Thursday, September 3, 2009

Handi-capable

I just saw this on the news and was so impressed with this 16 year old boy who is a great skateboarder even though he is paralyzed from the waist down. When he was born with spina bifida, the doctor cut his spinal cord while taking a tumor off his spine. Then he found these crutches in the clinic and away he went. I heard another boy describe him saying, “Some people call him handicapped, but he calls himself handi-capable.” I loved the thought of this.

Paralyzed North Carolina Teen Defying Odds On Skateboard



This video would be a great way to introduce the topic of disabilities in a classroom. Students can talk about different disabilities, those we can see and those we can’t.

For those students with disabilities, it would start a great discussion on how others see disabilities, how to overcome obstacles, and how to educate others about disabilities. I think this would be highly inspirational for those students who constantly say, “I can’t.” Maybe after seeing this video, my students would feel that they can be successful too!

6 comments:

Christine Archer said...

Wow! People just amaze me.

Lona said...

Thank you, Pat, for posting this! We all have those moments of "can't" in our lives and now we can be uplifted by a young man who simply "can't" use the word!

My HS students' introduction to Resource Room this year will include this. I always have them write a little about themselves, including what they want to accomplish and what they think will be their most difficult class or situation. Afterward, I'll play this video and we'll have a bit of discussion!

Mike said...

This is great stuff Pat. Thanks for sharing after finding it. Do students have less passion about the things they really enjoy than they used to? I wondered that as I watched this vid.

Teacher Food

loonyhiker said...

@Christine Things like this amazes me too! It makes me put things in better perspective.

loonyhiker said...

@Lona I think it will be a great way to start the year off in a resource class. I'm interested in knowing how the discussion goes.

loonyhiker said...

@Mike I wonder if many are afraid to have a passion about anything because of being discouraged.