Week 2

Labels as a Controversial Issue

Labels are seen as a way to classify a person, give a person another name, or describe who they are based on their personal preference, behavior, or appearance. All these things resort to putting a description on someone and restricting them from being know as anything else, but that label. I agree with Woolfolk, in saying that "Labeling...is controversial issue." I understand that labeling a student can ease concerns for both parents and teachers. It can, also, help parents/teachers to better accommodate their child/student and have a better  understanding on how to meet their child/student daily living/learning needs. Although labels can be an aid in meeting the child's/student's needs, they can be seen as restrictive to society because if a person is given a specific label, society will think their label confines them from living a fulfilling and happy life.
I feel like I  became more aware of the negative stigmas that relate to  people with special needs when I began my service learning project at the Chicago Park District special recreational program. I volunteer and work with people from young children to older adults who have special needs, and there are actively engaged in a range of physical activities from playing sports, participating in zumba class, arts & crafts, and cooking class. When I first started, I will admit I felt a sense of  pity for them and their families because I thought how challenging it must be to have a disability and to raise a child with a disability. After spending some time with the members, I regretted feeling any sense of pity for them, because they are naturally enjoying their daily activities despite any label they have been given for their disability, and they are living their life to the fullest. If anything, I feel happy for them that they is a place for them, Chicago Park District, where they are able to just be themselves free of any societal prejudices and judgments. I feel proud of them for their accomplishments, and I feel fortunate to know them and be a part of this organization because just like me they have a great sense of humor, they enjoy laughing, they enjoy being social, and they just enjoy having people around who care and who are willing to give them the time of day.
I have another story I like to share about labels as being a negative association towards students, it happened today with one of my students. The mother of the student informed that the student was having a "bad day" even before morning arrivals began and to pay closer attention to the student. The student walked in and greeted his friends and teachers as "I'm having a bad day", and the student chose to sit for a few minutes before getting ready to enter the classroom to work. From the moment the student walked in the door, every task attempted was followed with a yell or a grunt with frustration, and the student would say it because "I'm having a bad day." The whole morning the student showed signs of frustration, which led to anger and aggressive behavior towards his classmates, and the student continuously stated "I'm having a bad day". Sadly, the student went home crying and frustrated because of having a bad day. The student is 4 years old, and I feel that the mother putting the negative notion of "having a bad day" in the students' head, gave the student an excuse to be frustrated and angry the whole day. The mother later mentioned the student was upset because there was not whipped cream to put in the hot chocolate the student was drinking before school started. The student became angry because there was no whipped cream, and the mother focused on the student's negative reaction to there being no whipped cream. I believe the student's day would have been better if the mother would of first acknowledged the feeling the student was having in saying "I see that you are angry", then allowing the student to feel angry, giving the student a safe space to feel angry, and allowing the student to calm and relax his emotion before continuing on with the day. The focus the mother put on labeling the students emotions as "having a bad day" made for the student to literally have a bad day at school.