Yesterday, a TED talk at TEDxStanford moved me deeply. It was given by Rhodes Scholar Rachel Kolb – who was born deaf. She showed what is possible through family support and self-belief, and proves that what is assumed about you and what you can actually achieve don’t always match up. In the United States, two-thirds of hearing-impaired people do not complete high school.
When I attended a coteaching workshop, an American teacher asked me if there were any disabled students in Chinese schools. I said very few. In my experiences, from elementary school to high school, even in university, I had never meet a disabled students, who was deaf or blind. Where are they? They do exist, but may live alienated lives out of our eyes.
In UGA, I saw many students sitting on their wheelchairs in streets, classroom, libraries, even on buses. They really provide good access for disabled.
In China, the situation in Beijing and Shanghai may be better than other cities. But we still hardly see disabled people appear in front us, when they do appear, they usually have many accompanies who help them to overcome the unexpected obstacles posed by people unconsciously.
Disabled people do deserve to live a normal life. Please don’t alienate them!
