The K-12 educational process in the U.S. helps to shape and formulate the way future U.S. citizens view the world around them -- and also how they view people with disabilities within it. The years we spend in class, and the ideas and subjects we learn about, all influence the perspectives held by the people that we become. Thus, every curriculum affords the opportunity for students and instructors to comprehend disability issues in a more comprehensive and socially aware manner.

The field of education in the U.S. exerts a tremendous effort developing curricula that sustain and review social complexities from year to year in order to seek coherent results for individual students. Educational processes not only aspire that their subjects form theories and foundations, but the same educational processes encourage universal address of key concepts and ideas in human history and culture. Whereas universities may discuss canonical required areas of investigation, national curricular guideposts result in every third grader receiving instructions on multiplication and now, every ninth grader being required to read novels from the contemporary American classics arena. For example, one would be hard-pressed to find a ninth-grader in the U.S. who had not been required to read Harper Lee's 1960 coming-of-age classic, To Kill A Mockingbird.

Along with this universal educational endeavor comes the realization that a significant portion of our instruction is filtered through various paradigms and understandings of how the world operates. Not only do administrators and curriculum boards carefully plan every class, but also an instructor brings his or her own ideas and biases to the classroom. These biases include political understandings as well as cultural and theoretical perceptions of how to treat and label various people. A good deal of research shows us that an instructor who sees minority students as only partially participating in the intellectual endeavors of the classroom because of supposed inferior intellectual capabilities, will convey this perspective in lessons (Finkel and Bolin, 1996; Villegas and Lucas, 2002). It has been documented, for example, that if a teacher has the view that females are not as educationally strong as males then the instructor most likely will focus a greater amount of time on the needs and questions of the male students as opposed to the female ones (Marusza, 1998; Kim, Clark-Ekong, and Ashmore, 1999). Issues like this not only become important when the class discussion turns to ideas of human nature and women's liberation but the overall affect is even more far reaching. As the female students are not encouraged to succeed and excel, the message becomes crystal clear to the others in the class: You are not my equal and you never will be.

Recently, there has been an attempt to correct these previous wrong doings of the past. Instructors have been educated, with some success, to adopt a multicultural paradigm when instructing their students. Hopefully when the teacher now talks of the explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth century, words like "discovered" and "heroic" are placed alongside words like "genocide" and "conquering." As students learn about the European influence in this country expectantly they learn not only about the Kings and Queens of Europe financing these missions to find land and gold but the students also learn of the atrocities that were committed against native populations by the newly arriving Europeans. Examples like this, small as they may seem, help not only to teach students an accurate understanding of what happened in this country but also help to create a new awareness that all persons are interconnected and that the predominate white European/American experience is full of actions done in the name of God and expansion of country.

However this multiculturalism fails on multiple levels. Often the instructor is unable to erase their own personal biases and continues to teach about the wrongs that were done as valiant and justified. Furthermore, a variety of key informants are often excluded from the discourse that is used. An example would be while discussing World War II, often the knowledge or understanding of the Asian/American view and the U.S. government's attempts at internment are ignored. Instead of consistently exposing students to a variety of insights and experiences, the instructor may attempt to educated students about others in some sort of annual "Multicultural Week" that might include a sampling of different foods as well as listening to a bagpipe band. Although this activity is constructive, it is far from beneficial in achieving a cross-cultural understanding of the world we inhabit.

Personal Understandings In Regards to Disability Studies

When I enrolled in the Master's program in Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I became aware of the obvious shortcomings of my primary and secondary education. The entire history of people with disabilities was absent from my educational process. I had no knowledge of the eugenics movement, the attempts at institutionalization, and the imprisonment of people with disabilities in our country as well as in other parts of the world. I had no idea that people had been sterilized without their consent and that places like Willowbrook were the norm as opposed to the exception. In all of the multicultural influences taught and explored in my education, I had no idea that people with disabilities were constantly treated as second-class members of society.

The entire disability perspective was absent from my educational process. This became not only an area of concern to myself, but also gave me a sense of purpose to work towards. Disability Studies, an innate interdisciplinary framework, afforded the opportunity to educate in regards to disability in universities and high schools, if not in all educational levels throughout the country (Ware, 2002, 2001).

