it is great to recognize students accomplishments.  But is it really effective when students who do not try get recognized and students who try their hardest do not?  I understand that those questions could lead to all sorts of discussion about assessment, so I’ll stop there.

We are supposed to be doing our best to provide students with an inclusive education, or at least that’s what I’m being taught currently.  How can this ever happen if this is incidents like this occur?  Does this happen anywhere else?  As a future teacher, what can I do?