A Voice For Human Rights
By: An Unknown Author
My name is CJ. I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and this is the story about my plight for human rights to be protected for people with disabilities:
All I wanted to be was successful at what I love to do. I loved helping people of all ages from all walks of life. I knew I was good at doing that because my heart was in the right place and I was already had experience working with kids and adults of all ages.
I was interested in expanding my experience in the caregiver profession particularly in working with young children. So my goal was to become a college student at a local school. I tried to enter the Early Childhood Care and Education Program but failed the admission several times. I was admitted into the local college however instead of being admitted right into the Early Childhood Care And Education Program (ECCE) I was admitted into the General Arts Program.
Even though I was not enrolled right away into the ECCE program. I was happy at being a General Arts student. It was one of the best years I have ever had in school. I was enrolled in Intro to Social Work, Physical Education Intermediate and Advanced Swimming, University English, Theatre Arts- Creative Play For Young Children, English Lit. For Young Children. I loved all of those classes because the teachers were very caring, extremely talented and kind. I had not experienced that level of the teacher- student relationship before. When I asked the teachers to accommodate the needs I had in regards to my ADHD in the classroom they did everything they could to help me succeed without any hesitation. It was the best! I received marks like I had never received before. While in the General Art’s program I received B’s and A’s in all my classes. Those marks along with the teacher’s comments made me feel terrific!
My self-esteem was at all time high when in Fall of 2001 I was finally admitted into ECCE program. On September 11 2001 I entered Sam College disability services program asking for accommodation so that I get the help I needed to cope with my ADHD in the classrooms. I was currently enrolled in four ECCE classes which included Fieldwork, and the theory behind young children. I was also currently working as a childcare provider at a local private day home taking care of 6 children after school and on my holidays.
Since I had no problems in getting accommodation as a General Arts student at Sam College I never thought I would have problems getting my accommodations need met. Yet I did. Out of the 2 teachers I had neither of them were willing to accommodate me at all. I never asked for accommodation that cost a lot. All I asked was to have someone help me take notes and also for my exam time to be extended so that I could I read each question carefully and answer the questions too. Although they did give me extra time to complete the exams I was never given an note taker. Since I also had no idea what fieldwork would entail I never knew what accommodation would suitable for that particular class. I asked for help from my teachers several times on assignments via e-mail which they refused to give. I never wanted to take the easy way out. I just wanted to be able to understand everything that was presented in class and in our textbooks too. I passed that 1st semester with B’s in the ECCE program thus indicating to me that I am a smart young women who will be a good caregiver someday.
In January 2002 I entered the 2nd semester of the ECCE program at Sam College which included 2 courses called Learning To Play 1 and Learning to Play 2, and ECCE Practicum 1. I was lead to believe I was doing extremely well particularly in ECCE Practicum 1 even though I was never accommodated in any of the classes. I was wrong. I later found out the entire ECCE faculty (which according to college calendar includes the daycare and their staff in which my practicum was at) never even wanted me to pass the ECCE program and practicum at all.
On March 4 2002 I drove with my dad to see my practicum coordinator Mrs. T. The reason I went to see her was so that I could find out how I was doing in practicum and to get my midterm evaluation which both my mentor at the daycare center and her commented on in writing. I was having difficulty in understanding the word “transition” so I asked Mrs. T to answer my question. Her answer was “Go read the answer in a book.” She then proceeded to give me the midterm evaluation. On the evaluation I was given the grades A and B under all categories related to my practicum work. I was given comments like “always does her work well and on time” by my mentor at the daycare center. I left that meeting feeling kind of confused and upset because although I don’t remember anything being said I do remember the tone of voice Mrs. T used which lead me to believe something was not right I just could not put my finger on what the problem was yet totally however I did write an email that night to Mrs. T telling her that I felt upset and I felt I lost my trust. In the email I stated, “I felt belittled and dumb. If anything I learned from that meeting, I learned that I never want kids to feel that way at all.”
Little did I know that my problems were just being to rise out of the ashes of the ECCE Program. The email I sent to Mrs. T prompted a meeting scheduled on March 7 in which I was asked by the secretary of the ECCE program to see the ECCE Coordinator Mrs. Sydney after my Learning To Play class was over for the day. I was never given the reason as to why I had to see her. I just was told to do so. This left me feeling nervous and curious as to what was going to happen during the meeting. I was ambushed at that meeting by Mrs. Sydney and by her friend / colleague. Ms. D.C. They were complaining that I was sending too many emails to all my teachers in the ECCE program asking for questions in regards to the class topics to be answered. This was causing them to be “concerned” about my understanding of the ECCE profession. I explained to them the reason I sent those emails was to get answers. I never once received a reply to any of my emails. They also thought I was “emotionally unstable” because I would cry when I got frustrated or upset. They sent me to see the school psychologist to deal with my emotions. The school psychologist said on my report “that I seemed to be doing fine and that if they think crying is a big issue their nuts.”
Because of the March 4 and March 7 meeting I lost my trust in all my teachers. Confidentiality had been broken amongst their staff and me. I never thought I could feel that way about Sam College, I started to hate being there. However I kept my mouth shut since I still thought I was to graduate in June. I was still getting good marks in all my classes despite the problems I had. I was pulled out of ECCE practicum 1 on the last day of class. I understood that would be considered a withdrawal from the course. That all changed on April 12 2004 when my dad received a letter from the dean of the Health and Community Studies department which said I was getting an F in ECCE Practicum 1. This shocked me and my dad immensely. I phoned the dean and asked for an explanation. She stated that she consulted with Mrs. T and Mrs. Sydney and that they came up to that conclusion. She never looked at my midterm and final evaluation at all. I felt a sense of embarrassment, and betrayal. My marks were my own, they were not meant to be shared with my dad first. This hurts me even still to this day, but it is because of this hurt I want it to stop. The only way I know how to prevent this type of discrimination from ever happening again to anyone else is to tell my story so that it encourages them to speak out against discrimination. It also lets them know they are not alone.