Disability Studies examines the complex relationship that involves placing of value on functioning as well as labeling bodies as deviant (Davis, 2002; Garland-Thomson, 1996). Various profit and charity motives combine with other movements of exploitation to place people with disabilities in isolation. This interaction between functioning and assessment is highlighted in Disability Studies as a corrupt endeavor that seeks to isolate people labeled as deviant. Disability Studies inherently seeks to shatter conceived notions of how people are categorized in order to arrive at an appreciation of the complexity of all humanity regardless of perceived labeling along the lines of impairment status and consequently labels of race (or ethnicity), gender, and sexual orientation (McRuer and Wilkerson, 2003; Siebers, 2001). Disability Studies provides excellent theoretical frameworks for examining our preconceived and taught ideas about people that we encounter everyday.

It is with this desire in mind that I underwent a three-week teaching experiment, using a qualitative analysis, to test out the effectiveness of educating secondary school students in regards to Disability Studies. This curriculum aimed at high school students in Washington State explored and documented effectual efforts at expanding a Disability Studies curriculum in a high school setting. It was my hope that by undertaking this endeavor the students would be able to challenge their ideas and conceptions about disability and emerge as scholars who recognize that we are all vital players in the world around us, regardless of impairment, functioning and imposed labels.

Counter Narrative as Teaching Methodology: Shattering Notions of Otherness

Linda Ware, of the University of Rochester, used a similar approach when she along with a high school educator taught a Disability Studies curriculum in a high school setting. A main component of this educational process is the use of the disability counter-narrative, an idea first coined by Disability Studies scholars, David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder in their book Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse (2001). These counter-narratives are personal accounts told or written by members of the disabled community that share their experiences and counter the assumptions of majority culture on the nature of disability. In her articles, "Writing, Identity and the Other; Dare We Do Disability Studies" (2001) and "A Moral Conversation on Disability: Risking the Personal in Educational Contexts" (2002), Ware describes the successes of her approach and how essential it is to inform the students of these counter-narratives.

These counter-narratives offer the students access into the life of the narrator while at the same time allowing adequate distance so the students can still recognize the social barriers that are present and prevent the individual from obtaining and actualizing their basic, fundamental rights. She describes the goal of this type of educational experience as:"...reimagine disability by challenging our collective stories through a cultural lens in the hopes of retracting the divergent institutional and communal histories that inform the varied construct we recognize as disability" (Ware, 2002:143). Ware understands that with the passing of legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Acts, educators might view inclusion as compulsory, and often treat students with disabilities as pupils who cost the school excess funds. It remains her hope that a greater inclusion of a Disability Studies perspective will allow students and educators the opportunity to reexamine their ideas and current understandings of disability and in turn create a new consciousness that other paradigms like gender and race studies are on their way to actualizing; an environment where all are included regardless of divergent human characteristic like skin color or body shape. Through greater incorporation and understanding of Disability Studies, centuries of ableism can begin to be challenged and unpacked in hopes that the goal of a larger human community that embraces and recognizes the complexity of humanity can be accomplished.

In the recently published Disability Studies: Enabling the Humanities (2002), a section includes critical essays that discuss the pedagogical aspects of teaching Disability Studies. In his essay in the book, Jim Swan echoes the sentiments of Ware by establishing how essential narratives are to the recognized outcomes of Disability Studies, "The embodied perspective of disabled persons that [Simi] Linton calls is the necessary ground for realizing the agency of the disabled subject, and it must be a fundamental part of any curriculum in Disability Studies" (Snyder, Brueggemann, and Garland-Thomson, 2002:284). These narratives easily can be utilized as an essential part of any future endeavor in adapting Disability Studies for the high school level.

Along these same lines that Swan describes, in their essays Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson and James Wilson, as well as Brenda Jo Brueggemann, tell of the virtues of using film to teach the students ideas that previously they had no working knowledge of. In their essay "Constructing a Third Space", Lewiecki-Wilson and Wilson discuss their experiences using Mitchell and Snyder's film Vital Signs; Crip Culture Talks Back in the classroom. They make the following conclusion about the use of film:

As students articulate the range of views inscribed in culture and reflect on these, their discourse can be vehicles for discussion and analysis and a starting point for the production of new thinking (Snyder, Brueggemann, and Garland-Thomson, 2002:305).

