Nature

So.  This is a picture of me at the top of Lambert Dome.  I know that this may seem like it isn't everyday life, but in reality it is what I hope to be my everyday life.  I started looking around me and I could see the small details of the layout of my environment as it is in Seattle, and especially on campus, but then I started thinking about my major (ESRM) and how it involves being out in the wild and in nature in hard to reach places if you have certain disabilities.  I feel strongly that the human spirit is amazing and can achieve many things that it is said could not be done, BUT on an every day basis we are not all Niel Armstrong.  I started looking around at the people who were also in my major and found many similarities, fit, strong, "healthy", all the things that you would expect from an outdoorsy kind of person.  I did not see anyone with visible disabilities.  It became obvious to me that people with visible physical disabilities were not lining up to be in this program.  There are these assumptions that there are those who cannot do these things.  I think some of those assumptions are true in the reality of this world.  To do these things on an everyday basis with a disability can become very frustrating.  I think that there is a false assumption though that those who cannot perform these tasks are not intelligent enough to achieve these tasks.

How has assessment play either a positive or negative role in your life? What types of assessment do you believe are most effective and best for determining and measuring growth?

What motivates you to participate in different activities in your life? Is your motivation different for activities such as school, hobbies, family obligations, spending time with friends, etc? How might you explain any differences you experience?

Beauty.

It took me a while to figure out what to post for this blog. After some thought, the answer came to me as I perused a magazine: beauty. Our society makes so many assumptions about ability and intelligence based on a person’s attractiveness. Beautiful people are perceived, often subconsciously, as “better” – more capable, better equipped, healthier, and more intelligent than people who are perceived as less attractive. I will never forget a moment I had at work several months ago. My manager conducted an interview with an applicant, then gave me a sheet of notes to review. She had written two columns: pros and cons to hiring the applicant. The VERY FIRST pro? “Applicant is attractive.” This immediately struck me as something quite disturbing – although the applicant was highly qualified, the most important factor to my manager, it seemed, was her looks. Unfortunately, this is probably a common scenario that plays out every day. Managers, customers, etc . - they all seem to gravitate towards attractive people.

There are many other subtle indications of beauty being “better, essential” made every day. When a pretty girl dies suddenly, for example, we often hear people say things like, “what a waste….she was so beautiful!” Comments about her intelligence or personality always seem to come secondary – beauty tends to be the first thing that is remarked upon.  

In the picture I have posted, beauty is being used to sell a product. Consumers want to look like the couple in the photo: beautiful. Because being beautiful leads to other perks in life: power, popularity, success, wealth. Whether we say it outright or not, I think this is all something we know: in our society, beauty is equated with “better.”

Reaching for an Object

Based on my own experience, being a tall person was something to be looked down upon especially in my family since the majority of relatives were on the shorter side. This had me thinking that I was the one who wasn't able to fit in. However, through social interactions and my peer group I learned that the opposite rang true at least with my school community: Tall was something to be admired and being short was literally a handicap.  The way this was projected was through belittlement or self-deprecating humor about the larger differences and disadvantages between my height and someone else's. This picture shows someone short reaching for something from a higher surface. The image alone almost makes one think that the girl, while an adult, is a child and thus needs assistance and isn't capable of reaching the object above. Some assumptions made could be, that shorter people are considered as cute, and not as intelligent (if one was associating cute with that of being a child and a child with being naive) and not being able to do things independently. Assumptions like this are present in every day life whether acknowledged or not. There have been studies attempting to prove that tall height is synonymous with job success, or earning respect from groups of people,  because a tall person seems more abled or with a 'strong', smart demeanor (Gandalf and all the Elves were unusually taller and supposedly wiser than any other characters in Lord of the Rings!) which places the opposite perception in a slightly negative light.  I would assume that the girl in the photo would ask someone taller to get the object for her, instead of critically thinking of how she could get it herself (such as the use of a chair or a longer handle) which further perpetuates the issue of image and it's connection to actual ability and intelligence.

Handicap Parking Spaces

This is an image of the parking lot in my condo building.  There are designated parking spaces in close proximity to entryways and doors for handicap people.  The assumptions are that handicap people are capable and do drive (depending on the disability).  The other assumption is that while a handicap person can drive, they should still have special considerations to make things more convenient for them.  Another assumption about handicap people is that their lives may not as limited as some people may think; many have productive and active lives and many are able to drive themselves.  Also, the reason handicap people drive, and have very productive lives  is because depending on their disability/handicap, their intelligence is not compromised.   There are many different handicaps and if it is only a physical handicap (but able to see and hear) they are just as able to drive and do all other daily tasks independently as non-handicap people.

Take pictures of things or circumstances in your everyday life that position people as able and/or disabled. Post at least 1 picture on your blog, and talk about how assumptions about intelligence, ability and disability are a part of your everyday life.