[Ohio-Talk] FW: COMS 4110 Final Reflection Paper

[Smith, JW]

I am grading final papers in one of my classes and I thought that I would share the one below with all of you.

I think that it speaks for itself if you choose to read it and I really appreciated the honesty and openness of this student.

Stay warm if you can.

jw

Dr. j webster Smith
School of Communication Studies
Scripps College of Communication
Ohio University
Schoonover Center
20 E. Union St,
Athens, OH 45701
smithj at ohio.edu<mailto:smithj at ohio.edu>
T: 740-593-4838

You should never look down on someone unless you're giving them a helping hand up.

Check out my latest book here<https://www.amazon.com/Back-Bus-Front-Classroom-Thirty-Year/dp/0578579677/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=from+the+back+of+the+bus+jw+smith&qid=1570358199&sr=8-1> and here<https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-the-back-of-the-bus-to-the-front-of-the-classroom-jw-smith/1133805213?ean=9780578579672>

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From: Hrutkay, Heather <hh044316 at ohio.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 9, 2019 8:50 PM
To: Smith, JW <smithj at ohio.edu>
Subject: COMS 4110 Final Reflection Paper


Heather Hrutkay

12/09/2019

COMS 4110

Final Reflection


For my paper I will be comparing this class to a previous class I took in high school. In high school, I took a disabilities class that had several chapters involving blindness and deafness. I came into COMS 4110 already having a basic understanding of both blindness and deafness. I will admit I went into this class thinking that there wasn't anything more I could learn about these two disabilities. I was completely wrong about that assumption. This COMS 4110 class taught by J.W Smith truly taught me about blindness and deafness. I will be specifically talking about blindness and the comparison of this class to my previous high school class. I decided to write my paper on this class as a whole because it was this class that helped teach me in ways I've never been taught before.

Let me do a quick background of my high school disabilities class. The class was called Human Behavior. The general theme of the class was centered around Humans and the way we behave with ourselves and with others. We discussed mental illness, personality disorders, mental disabilities, and physical disabilities. For the sake of this paper, I will just focus on the chapters that we discussed physical disabilities, and even more specifically blindness. The blindness section of that class involved the same material that we discussed in COMS 4110. However, the way the material was taught was very different. The main takeaway was similar to our COMS class, be respectful to those that are blind, help them if they ask you too, their disability does not define them, they are more.

Where my high school class differed from our COMS class is that the professor had sight. I'm not saying that since she had sight she shouldn't teach about blindness however it wasn't the same as having a blind professor teach about blindness. Having an abled bodied teacher teach about being differently-abled is in no way comparable to that of having a differently-abled teacher talk personally about being differently-abled. I feel very grateful for having the opportunity to take COMS 4110 with J.W Smith. I am able-bodied and have sight. Many people with sight won't admit it but subconsciously there are assumptions that we have for the blind. For example, at the beginning of our COMS class, I was scared to say anything in fear of offending J.W Smith. I remember telling my friends that I had a blind professor and I almost felt disrespectful calling him blind. This is a common subconscious thing that abled bodied people have about the differently-abled. However, J.W Smith taught us that it can be uncomfortable to talk about because it's not being talked about enough as it should. J.W Smith taught us to celebrate those who are differently-abled and to be their allies. "I absolutely do not mind when people ask me questions; in fact, I applaud them for it. Often, this is a nice first step toward getting to know me and understanding how I do things" (9 Things About Blindness Article).

Another way in which the two classes differed was guest speakers. In my high school class, the closest thing we had to guest speakers was watching TED talks which still helped us connect personally with someone who is blind but there was still a disconnect since it was only interacting with them through a computer screen. In COMS 4110 we had actual guest speakers that would join us in our classroom. The two guest speakers we had during the blindness unit were a blind couple, Eric and Shelly Duffy. Eric and Shelly shared their raw and personal stories about being blind in a sighted world. These two truly captured my attention. It was that 45-minute class interaction with them that taught me by far so much more than my 5-month long high school class. Learning isn't having a teacher read from a powerpoint, learning is by other's personal stories and experiences. Shelly talked about the obstacles she had to face being a blind mother. For someone like me who has sight I never thought about being blind and raising children before, and the backlash she received by others questioning and doubting her ability to be a mother. Eric talked about Aira which is a service for the blind and visually impaired. It allows Eric to use the camera on his phone and an Aira agent sees what he sees and talks him through whatever situation and environment he is in. Hearing the Aira agent describe in-depth what the class looked like to Eric was refreshing to know that technological advancements are being created to make those who are blind and visually impaired live more equally in a sighted world. Eric says, "I am even more amazed as I think about how much technology for the blind has changed over the years and thus how communications for the blind and the rest of the world have changed" (COMS 4110 text, Chapter 8 pg.142). Like I've stated many times already in this paper there is a subconscious ignorance that abled body people have about those who are differently-abled and the only way to destroy this ignorance is by talking about it. Having guest speakers helped make it more comfortable to talk about.

The last way in which the two classes differed was the in-class activities. My class in high school was strictly taught by the teacher standing in front of the class and us students sitting in our seats. What I enjoyed from COMS 4110 was the in-class activities, more specifically the blind simulation activity. In this activity we wore blindfolds and J.W Smith guided us as we walked around campus. This activity will resonate with me forever, and I know many other students in the class can agree. Being someone who has all 5 senses I learned that I take that for granted. Having a sense taken away was extremely difficult. We were paired up with another student who was our guide. I had never talked to the person I was paired up with before, a complete stranger. I had to trust a complete stranger with my life which is something I've never had to do before. I was only blindfolded for roughly 15 minutes and couldn't wait to take the blindfold off. There again is the subconscious ignorance that those with sight have about blindness. I had the privilege to take the blindfold off. Everyone in that class needs to remember that we had the privilege to see again after that 15-minute activity. I believe that was J.W Smith's intent in doing that activity, for us sighted people to appreciate our sight and more importantly make us appreciate those who don't have sight. In a world that seems so negative and hateful and wants people to turn people against each other, we must be there for each other and be allies to those that society wants to categorizes as being lesser. If you ask me I will never have the strength of those who are differently-abled. This class helped me check my privilege and has made me more comfortable in using my voice to help stand up for equality for those differently-abled. So with all that being said, I want to thank you, J.W Smith, for teaching me in a way I have never been taught before, with the knowledge I will carry with me and in turn teach those I will meet.





Work Cited:

COMMS 4110 text: Chapter 8: The Future, the Blind and Technology by Eric Duffy

"9 Baffling Questions I Get Asked as a Blind Person." Article by Hernandez, Caitlin.