Brueggemann reiterates the sentiments that are discussed in the Wilsons' essay by talking of the power and unique ability representational media have in the classroom. Discussing her own experiences at Ohio State, Brueggemann talks about a class she taught titled "Representations of (Dis)Ability in Literature and Film." The students embraced the two-fold approach of reading and viewing disability based literature and film. A telling outcome of the class is that:  

Suddenly, disability didn't look so strange or rarely encountered. For their final projects, the class pushed and probed these distinctions further, peeling back layers upon layers of interesting representations about bodies, exploring the depth and range of human '(dis)(abilities)' - as one student came to rewrite the operative word in the course title- that have decorated and littered our literature and culture for centuries upon centuries (Snyder, Brueggemann, and Garland-Thomson, 2002:324-325).

The literature shows the power and faculty of personal narrative as well as representational media as essential tools to use in the formulation and execution of Disability Studies curriculum.

Moving the Research into the Classroom: Entry into the High School

The research site chosen was Gonzaga Preparatory High School, a Jesuit Institution, in Spokane, Wash. The potential research subjects were enrolled in a senior-level theology elective and the research consisted of a Disability Studies unit in that class. Keeping in mind the politics of curriculum development and the consent process, a Jesuit high school seemed like an excellent choice based on their commitment to creating students who are aware of their surroundings as well as being socially responsible to fashion a just and fair world, speak out against injustices, and seek to create a larger human community. The ideals of Jesuit education as well as Disability Studies seem like a perfect fit.

It has been argued that religious settings and religion are inherently oppositional to people with disabilities, especially considering Charlton's (1998) and others account of disability oppression. This type of oppression can and does occur, but to generalize that all religious situations harbor oppression is paramount to similar generalizations that the disabled community encounters regarding lack of productivity and overall dependency upon the "charity" of others. Space does not allow a sustained engagement with this assumption about religion; however, Gonzaga Prep recently underwent a major renovation that includes a highly accessible environment as well as classes and professors that encourage complex understandings off all persons -- including those labeled as disabled.

The students in the class were all in the first semester of their senior year and had chosen this class as one of the offered elective choices; the students choose three from a list of about eight. The students in the study were given the option to enroll in the study as well as having their ideas and comments included through a consent form given to their parents as well as an assent form signed by them, all of which were approved by the IRB of UIC and the administration of Gonzaga Prep.

There were a total of 26 students enrolled into the study, equating to all possible participants who were enrolled in the senior level theology class. The students were primarily from middle class, Caucasian families with a few students of Asian American background present in the class. The overall homogeneity of the class is one of the limits of the study; unfortunately this geographic area of the Northwest is primarily of European American Ancestry. Future attempts similar to this study would benefit to include a more diverse cross-section of a student population. Also the class was equally split between males and females. On average, 24 students were present each day, with the missing students accounting for participation into sports and other activities, sickness and travel. The class was taught for three weeks in December of 2003, for a total of fifteen class periods of instruction. The average time frame for instruction was fifty minutes each day, although due to the nature of high school and various schedules, some periods were as short as 35 minutes in length.

Participation or the lack of participation had no effect on the overall grade of the students, as the researcher did not distribute assignments to be evaluated in terms of grades. Also the students continually were reminded that their participation was voluntary and at any time they could remove themselves from the class or opt not to respond to a certain research question. Table 1 lists the materials used in the class and in preparing for it.

The students were asked to record their ideas throughout the class as well as complete short response papers to the subjects or films shown in class. Also the students were given both pre- and post-evaluative measures to gauge how their understandings were altered by the research project. The students also were asked for ideas on how the curriculum could be taught differently and more successfully in the future. These responses were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the class.

Analysis of Results: Coding Student Responses

A team of researchers including myself, as well as my advisor, analyzed the responses and suggestions of the students.

The responses were read and meaningful statements centering on personal reactions and identification of materials were identified. There responses were then coded in such a manner that the responses were given larger identifiers. These identifiers included "reaffirmation of previous beliefs," "reaction to eugenics" and similar responses to the curriculum. These codes were then sorted and compiled with other student comments to determine if themes emerged from the class. Each response was read to determine if the voice of the informant was unique in their reflections or if the overall messages informed other student reactions. Each comment was read multiple times and any response recorded in the results was checked for accuracy. The goal of the research was to allow for as many maintaining multiple perspectives and insights, realizing the student voices were the major source of information about the study. From these various codes and statements from the students, themes emerged on what effective tools could be used in future settings.

