It is our obligation to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against because they have a disability. If they meet the admissions requirements, it would be unethical to deny them the opportunity to further their education. I know several individuals with disabilities who are attending college and they are doing fine with their studies, while being provided with the necessary accommodations. It will be essential that all questions are answered regarding their field of interest and advise the student to conduct further research about their employability in that particular field.
Yolanda,
In addition, keep in mind that technology and other advances make a tremendous difference in both the job market and the type of job that is out there. The skills and information that students master today may be usable tomorrow in a way that we can't even imagine now. We need to provide students -- ALL students -- with the tools, and let them decide how to use them.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
In my opinion, our goal in education is to advise students on the best route for the education needed in order to jump start their career. Of course, we have no control over what they ultimately decide to do with their newfound education. Having an open and honest conversation with them about possible employment opportunities they may have or might not have available when they graduate is great but trying to "protect them" by saying they shouldn't attempt it is something we don't owe them.
Kristina ,
Not only is it now "owed", it should be discouraged. People with disabilities have been protected OUT of opportunities for years because of someone's well-meaning, but misguided attempt to protect. It shows much more respect for the student when you give them the courtesy of letting them make their own, informed, decisions.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I agree if you cant do any of the required tasks you should not pursue the career.
Camille,
Whoa... wait... back up! The question is whether the "required tasks" are really required, or whether they are traditional. And whether you are talking about not being able to accomplish the task or just not being able to do it the same way everyone else is. This kind of sweeping statement allows LOTS of room for people to get forced out of opportunities.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I think its important the student really understand the career field they are thinking about getting into. I used to work at a cosmetology school where we would invite students in for "a day in the life." Basically, they would shadow a student and make sure they understood all physical and mental requirements our students are required to provide. Essentially, they were trying the product out before they decided to buy into it.
Camille,
Job shadowing is a great way of giving folks (with and without disabilities) a true idea of what the job involves. It helps them to "self-select" if this is an appropriate place for them
Dr. Jane Jarrow
This post hit the topic straight and center for me.I teach a medical class for students seeking a profession as a med tech or a nursing assistant.Some of my students have physical disabilities with a bleak prognosis.I can honestly say they work extremely hard despite their issues and are an encouragement to the other students.I generalize in class that the medical field is endless in its opportunities.I inform all students that although many of them may not reach their set goal,the classes are a stepping stone and will give them the knowledge to explore every possibility.Believe me miracles do happen and I would never discourage anyone from seeking education in a field that can enhance their knowledge of themselves.
Mary,
I applaud your faith in your students and your recognition that there are lots of possibilities open. Just one place I would quibble. You say that some of your students have "a bleak prognosis." Does that mean they have deteriorating medical conditions (such as kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, and such)? That is certainly daunting. But remember that students with non-medical disabilities (blind, deaf, wheelchair users, LD, etc.), have permanent disabilities, but those disabilities are not life-threatening and they may not consider living with a disability to be "bleak."
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Dr. Jarrow,
We have several students who pass courses by the skin of their teeth, or they fail. Since I am not able to monitor their study habits or their class participation, what is the best answer to give these students who insist they know the material? Many students claim to have a learning disability, but fail to provide documentation to prove it. When the instructors tell them nursing isn't for everyone, the students take offense. I know nursing isn't for me and I can accept that, but why do students feel entitled to receive special adaptations or accommodations because they perceive themselves as learning disabled? I want to be supportive, but when a student writes an appeal letter to me and it is hardly legible, I tend to believe the student lacks the foundational skills to succeed in the courses.
Rene,
There are so many questions raised by your post (questions that you are apparently asking as well) that I don't know how to respond. First -- I hope you aren't thinking that any student who barely passes or who fails a class are likely students with disabilities. Disability and poor academic performance are not equated. You say that "Many students claim to have a learning disability..." but it is unclear whether that "many" means many of the students you see or many of the students among the population of those who are failing. As to providing documentation to prove the disability -- that is something that should be provided to someone OTHER THAN THE INSTRUCTOR. If your school doesn't have someone to take responsibility for this, it should. To ask YOU to know how to read and interpret the information in that documentation is unfair, and to ask the student to provide documentation to each instructor is a significant problem LEGALLY. As to why students who believe they have disabilities may believe it entitles them to special treatment -- it depends on the age of the student. If these students are coming straight from the K-12 system, they may have been set up to expect just that - special treatment - by a K-12 system that has been providing it for years. Unfortunately, nothing is ever easy about all this.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Dr. Jarrow,
No, I do not think that any student who barely passes or who fails a class is likely a student with a disability. The "many" students who have poor academic performance will make an unofficial claim that they have a learning disability after they struggle in the course, but never provide documentation to support the claim. We have a program director who receives and reviews the documentation. It is not distributed to the instructors. My challenge is to find the proper verbiage for the conversations I have with students when they perform at an unsatisfactory level. The common reasons I hear are: I study for hours every day, the instructor doesn't know how to teach (yet there are other students who succeed), there's too much material to learn, the instructor doesn't tell me what to study, etc. I can suspect the student doesn't want to assume the responsibility, but is it a fair suspicion?
Rene,
(this time *I* didn't see this post before responding to the other!) Actually, I suspect that the students are acting pretty typically. It is not so much that they don't want to assume responsibility, but rather that they are hoping it ISN'T their responsibility and trying to find alternate explanations. Don't be too hard on them! Grin
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I believe the college owes it to all students to be upfront with the realities of job placement.
It would be wrong to conceal information about the ability to earn a living if we knew it ahead of time.
But if a student still want to take a course for personal reasons, then they have that right.
Don,
You have the right of it. Honesty is both a responsibility and a courtesy to ALL students. We give other students the benefit of the doubt in their ability to understand what we tell them and make the decision that is right for them. We need to give students with disabilities that same respect.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I believe that providing the best information to potential students is essential to their ability to be successful in whatever endeavor they determine to participate in. In the past, when I was representing an automotive training program, I always advised potential students that if they had issues linked to their driving record such as speeding or DUIs they might find it very difficult to be employed at automotive dealerships. The reason was that their driving record would preclude them from being insured for test drives. After my candor they would be able to make an informed decision and many of them decided to enroll. The final outcome and their employment would be determined later. However, they made a decision knowing the realities of their personal situation. I believe the same is true here. Good information allows for quality decision making.
Terry,
I couldn't agree with you more -- and that is a GREAT example of how being honest with students about difficulties you can potentially foresee gives them the opportunity to make informed decisions without taking the decision-making from their hands. And that's for ANY (every!) student, not just students with disabilities.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Of course. I think it would be doing a student a dis service to let them enroll and spend money on an education in a field that they may not be successful in...
Valerie,
The question was meant to be rhetorical. You were meant to disagree with me! In fact, it is NOT up to us to decide that a student will or will not be ALLOWED to enroll in a program based on our assumptions about their likelihood of getting hired. We owe it to students to be honest about what we see the obstacles being. And then we owe it to students to let them make their own decisions.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
