When I first considered the term “adversarial,” I immediately thought about two equals at opposition to each other–your arch nemesis in a comic book, maybe or two knights from opposing camps. But in this context, there is an inherent power differential and so in the examples above, maybe it would be the origin story of […]
gatekeeping
Please let me be your advocate…
I read this and was immediately rejecting of the idea of being an adversary, because I don’t want to be an adversary to my students… I also wouldn’t want to call myself their partner either. To me, I’d prefer to be their advocate. Somebody who has there back and will support them, but is more […]
we are not the gatekeepers to accommodation
I often feel conflicted when approaching questions of awareness of disabilities, diversity, barriers, etc. I want to avoid the tendency to center myself, to participate in “Oppression Olympics,” or assume my definition of disability is complete or correct while honoring the huge importance of these questions. In my classroom, my awareness of my body in […]