Niles,
Don't forget that the institution may have an expert on board whose job it is to help figure out how best to accommodate. I am all for instructors wanting and being willing to work directly with students, but that third party input can be crucial to protecting both the student and the college.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
That is not the concern of the school. I was enrolled in a home inspection class, which involves climbing ladders and crawling under houses.
On the first day of class a person comes in in a wheelchair, it was not the schools choice to tell him that he could not take the class, even though there was no way he could climb a ladder.
Instead they made a provision for him in the classroom so he could roll his wheelchair under the table so he could see his books and write.
The choice was his to consider whether he would be able to become a home inspector.
Mark,
And I'll bet there are lots of ways that someone with knowledge of home inspection rules can put that knowledge to work -- from evaluating insurance claims, to scheduling inspection teams, and more. ;-)
Dr. Jane Jarrow
No, home inspection is a visual hands on occupation. You have to be able to get into every space of a house.
Once he found that out, he never came back.
But the school couldn't tell him he couldn't do it.
Mark,
Inspecting the home is a visual, hands-on thing. What happens with the reports that are written by the people who do the home inspection? How are those reports useful, and to whom? Someone has to USE the information that comes from those home inspections. There are places where knowledge of the process may be useful even if you cannot perform the home inspection. Don't sell the process of gathering information short, even if that information will be used in nontraditional ways.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Home inspections are provided to a single person who is purchasing a property. A home inspector, who is usually a person with many years of experience in building trades will come to the property and perform the inspection and present the prospective owner with the report at the end of the inspection. There is no central processing facility or other people who handle the reports. It is a one on one experience.
The information presented is for the prospective buyer to either buy the property or to alter his bid price by what was found.
We have drifted from the original point I was making, that the school had no business telling the wheelchair bound student that he was wasting his time by signing up for this course. That was his decision to make.
I feel it is our obligation from a moral standpoint to notify a sudent of the chance of them being unable to use their hard earned and expensive education
ELIZABETH,
Do you believe you have that obligation, and give that same warning, to all students who are enrolled, or only to students with disabilities. If you give the warning to all students, that's fine. If you ONLY feel obligated to say that to students with disabilities, that's discriminatory!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I think the college does owe it to the student with a disability to be honest about thie chance for employment. It's doing right by the student and that should always be the focus.
Paul,
I don't disagree. But being honest and being discouraging are two different things. Saying, "Most of the jobs out there require that you do _____" is fine. Saying, "You'll probably never get a job in this field because you can't ___" is something else! GRIN
Dr. Jane Jarrow
i feel it is for all students, disabled or not....
We can give are opinion and/or suggestions but that is just that we don't know what a person an do especially if that person has there mind made up.
Shelly,
Sometimes it isn't just mind-over-matter, but I agree that there is much we cannot know about a student's capabilities or determination. Nothing we say should dampen their enthusiasm, only encourage them to be realistic as THEY see their reality.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I feel that it's our duty to be honest and upfront with all student's regarding the physical demands of any program of study. Should they complete a program and find that they are not physically capable of finding gainful employment, then the time and money he student spent attending the program has been completely wasted. How can we responsibly allow student's to do this?
Nicole,
Completely wasted? Really? There is no benefit in the learning that took place if they don't get a job in the field, fresh out of school? Recognize that I am NOT suggesting that we not be honest. I think we should make sure students understand the reality of the situation and the consequences of pursuing a field if there may not be jobs available. But is that reality any different for ANY student at your school? Do you promise everyone else a job? I agree with your point, but I don't want it to seem out f place.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
NO!
I would look for a college to embrace all students. It is not up to the college to decide and define student success. It is an individual determination as much as it is an institution or accreditor determination.
B,
I couldn't agree more -- and I like the way you phrased this. That is exactly what we would be doing if we limited opportunities or counseled students away from opportunities because of our preconceived ideas of what they can/cannot do, and should/should not try. We shouldn't be "defining success" for anyone but ourselves.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
It is really hard to know in which field a disabled student would not be successful. With a proper assistance and a bit accommodation, I believe that any student could achieve what ever he/she sees as his/her goal. I have seen in my own life people that overcome all obstacles and reach very high levels of education, employment and career. I have seen people put barriers in front of them due to underestimate of what the employee can do. I would never take it upon myself to be such a person.
Sabahudin,
I love your enthusiasm -- and I agree with your premise!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I do not believe that a college should take the stance on a person with a disability and job empoyment. I believe that borders on discrimination. How can an admissions/career placement person sit there and tell a student that due to an disability that there is little chance of employment. At our institution, we had a student with one hand attend and complete a fire training program. Now, our thought was if the State recongizes this student to be certified as a fire fighter, who are we (institution) to not allow anybody to attend the program. On the other side of the coin, prior to enrollment ALL of our propsective students are advised of what is expected of them during the course.