The final conclusions were also mailed and shared with the students and the classroom instructor so they could provide member checking. Consequently the classroom instructor was present throughout the study. This afforded the opportunity for the participants to offer any final insights or critiques of the conclusions as well as the chance to understand and appreciate what results came out of the study. Every attempt was made to use as much of the informants' words as possible in developing the final results and recommendations.

Part of the analysis process also included asking the students in both a pre- and post-survey if they identified as a person with a disability. In the pre-survey one student out of the 26 identified as being a person with a disability. However at the end of the three-week study five additional people identified as having a disability for a total of six people or roughly 22% of the research group.

What is of interest is the increasing numbers of people identifying as being disabled through the process of the class. One such student at the beginning of the class clearly stated on her survey that she did not have a disability; however, in the later survey she described the new identification as one of disability status due to a label of bipolar disorder. Regardless of the definitions that these students were utilizing in reference to identification of disability status, one thing is clear from these numbers. Education about disability and societal responses to people with disabilities allows others the opportunity to "come out" as disabled. More in-depth research regarding this apparent phenomenon is needed, but this study provides interesting ideas about claiming of new identities in classroom settings.

Qualitative Analysis of Student Responses

Analysis of the data from the study notably highlights distinct responses to the study. These types of responses were obtained from the students' reactions to class activities. The responses were coded and emerging themes were made clear, the first being a response of reaffirmation of previously held ideals regarding disability. (All names used in this paper are pseudonyms to protect the confidentiality of the informants. The guarantee of confidentiality was a condition in the consent process.)

These responses, although in the minority overall, consisted mainly of a recognition that the topics discussed in class confirmed what ideas about disability the students held previously. Stephanie shared an example of this viewpoint of reaffirmation:

I don't know if I have learned a whole lot. But I have learned others' opinions. I have already known a lot about disability. My mom is a special ed teacher who teaches at schools and at their homes, and I know a TON about medicine and different types of disabilities. But I have another perspective. My dad works for DSHS [Department of Social and Human Services] and I know how hard it is for the gov. to accommodate everyone. So that is what I have learned.

This particular student, out of knowledge of her parents' occupations, was working with a well-established knowledge of social services and segregated education. Even though the class materials responded to widely held beliefs of the educational and medical arenas by using first person narratives from people with disabilities, this particular student used her previously held ideas of life with impairment and often voiced objections to the materials in the class. The nature of Disability Studies questions traditional rehabilitation methods because often people with disabilities considered themselves subjected to useless attempts to regain functioning in reference to their impairment as opposed to affording the opportunity to navigate society with a variety of accommodations and services. Objection to teaching in regards to traditional rehabilitation is an obvious response that any educator who chooses to undertake this type of teaching objective should be aware of; students whose parents are in the medical or educational arena might voice a professionally authorized account from areas that view disability as a burden, exception, or needing of a special service. This counter narrative not only challenges the educator but also the rest of the classroom to evaluate the messages presented so all can formulate their own worldview.

The second major response to the class was recognition of how society hinders and disables people based on their impairment status. Most students responded along these lines with reactions that reflected a new awareness of how certain structures and attitudes in society further isolated and discriminated against people based on assumptions of functioning.

Some students were able to distinguish views of fellow students in relation to how society disables people. Charlotte shared her insights in relation to this increased discernment about the views held by her fellow students:

I have realized how selfish some people can be about the situation [living life with an impairment] and it makes me angry. For example, "Steve" [another student in the class] saying he'd be mad if a disabled person got special treatment in school. He can't see beyond himself and I now realize that he's definitely not the only one. I wish people weren't like that.

Charlotte's response in relation to a classroom discussion about attention deficit disorder highlights the differing views shared in class. Some of the students were unable at the time to recognize that all people function in different manners and instead they showed anger and resentment that some students might obtain extra time or resources to complete schoolwork because of a label of impairment.

