The Future

Learn, Adapt 

When choosing the GedEd courses I have taken throughout my college experience, I was very deliberate. I wanted to take classes that would teach me important things about life and classes that would open my mind to different perspectives, people, and lives. I've taken classes about the Black Power Movement, Latin America, and the Holocaust. When I saw this class, I knew I wanted to take it. In the beginning of the semester, I did not know much about disabilities in general, much less disabled sports. I had only ever briefly heard of the Paralympics and the Special Olympics, but everything else was very new to me. 

I liked learning things in this class from people who are disabled themselves. Many of the videos were from speakers who are disabled or that feature para-athletes. I think it is really important that they have platforms that allow their voice to be heard. While it is very important for there to be allies supporting and raising the voices of minorities, it is even more important that their stories are heard directly from them. I learned a lot about how to address athletes and people with disabilities. I enjoyed learning about the different things that you should not say about them and the way they like to be perceived. I never want to treat anyone differently or speak to or about them differently based on a disability, even if it is not intentional. 

The Mindset

My mindset towards people with disabilities did not change a whole lot. I never looked down on them or thought that they were inferior. I never thought that they should be treated differently because of their disability. I did learn how important it is for athletes with disabilities and disabilities in general to be represented more frequently and more accurately. It is so important for minorities' voices to be heard and listened to. While someone's disability should not make them be treated differently, it is important for able-bodied people to know how to accommodate for them and make things more accessible for them. 

I never thought about how important it is for people with disabilities to be able to access and participate in sports, whether competitively or recreationally. I know now the significance of physical activity for those with disabilities. Not only the historical significance, but also the significance on mental and physical health. I also never thought about able-bodied athletes who had accidents or injuries that caused them to have a disability. I always assumed that they would just stop participating in sports, but now I understand why it is important for them to continue to have access to sports. 

I also understand the importance of making sure that all disabilities are represented in sports, especially big sporting events like the Paralympics. I was so shocked to learn that athletes such as Victoria Arlen are not allowed to compete in the Paralympics because their disabilities are considered "temporary." I was also shocked to learn that all intellectual disabilities were banned from the Paralympics after the basketball cheating scandal instead of putting more regulations in place to confirm the presence of an intellectual disability. 

The Future

In the future, I will talk about disabilities and the importance of their representation a lot more. Even throughout the course, I talked to my friends and family about the shocking things I learned, such as Victoria Arlen's story. I also talked about the really interesting things I learned, like the history and beginning of disabled sports. I saw real life examples of inaccessibility in Stockton's own Big Blue sports facility. I never spent much time in that building, but I was surprised by just how little accessibility there was inside and outside the building. Walking around different places like malls and restaurants, I can pick out really great accessibility, but I can also see when a building is barely accessible at all. This course definitely opened my mind and gave me a new perspective on the world around me.