Those Kids

The word "those" seems innocuous. It is a simple word that helps delineate one group from another, as in you can wear those shoes when it is not raining like crazy but today you need to wear shoes that will not go sliding across the classroom floor the minute you try to use running feet instead of walking feet. However, the word those can take on a very bitter and ugly meaning as soon as it is applied to children. Then it is used to set apart one group from the other, to create divisions, and to mark children as different. That is when the taste of the word becomes revolting n my mouth and I can not swallow it without choking. To refer to children with special needs as THOSE KIDS instantly strips them of any personal identity, of any worth, of anything other than their disabilities. At a mandatory meeting I was required to attend this past week someone was assured their question would not be stupid, only to prove that there are indeed stupid questions. This person, a general education teacher, immediately caused me to cringe by identifying the topic of her question as the children at her school who are served by the severe disabilities program and then referring to them from then on as THOSE kids. Her very stupid question (and I mean stupid in the sense of uneducated and ignorant) centered around how she perceived the inclusion of THOSE kids in certain activities as a waste of resources because "couldn't the teacher be better using her time for something else like a gifted class?". It took every ounce of self control in every cell of my body not to shout out in response to her, and the only way I was able to harness enough control was to remind myself that her words seemed to come from ignorance rather than blatant hatred. Even then it was a tough battle. I wanted to stand up and shout that THOSE KIDS are MY KIDS! Those Kids are someone's son or daughter, someone's brother or sister, someone's grandson or granddaughter, someone's niece or nephew, they are someone's hopes and dreams. Those Kids are not just taking up space, but each child is dearly loved, is valued, is a part of a family, is a part of a community, is an individual with worth and rights and a personality and that by relegating them to nothing more than the designation of Those Kids she was missing it all. How is it that the three year olds in my class who served as my inclusion peers (or those with less significant developmental delays) this year "got it" so easily, without even having to be taught specifically about delays and disabilities, and yet this supposedly educated adult who is in the teaching profession is so ignorant to the truth? It is so true that the children will lead us if only we will follow. It is my most sincere hope that she does not work at the school I am transferring to for next year, when I become a teacher of a class for children who receive services in a severe disabilities program. If by some most horrible turn of fate she is, she will definitely be educated in just who Those Kids are and their incredible value. You can say what you wish about me but Those are MY Kids.