That is why I chose to have my dad help me fight against what happened to me. We went to the college and asked the ECCE staff to explain their reasons for failing me when I thought I did well at least up until midterm. They said they did not know me and that I might be a risk to children at the practicum setting because I have Attention Deficit Disorder, which might endanger the children. This made my dad and me angrier.
We went through the Sam College grievance and appeal procedure. We also went to Freedom of Information program to obtain my own personal records at the school. In the records I found the following information in regards to my practicum experience written by Mrs. T. “CJ future includes an opportunity to work in Childcare with or without practicum in a setting in which she has supervision.” I also found emails amongst the ECCE teachers in regards to me, emails from the appeals mediator Mrs. Max to Mrs. T thanking her for selecting Mrs. Max to be the mediator at my first appeals meeting. Mrs. Max considered the entire ECCE program staff and the school Registrar to be her friends.
I went through all the steps of the grievance procedure at Sam College charging the ECCE faculty with discrimination, and communication problems.
I never was given a fair shot at a good case because everyone there considered their friendship to be more important then what was happening to me. Unlike many students I was not allowed to have a representative from the student council nor was I allowed to have a lawyer. I had to learn to fend for myself with the help of my dad and my aide (whom by the way helps special needs people to fight for their human rights). I was placed in another uncomfortable position in which I had to describe my case to a panel full of people with PhDs, and fellow student counsel representatives. They came to a decision that my grade should be changed from an F to an W (withdrawal). I believed that I passed that course based on the fact of my midterm evaluation. After all the difference between the date of my midterm evaluation and my final evaluation was a month apart. I went from A’s and B’s in midterm to F’s at the final evaluation. However the grievance committee did not believe there was any discrimination at all.
Even before I went to the grievance committee I already wanted to present my case to the Human Rights commission in my province. I had an aide who was already an expert in that area helping me out. In November 2002 the Human Rights Commission based on the fact they believed that Sam College faculty based on my disability had discriminated against me accepted my case.
I thought my fight was almost over. Never did I think of what going through the Human Rights Commission would entail or how long it would take. I went through the first three steps of the Human Rights Commissions procedure: the intake, the mediation, and the investigator. I had to tell and re-live my story over and over again. I had to study it to make sure I got everything I needed to know so that I can fight not only with my heart but with my mind too. This was extremely grueling, time consuming, and left me feeling more abused then ever before. I had a hard time sleeping while dealing with the case because of the thoughts I had before I went to bed.
However the reason I fought for as long as I did was because I was lucky to have the support of friends and family- especially my dad for whom without him I would have accepted what the ECCE faculty had given to me. I also was starting to have a life outside of the Human Rights case. I was starting to enjoy my life because it was taking a different direction then what I had planned. I never thought I would teach computers especially since I never took computers or teaching in school. Yet I did. I started by teaching at another local community college to people of all ages and abilities. Later that same year I worked at American camp teaching computers to children with special needs. I had a great time doing all that. The camp also gave me the chance to see I was making a difference. It also reminded me of why I was doing my human rights case to begin with.
The reason I was doing my human rights case was not only so I could pass but so that things that happened to me would never happen again to anyone else. You see I already lost my human rights case from the very beginning. I lost the chance to graduate with my friends, to earn more money working as a child care provider, and trust in the education system in which we pay our tax money to. Realizing that I never lost the chance to make a difference I went on with the human rights case. Plus I also realized that since I lost almost everything that I dreamt of having I had no where to go but up.
The Human Rights Commission found the faculty at Sam College guilty of discrimination. This made me feel ecstatic! Finally someone in authority believed there was discrimination! However my feelings were short lived because the remedy the Human Rights Commission suggested that I take ECCE Practicum 1 at no cost again under the same teacher and without accommodation. This seemed ridiculous to me.
I fought my case for as long and hard as I could. I felt I was leading a double life. In one life I was teaching computers here in Canada and in the USA quite happily. In the other life I was fighting a painful human rights case that was taking a long time to complete. In two years the case had gone up 3 small steps. My family life as I knew it was changing. I did not know how to deal with that fact at all. So with much thought and consideration I decided to drop my human rights case. My family is the most important thing to me right now. It doesn’t mean I forgot about my case completely nor does it mean I want to stop fighting. I just can’t take it no more.
My number one reason for doing the human rights case was successful. I wanted the case to have merit, which it did. I also wanted the case to make a difference which it has in more ways then I imagined. I have changed, and so have my supporters. I am more confident now in speaking my thoughts and feelings out. Because I could not enter childcare professionally I entered another area that interest me which is teaching computers. I still work with children now- children that I see as good individuals who need someone to fight for them. Because of my case I understand the children’s plight to get accommodations done so they can have better lives even with their disabilities. I understand how hard it is to fight to be treated with dignity, honor, and respect.
The result of my case is also why I am writing of this story. Even though I did not get everything I wanted I do want to encourage everyone to speak out against whatever is problematic in his or her lives. I am telling you it makes a difference. My hope is that someday no one will be hurt and that everyone will be accepted for whom they are inside. I hope that with my story it will encourage everyone to do what is right for themselves. I am not promoting anything here. The only thing I am promoting is that you as a human being speak up to prevent hurtful things from ever happening again.
Thank you for reading my story!
Sincerely CJ