Charlotte's response is representative of the type discussion that can occur in the classroom. This particular discussion was prompted when examples of accommodations and social responses to impairment were talked about in relation to "learning disabilities." Some of the students expressed feelings of unfairness when the discussion of accommodations in regards to extra time or alternative test formats were explored in the classroom. This particular discussion not only highlighted personal views of the students but also allowed all to encounter these views in relation to each other. Charlotte's response is typical to the type of discussion that occurred in the classroom. Educators can become aware of the fact that these types of discussions can and often do occur in the classroom when various subjects, that can be personalized, are explored. Disability is one such subject that can get personal in nature. The students are capable of openly exploring their feelings, while allowing others the freedom and safety to express their own ideas. Out of this expression, the students are able to recognize insights as well as views widely held in society that participate in the disabling process.

Another response along the lines of recognition of society and its role in disablement is perhaps the most beneficial and powerful aspect of this type of class; the students are able to recognize their own personal views and how these views can further isolate and subjugate different groups of people. After the first week of class, Silas wrote the following in response to the ideas discussed:

This week was interesting. I felt in the beginning that maybe I would be hearing things I already knew, not really gaining anything. But between the video ["When Billy Broke His Head"] and the discussions, hearing everyone's opinions and the many differences, I found new light in things. Seeing the feelings of disabled people is interesting, especially in how they differ from the common conception. I also became sort of discouraged, finding things about myself that I didn't really like. The true challenge comes when I must face these obstacles myself.

Silas was able to learn from the discussions in class and highlight personal beliefs that participated in the process of disablement. Recognizing these views is only the beginning goal of an endeavor like this, Silas and others must now "face these obstacles myself." The real challenge begins when the topics and lessons of the classroom leave the borders of the school and transgress into society at large.

One of the students, Mary Ellen, shared her process of moving the discussion of the class outside of her educational experiences. In her response, Mary Ellen disclosed how she shared the class with her family and then this discussion highlighted further attempts to educate and change the disablement process:

I liked the explanation between the medical model and the social model. My mom and I talked about this and she brought it up to a few of her teachers (she's a Catholic school principal.) Her teachers agree that it's important to have discussions about disability in the classroom. I think I have a better understanding of the disabled community and the feelings that go along with disabilities. Discussions in this class have prompted discussions about disability among my friends.

Mary Ellen moved the discussion of the classroom and in turn began to educate others around her of the social and medical models of disability and how all of humanity is interconnected despite apparent differences in functioning or supposed labels. This movement outside of the classroom is one of the most powerful aspects of Disability Studies. The students, who at the beginning of the class appear to be categorically different from those whose narratives are shared, however, by the end of the endeavor, commonalities are highlighted, and students are inspired to focus on becoming interdependent members of society that support all persons regardless of labeling or functioning ability.

These types of responses: in relation to society and a reaffirmation of previously held beliefs, were common among all the students. It becomes imperative for future educators to allow the discussion of disability in the classroom to be such that all interested students are able to not only personalize the topic but also be allowed to transgress into the world outside of the classroom so further efforts to educate and create common bonds can occur.

Family Stories- One Final Section of Results

As with any effort in identity education, Disability Studies curriculum allows students the opportunity to share with others their own personal narratives. This particular study allowed the students the opportunity not only to orally share any stories with their fellow classmates, but the curriculum development also afforded the students the chance to begin the process of writing their own narrative stories. Of particular interest to this study, the movies and the resulting classroom discussions allowed the participants to educate the other students about their own views on living life with a variety of labels including impairment and disability. Boyd, one of the students in the class shared a highly personal story about his brother, who was born with an intellectual impairment as well as resulting paralysis from a car accident:

I have gotten a lot out of this unit so far. I have a mentally disabled brother. My brother was born premature and diagnosed with severe mental disabilities as well as being deaf and having foot and ankle problems. My brother has many disabilities and even though he can't say he is 'proud and disabled,' I can say I am proud of my brother because he is my brother and I love him for who he is and how he has taught me to be and act toward the disabled. The issues brought up this week changed my views on the disabled community striving to work past their disabilities. In "How Billy Broke His Head" I saw how government funding was not what it needs to be but I am happy there is something our govt. is doing. I now understand more where someone comes from and understanding of what a disabled person feels. I know now that I can help them but try to treat them with respect because they are equal to me.

Boyd shares his family story including his brother and his various labels of impairment. Out of this sharing and personal knowledge, Boyd was able to see a vibrant disabled community while at the same time recognizing the universal equality of all persons regardless of labeling.

