Acceptability, audience and context are in fact very related. At risk of repeating myself, the comic strip was an attempt to evoke some kind of response. I guess this article was the only appropriate one (response) I could come up with. Nobody is trying to be mean spirited here.
First things first, we are talking about relatively well-educated persons for an audience here. I will speak for myself first. I am a classic “underachiever” who grew up in a house with two parents that have been schoolteachers (among other things) during their many years of employment. Both of my parents went to and graduated from college, one parent eventually earned a masters degree. They are both retired now. My sister went to nursing school and earned her RN in four years and works in her field to this day. My brother and I both earned 2 year or associates degrees in business. I’ve been employed now with a major computer manufacturer for 20+ years now. My wife is a teachers aid now in a public elementary school. Her first classes included the instruction and care for children with special needs.
My friend attended basically the same schools that my siblings and me did up until college. That’s when he considered journalism for a time and eventually settled into law. His parents both worked for the same employer I do now. My friend’s father was an educator of sorts when he worked for the company. My friend’s only brother is a teacher in a school somewhere in South Florida.
We all lived in a relatively “suburban” neighborhood that couldn’t be defined as filthy rich or remotely poor. Our childhood years included many opportunities that were later understood and appreciated but we didn’t wake up and find new cars in the driveway waiting for us on our 16th birthdays (unless we had earned the money and purchased them with our own money). The neighborhood was just transient enough that over 12 years of attendance in public schools, that we could count the number of kids we shared the last 6 or so years with, on a hand or two. Everyone knew whom everyone was, but mostly we weren’t so sure we knew everything about everyone. A classic comfortable distance that equals privacy formed, and was acceptable for as long as the agreement between neighbors was for everyone to mind their own business.
We all came from different places (originally) but settled for a time in a city called Boca Raton, Florida. Some of us still live there or close by. Now with the miracle of the Internet, we share ideas and question each other’s paradigms. Occasionally we learn from each other.
The comic strip, which is really the issue that needs to be addressed in this article, stirred (or originally offended) me on a number of levels. Somehow, I struggled to turn it into another learning experience.
Frame One: Imagine a common school room where one sees a number of children and a teacher from several diverse backgrounds or ethnic origins. The teacher introduces a child with “special needs” and inadvertently (or purposely) calls attention to one child’s mental handicap by insisting that he be treated like everyone else. The teacher instantly dismisses the recently introduced child by insisting on resuming the subject at hand without any attempt to help transition the new student (with special needs) to the lesson of the day. The strip emphasized the special needs of the new student indicating the child was belching and a less than proportional facial feature (or two).
Frame Two: The “special needs child” displays oratory confusion by making infantile noises and this is further accentuated by a runny nose and awkward phrase on a t-shirt. The lead caption calls attention to the fact that special needs children make others feel awkward and slow the pace of learning for the students who have what most persons might consider to be more normal or even gifted attributes.
Frame Three: The lead caption attempts to soften or rationalize the messages sent in the previous frames by stating, “smart kids should make an effort to be nice”. A reference is made to additional needs of the handicapped child and that indicate he needs assistance with his most basic bodily functions. The “special need” in this frame is defined as a child expressing physical discomfort or crying noises. The teacher is required to assist.
Frame Four: A new teacher comes into the picture and indicates that the old one has left. The gifted or more normal children are in a state of relative confusion over this new news. The caption indicates that children without special needs may not respond positively to change or new teachers.
Now I have to admit that I am not an educator and that the stereotypes depicted in the previous paragraphs are rather crude but there are some messages that comics like this send that are offensive. Merely taking offense would be an easy route to avoid knowledge and understanding of the situation though, and since when were knee jerk reactions our best ones? My point here is that there are things to be learned from this so-called comic strip. One shouldn’t cheat them self out of a learning experience by settling for being offended. By now it’s understandable if you accept that I might be the mentally handicapped kid in the comic and not the Mensa candidate.
Response to Frame One: If, for the sake of argument, a classroom might be filled with persons from a single background or intellectual capacity or aptitude, that wouldn’t be the end of the world or proof that racism or prejudice exists in that classroom. Reasonable persons understand that knowledge and practical experience is gained from occasional but constructive discourse. Why shouldn’t we all try to get along and why should we have to make it easy? Dolts have been known to be impecably manicured and wear suits and ties too. Books (students and teachers) should not be judged by their covers. Many "special needs" are no so obvious to the casual observer.
Response to Frame Two: Schools aren’t built for the purposes of promoting socialist principals but reality is that we must all eventually make occasional accommodations for our fellow human beings, even those who can’t demonstrate that they have a special need. Children who are exposed to persons who need more or different kinds of assistance will eventually understand and appreciate their own abilities for what they are. One can learn from teaching, observing and from being reminded about what we all went through before we gained the knowledge and skills to perform at our current levels.
Response to Frame Three: Persons with special needs don’t need to be patronized or treated in a condescending manner, they do need to find their place in society and be welcomed into situations where their presence and contributions can be respected and valued. Occasionally individuals might be required to perform exceptional duties so that they can participate. We are all human.
Response to Frame Four: Working with persons who have special needs requires a lot of patience. The rewards aren’t often expressed in monetary terms. It is emotionally exhausting work. Teaching is hard work, even with children that never leave the “mainstream” and it often under-appreciated (under-paid). Some change is inevitable and coping skills need to be developed early where this is possible. It's not reasonable to blame children with special needs for churn in the ranks of educators any more than other factors.
Conclusion: There are a lot of things to learn from all children and from so-called "adults" (but not always the obviously more "intelligent" ones). Some of us are just "gifted" in different ways. Occassionally immersion strategies work both ways. Parents, teachers and students usually get what they put into such things and it pays to be careful about what you say and how you treat the kids who come in off the "short bus". Some day, it might even stop in front of your house.
http://www.mensa.org/info.php
http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/
