by Kathleen Kosobud
This is especially for the Young Leaders Group of the Learning Disabilities Association of America which held its' launch at the 2011 LDA National Conference—Many congratulations!
This morning (2/28/11) I was listening to The Craig Fahle Show[i] a Detroit local NPR program and Craig was interviewing some folks in Detroit who are using the web to leverage "micro-investments" in projects.
Recently the Michigan film industry launched a campaign to retain the Michigan film industry incentive which our Governor has proposed to place on the chopping block. I became a micro-producer in the film industry ad campaign[ii] by clicking a button, checking a box, and sending my $10 via PayPal. The initial ad is a collage of video posts from young people who had been, until now, starting careers in the film industry in Michigan. We, in Michigan, are seeing our young people leave the state as the prospects for jobs seem to be fading away. These young people sent short video clips, telling the governor how the loss of the incentive would affect them. I love the idea that, at every level of this project, it was done through micro-contributions of money, effort, and collaboration and became a truly empowered process as a result.
The "faces" of the campaign are Jeff Daniels[iii] (actor, musician, and committed resident of Michigan), Mitch Albom[iv] (Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day), and Emery King, chair of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council[v] (see an interview with him about the Michigan Creative Film Alliance at http://vimeo.com/14104906/).
I think that "empowerment" (Nothing About Us Without Us[vi]--the clarion call of the Disability Rights Movement[vii]) is key to activating the enthusiasm and support of young people in LDA causes. I have some ideas about campaigns that would involve social media and participatory activism and would love to implement them at the state level but it would be far better to do it nationally, because of a body of research[viii] showing that young people with learning disabilities often fail to disclose disability in college and on the job. I have had young people (my own children included) tell me that they are afraid to be considered to be less than they are, if they disclose disability. As a result, they often think that they are the only ones struggling to succeed and may wrongly blame themselves for the failure of the wider system.
We need a "You are NOT alone" "Proud and LD" kind of campaign--to get in the face of employers, public services, education policymakers, etc. to let them know what they are missing by excluding our numbers from full participation.
Many of us, despite our talents, have difficulties that would keep us from achieving high school diplomas in the current "high and rigorous standards"[ix] policy environment. We need to be there for our younger brothers and sisters (and their children) who are facing these policy challenges. Why is it still unacceptable for us to "read" with hypertext readers? Why is it still unacceptable for us to "write" using dictation software? Why does everyone (as opposed to those with a future in engineering or science) have to pass Algebra 2 in order to participate in the 21st Century workforce[x]? We already know that one size does not fit all.
Let's get ourselves motivated to get this going. I'll help (in between endless days of writing my dissertation), but we need everyone to join in to make our voices heard--loudly!
I'm a person identified with learning disabilities and I don't intend to stay quiet about my right, or anyone else's, to participate.
Kathleen Kosobud is a past president of LDA of Michigan, a National Board Certified Teacher, and a doctoral candidate in the field of Special Education with special interests in family-school policy and practices, teacher quality for children with disabilities, and education policy for persons with disabilities.
[i] Hook up to Craig Fahle at these links: http://www.facebook.com/CraigFahleShow/ or http://www.wdetfm.org/craigfahle/
[iv] To buy Albom’s books, go to: http://www.amazon.com/Mitch-Albom/e/B000AQ79EY/ ref=sr_tc_ep?qid=1298924804
[v] More information about the Michigan Film Office’s Advisory Council: http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Advisory-Council/Default.aspx/
[vi] Charlton, James I. (1998). Nothing about us without us: disability oppression and empowerment. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[vii] About the Disability Rights Movement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability_rights_movement/
[viii] Link to the 2009 report on the state of Learning Disabilities: http://www.ncld.org/stateofld/
[ix] Link to the national standards adopted by the National Governor’s Association: http://www.corestandards.org/
[x] Link to the U.S. 21st Century Workforce Commission’s 2000 report: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=key_workplace/