Stories like this can be shared in the classroom. It becomes important for the instructors of Disability Studies curriculum to create a space where trust and confidentiality can be combined so all have the opportunity to share their narratives of disability. Educational attempts when personal stories are shared almost always result in the students and even the instructors disclosing highly personal stories and feelings. As endeavors like this are expanded upon throughout educational facilities, it becomes important to recognize the narrative aspects of the classroom so all feel welcome to participate.

The Limits of the Study

As with any endeavor this particular attempt to educate the students about Disability Studies had its limits. Identifying these limits to results allows others the chance to learn from the oversights of the researcher. Studies like this pave important groundwork so others can replicate and improve upon the attempts of the researcher.

The major limit of the study, due to the relationship of the researcher to the students, involved not allowing the opportunity to assign readings for the students to examine overnight as homework. The researcher did not want to influence the overall grades of the students enrolled in the classroom as well as adding any assignments to the syllabus of the class that the homeroom teacher had assigned. Because the researcher was not allowed to create homework for the students, largely because the students were required to complete their regular rounds of assignments throughout the three-week study, all readings and narratives had to be read aloud in class as a communal activity. Although this activity of public reading allowed for all to question and examine the readings together, the researcher was limited in the amount and types of readings utilized in the classroom. Ideally, the set up would have afforded the opportunity to share excellent examples of personal narratives, such as Nancy Mairs' (1996) Waist High In the World; however, the length of the narrative hindered the opportunity to read Mairs' book in class.

The other major limit of the study and an issue discussed with the class was the lack of disability status in relation to the researcher. Going into the study the researcher was fully aware of the potential political and power relationship in the classroom when identity curriculum is taught. Since the researcher does not have an obvious impairment and most likely would not be labeled as disabled, it could be perceived by the students that the researcher was acting as a "mouthpiece" or interpreter for the disabled community. During the process of instruction, a dialogue was fostered between the students and the researcher to examine the power relationship is present in class.

A major structure of the class activities included not only utilizing poems and narratives of disability from insider perspectives but also made use of documentaries made and produced by people with disabilities so a variety of perspectives could be introduced into the classroom. The researcher was under the impression that a multiplicity of voices should be shared in the classroom so the students did not see the researcher as the representative of disability but rather a fellow peer of the students learning from and analyzing the perspectives taught in the classroom. The students and the researcher discussed the appropriateness of the materials used and that all involved parties were on the journey together in exploring the boundaries of labeling persons.

On the final evaluation of the class, the researcher asked the participants how the class would be structured differently if someone with "an obvious disability" taught it. The goal of asking this question was to gauge how the students perceived this endeavor and whether or not the researchers status as an able-bodied person affected the overall outcomes of the study. The responses were fairly universal with most students responding that a disabled teacher would not influence their responses or experience in the classroom. Of interest at this particular school where the three-week class was conducted, there are two instructors with obvious impairments, both affecting mobility. One professor utilizes a cane while the other uses a wheelchair for mobility. Classroom dynamics are such that with increased awareness and contact with all people involved, impairment status, gender, race and other labels take a decreased importance in relation to the themes taught in class.

One such type of response to the question of having a teacher with a disability points to the advantages of having a personal stake in the endeavors of the classroom:

This would show a huge aspect of the class. It would give an everyday example of how people with disabilities are just as capable of teaching a class and doing everything else as well.

These type of responses point to the possible advantages to having a teacher with a disability educate others in regards to disability. Keeping in mind that the teacher poses the risk of being labeled a token representative of the disabled community, there still is the opportunity for the teacher to educate the students from a personal stance. Increased visibility of educators with disabilities at all levels of education further removes the label of stigma in relation to disability and lack of functioning. This project can be undertaken by teachers without disabilities; however, the teachers need to be cognizant of the fact that their role is not one of interpreter but rather collaborator with all involved in Disability Studies.

Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research

If educators desire replicating this study in the future, one major suggestion should be utilized to increase the overall length of the curriculum. Three weeks, although providing a substantial entrée into Disability Studies, does not allow for increased understanding and theorizing of how society views and labels disability.

Also future attempts can allow students the opportunity to utilize their knowledge learned in the classroom so some sort of culminating project can be completed. These projects can be utilized so the students have the chance to educate their peers about what sort insights they learned from the classroom. As well as teaching their fellow students, the presentation of projects affords the students the opportunity to gain a working language and understanding of theory so education of Disability Studies curriculum can transgress the educational arena.

