[nfbmi-talk] but....

Sun Jan 27 14:57:05 UTC 2013

Good morning folks,

I hope you are all well.

I spent my middle school/junior high years in the Adirondacks in New York.
There I participated in regular physical education classes, and was
expected to do as much as possible, or work with the instructor on finding
alternative exercises, that would demonstrate similar aspects of what the
class was learning. The instructor knew when I was putting forth effort and
my grade and compliments would reflect that effort. New York in the 80s'
was determined to help handicap people succeed in whatever they wanted to
do.

Physical education was stressful and I always wanted to be part of the
group, and the instructor, and most of my classmates made their best
efforts to take care of that. We went to mandatory swim class together, and
even mandatory orienteering classes. Since getting lost in the Adirondacks
is a life or death situation, and getting lost was not uncommon during a
day hike. So every middle school kid learned how to use a compass and a
rudimentary map, even if you had sight problems.

Things got bad when my family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. In my freshman
year of high school. They placed me in the "special kids gym class". Which
was a horrible idea. I got placed in a class with a multitude of
handicapped people and injured student/athletes. We sat around, lifted some
weights, played a lot of H.O.R.S.E. and generally didn't sweat at all. We
changed in the same locker room as the regular gym classes. We wore the
same school P.E. uniform. We saw the other classes during their warm ups
and running. But we usually went to a basketball court, or the racquet ball
courts and hung out with the instructor. Who had some activities planned,
but nothing too taxing. This was five days a week for my freshman year of
high school. Then P.E. was over for me. I had to take a summer school P.E.
class three years later, but by then my high school time was over and I was
really out of shape.

What should have happened, which I partially blame myself for, is that I
should have continued on with my desire to learn wrestling which several
folks in New York thought I would do well in. Instead I followed the pack,
gained a lot of weight and all the issues that go with that during the
teenage years. High school is pivotal in growth, and an opportunity to
really decide how determined and energetic you will be in the rest of your
life.

However, things changed during college. I took P.E. classes, even scuba,
and started working out five days a week, nothing to serious, but enough to
go from 300lbs down to 230. College. P.E. was pretty much do what you can,
and we will figure out the rest. Which was fine with me.

Tailoring programs or excluding people from "regular" people physical
activity can be a determinant.

I know this email was long. But this is a point I feel strongly about, in
regards to how physically/visually impaired people can be affected by
people trying to accommodate everyone.

Thank you for your time, and have a good day.
Matthew Sievert

On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 4:16 AM, Terry Eagle <terrydeagle at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Seems to highlight continued discrimination of the blind by closed-minded
> bureaucrats who believe they, as sighted and non-blind blind persons, must
> protect the poor helpless blind from ourselves.  (as they view the blind).
> .
> That is their accepted legal rational basis reason for such discrimination.
> I am waiting for the day when the media makes a big deal out of a blind
> homeowner protecting him/herself and his/her family by accurately shooting
> a
> crazed intruder.  I can hear it now:  Blind Homeowner Takes Down Intruder
> with One Shot from Gun.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
> harcz Comcast
> Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 12:34 PM
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] but....
>
> Oh but adult students couldn't have a markmanship program at the so-called
> training center for the blind! Michigan's infamy lives on!
> Students with disabilities must have equal sports options, U.S. tells
> schools By Philip Elliott Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Breaking new
> ground, the
>
> U.S. Education Department is telling schools they must include students
> with
> disabilities in sports programs or provide equal alternative options. The
>
> directive, reminiscent of the Title IX expansion of athletic opportunities
> for women, could bring sweeping changes to school budgets and locker rooms
> for
>
> years to come. Schools would be required to make "reasonable modifications"
> for students with disabilities or create parallel athletic programs that
> have
>
> comparable standing to mainstream programs. Sports can provide invaluable
> lessons in discipline, selflessness, passion and courage, and this guidance
> will
>
> help schools ensure that students with disabilities have an equal
> opportunity to benefit from the life lessons they can learn on the playing
> field or on
>
> the court," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement announcing
> the new guidance Thursday. Federal laws, including the 1973 Rehabilitation
> Act
>
> and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, require states to
> provide a free public education to all students and bans schools that
> receive federal
>
> funds from discriminating against students with disabilities. Going
> further,
> the new directive from the Education Department's civil rights division
> explicitly
>
> tells schools and colleges that access to interscholastic, intramural and
> intercollegiate athletics is a right. This is a landmark moment for
> students
>
> with disabilities. This will do for students with disabilities what Title
> IX
> did for women," said Terri Lakowski, who led a coalition pushing for the
> changes
>
> for a decade. This is a huge victory. Education Department officials
> emphasized they did not intend to change sports' traditions dramatically or
> guarantee
>
> students with disabilities a spot on competitive teams. Instead, they
> insisted schools cannot exclude students based on their disabilities if
> they
> can
>
> keep up with their classmates. It's not about changing the nature of the
> game or the athletic activity," said Seth Galanter, the acting assistant
> secretary
>
> for civil rights at the Education Department. It's not clear whether the
> new
> guidelines will spark a sudden uptick in sports participation. There was a
>
> big increase in female participation in sports after Title IX guidance
> instructed schools to treat female athletics on par with male teams. There
> is no
>
> deadline for schools to comply with the new disabilities directive. But
> activists cheered the changes. This is historic," said Bev Vaughn, the
> executive
>
> director of the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, a
> nonprofit
> group that works with schools to set up sports programs for students with
>
> disabilities. It's going to open up a whole new door of opportunity to our
> nation's schoolchildren with disabilities.
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbmi-talk:
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/terrydeagle%40yahoo.
> com<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/terrydeagle%40yahoo.com>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbmi-talk:
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/matt.sievert%40gmail.com
>