Hi (name removed),
Thank you for this opportunity to exercise effective voice. This is my submission to Char.

ISSUE:
Disabilities condone negative human labels, which reduce human potential.

Difference imparts stigmas throughout the intricacies of society. Consequently, students with disabilities and without privilege are labeled different, branded, and pigeon holed as less than.

Minorities and individuals with disabilities were linked with the introduction of eugenics into history. In the twenty-first century, these students traditionally attend the American educational system stigmatized with either physical or internalized defects from the after effects of this dismal past as well as present-day atrocities. With these imposed "normed" defects, underachieving special education and minority students are in danger of being marginalized, subjugated, robbed of voice, and labeled as underachievers on the basis of the standards of dominant society.

Labeled students become statistics, lumped together with other students sporting the same labels, continuously reproducing learned behavior suitable for those so categorized (Mehan, 1993). Students create an identity from a label and, like prisoners; they become represented by that label. Students, teachers, administrators, and parents assume their roles through the acceptance of labels inside and outside school walls. Therefore, it becomes apparent, through the fluidity of the school day, that everyone involved in the spherical motion of self, school, and societal worlds is tracked and positioned in specific spaces.

Many labels have negative connotations that produce negative psychological effects and compromise academic achievement. As a result, a number of labeled students do not reach their potential and buy into the negative. They attend and exit school with cognitive, social, and psychological deficits. If the cacophony of “deficit” talk is eliminated and multilevel interventions are implemented, labeled students can begin to acknowledge their hidden potentials and climb to higher levels of achievement.

Let’s consider alternatives!

Spherical movement introduces a new dimension of thought. Lawson and Lindstrom (2004) profess, “Progress, from a spherical perspective, is simply a change in the patterns.” (p. 56). A spherical perspective moves beyond the limitations of the circle and the spiral and taps into the energy of multiple spheres of influence. Progress is then achieved through collective energy.

These students currently reside within a deficit framework, sometimes for a lifetime enveloped in the “norm” pattern without the benefit of supportive collective voices. A shift in perspective from a deficit to an affirming mindset, acknowledgment of undemocratic practices, and implementation of effective alternatives within a spherical perspective introduce changes in the pattern. I propose an intervention, which promotes Spherical Achievement Networks (SAN).

SAN’s are spaces that have been cleared of negative mind clutter to provide openings for “different” students to excel. They are positive spaces that offer inclusive learning environments, which adhere to reframing, repositioning, and restructuring support-networking systems in existing student worlds. The inclusive environments are comprised of collective spaces for self, school and society. SLE’s incorporate learning into all aspects of life, involve development of affirming mindsets, require contributions from self as well as school, and society, and emphasize “harmonious interrelation” of spheres of influence (Lawson and Lindstrom, 2004). Spheres of influence, in the context of spherical learning environments, are defined as circular spaces where individuals leave their human imprint. Connected spheres of influences that unfold in SLE’s strive to create life flow and flexibility and cautiously depart from fragmented and disjointed thoughts. They create a healthy oneness of spirit formed by the collective. The collective efforts of self, school, and society, which result in expanded options for student learning, also open positive spaces that surround all students. When students are allowed to develop under affirming collective circumstances, they can sustain flexible reproducing cocoon-like transformed environments. These affirming nurturing spaces are known as Spherical Achievement Networks (Joyce, 2008).

For further information please visit www.911educator.com.

Thank you for including my voice. I wish to be placed on the Public List.

Dr. Pamela Althea Joyce – 6/16/08

"harmonious thought-in process"

Joyce, P. A. (2008). School Hazard Zone: Beyond the Silence/Finding a Voice. New York: Peter Lang.
Lawson and Lindstrom (2004). Being Spherical. Colorado: Sphericity Press.