This study also allows for a viable alternative to controversial "disability simulation" attempts- done often in the name of multiculturalism. Engagement with counter-narratives can allow for alternate venues for exploring disability as opposed to allowing students the chance to walk blindfolded or wheel around in a chair.

Disability Studies Allows Students to Move Beyond Their Understandings Of Self and Begin to Shatter the "Others" Around Them

This research study was foundational in creating new endeavors that allow Disability Studies curriculum into the high school level. As the students questioned how society defines and disables people based on functional capacities, the students were left with the ability to move beyond labels of difference to embrace commonalities.

The research study afforded the students the opportunity to share their own personal narratives of disability. These counter-narratives allowed all to hear and experience alternate voices in the classroom. These voices educated and informed all involved in relation to what defines us as human. The students left the research study beginning to comprehend how people are interrelated in all endeavors of community building.

The narratives, discussions and films utilized afforded the opportunity for the students to see beyond themselves and begin the process of education of their peers, families and societies around them. Years of ablest ideology can be challenged in the classroom as the students interact with narrative of disability. This interaction allows for the beginning of change. The counter-narratives of Disability Studies allow all to question and examine notions of difference and emerge with enhanced understandings of commonalities.

Table 1.

Materials Used in Preparation of Course:

-- Nancy Mairs' Waist High in the World (1996).

-- Michael Berube's Life as We Know It (1996) and Citizenship and Disability (2003).

-- Carol Gill's "The Social Experience of Disability" in The Handbook of Disability Studies (2001).

-- Diane Maroger's "Forbidden Maternity" (2002). [French film].

Readings Used in Class Instruction:

-- Packet of poems including materials written by Jim Ferris, Cheryl Marie Wade, Eli Clare, Laura Hershey and Lynn Manning (20 in all).

-- Dave Reynolds "The Eugenic Apologies..." from The Ragged Edge (2003).

-- Part of Paul Gilroy's Against Race (2000) to discuss Triumph of the Will.

-- Some of Mitchell/Snyder's The Eugenic Atlantic to discuss Eugenics

Videos Used in Class Instruction:

-- "When Billy Broke His Head" (1994).

-- "Re/Constructing Bodies" (Forthcoming).

-- "Triumph of the Will" (1934).

-- "Are You Fit to Marry?" (1927).

-- "Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back" (2000).

References:

Allen, J. D. and Porter, O. F. (2002, Spring). Teaching About Diversity Issues. Kappa Delta Pi Record, v.38 no.3: 128-33.

Are You Fit to Marry? (1927). [Motion Picture]. Quality Amusement Corporation.

Baynton, D. (1996). Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Berlak, A. (Spring 1996). Teaching Stories: Viewing a Cultural Diversity Course Through the Lens of Narrative. Theory Into Practice, v.35: 93-101.

Berube, M. (2003, May 2). Citizenship and disability. Dissent magazine.

Berube, M. (1996). Life as we know it. NY: Pantheon books.

Brueggemann, B. J. (2002). An Enabling Pedagogy, Disability Studies: Enabling the Humanities. Eds. Sharon L. Snyder, et al. New York: Modern Language Association of America: 317-336.

Charlton, J. (1998).  Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment.  Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 

Cohen, M. N. (1998, October). Culture, Not Race, Explains Human Diversity. The Education Digest, v.64 no. 2:30-34.

Crotty, M., Finucane, P., and Ahern. M. (2000). Teaching Medical Students About Diversity and Rehabilitation: Methods and Student Feedback. Medical Education, v.34: 659-664.

Crowley-Long, K. (1995, January). Resources for Teaching Students About Issues of Race. Clearing House, v.68 no.3: 134-138.

Davis, L. J. (2002). Bending Over Backwards: Disability, Dismodernism and Other Difficult Positions. New York: New York University Press.

Deutsch, H. (1996). Resemblance and Disgrace: Alexander Pope and the Deformation of Culture. Boston: Harvard University Press.

Finkel, J. S. and Bolin, G. G. (Winter 1996). Linking Racial Identity Theory to Integrating the Curriculum. College Teaching, v.44: 34-6.

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