Partnerships for Success Students Share Their Disability Day Experiences
Students with GCDD's Partnerships for Success Club at New Manchester High School in Douglasville, GA were asked to submit essays on their first experience at Disability Day at the Capitol on February 16, 2012. The following are the top three essays submitted.
Disability Day Through Our Eyes
By Roscoe Manns and Jeremy Price
Our names are Jeremy and Roscoe. We attend New Manchester High School in Douglasville, GA. We attended Disability Day for the first time this year with our Partnerships for Success Club at our school.
Our experience Disability Day at the Capitol was a great experience because we got to see that everyone is important no matter the disability or ability. Everyone was encouraging and passionate about helping those with disabilities. It was awesome to see everyone come together and advocate for those with disabilities. We hope that because of Disability Day the lawmakers of Georgia would open their eyes to the needs and abilities of those with disabilities.
Our experience at Disability Day 2012 prompted me, Roscoe Manns, to write the poem below. Attending Disability Day and being a part of Partnerships for Success Club at my school has shown me that just because you have a disability does not mean that you can't be successful or that you don't have dreams. I hope that this poem opens many eyes and makes them think about how they treat those who have a disability.
Just Because I Learn Slow
By Roscoe Manns
Just because I learn slow
doesn't mean I'm retarded,
Just because I learn slow doesn't
mean that I am sloww,
Just because I learn slow doesn't
mean you can talk about me,
Just because I LEARN SLOW.
Just because I learn slow doesn't
mean I can't get "IT."
Just because I learn slow doesn't
mean you can't be my friend.
Just because I learn slow doesn't mean I
Can't Help you out with your problems,
Just because I LEARN SLOW.
Just because I learn slow doesn't mean I Can't
Go To College and make my mom proud.
That Her Son Was The First To Go To College
And Finish It.
SO While you're Making Fun Of Me For Learning
Slow, And Thinking You're Better Than Me
You're Not.
IT just shows how ignorant you are.
YEAH I Learn slow But It doesn't mean
I can't fulfill my dreams to be the best
person that I can be For My Family.
We appreciated the opportunity to attend Disability Day 2012. This experience has truly impacted our lives and way of thinking. We hope that it will impact the decisions and rulings that our lawmakers will make during this session. We hope that they willremember that our lives are for real too!
Disability Day In Our Words
By Kasan Suggs and Kevon Cox
Our names are Kevon and Kasan. We attend New Manchester High School and attended Disability Day for the first time this year. We attended with our Partnerships for Success Club. Disability Day was an awesome experience. We had so much fun meeting new people, seeing the capital, and feeling like disabilities became abilities. We loved the theme this year. "My Life is for Real!!" This is so true, but it is not always reflected in everyday life.
As fun as disability day was, it was also very eye opening. We realized that the general public does not treat people with disabilities fairly or like they are important. We feel that all people with disabilities should be treated just like people who do not have disabilities. All of our lives are important, and people with disabilities have a lot of talents and skills to offer. They are some of the hardest working people in the world. We just need some accommodations to be successful.
Speaking of accommodations, while at disability day, we realized that the Capitol building is not very wheelchair accessible. For people who depend on wheelchairs to go places, they have to go to a completely different entrance to get in the building. They cannot enter in the same entrance as other people because there is not ramp. Once you get into the building, you have to take an elevator to get to the main entrance. This is not safe for people who depend on wheelchairs. What happens if there is a fire in the building? This is not safe, and this does not reflect that our lives are just as important as those without disabilities.
It is time for a change. I hope that everyone who attended Disability Day 2012 helped lawmakers to see that we are important to, and that before they pass any laws or other rulings, they will think about the faces that they saw out in the crowd that day. Maybe, this will start changing the way that those without disabilities think about people with disabilities because our lives are really for real and important.
My Reflection on Disability Day 2012
By Breona Gibbs with assistance from her teacher Mrs. Waldrop
Hi, my name is Breona. I attend New Manchester High School in Douglasville, GA. I am in 11th grade and attended Disability Day at the Capitol for the first time with my Partnerships for Success Club. I had so much fun. I got to meet many new people. That day, my disability did not matter. I was just a person. I got to meet many people with disabilities that are successful. I hope that I can be as successful one day just like them.
It was fun seeing the Governor speak. I hope that the Governor and all the other important people that were there could see that we are people too, and that our lives are important. The Governor talked a lot about money and said that there was not a lot of money to help people with disabilities. In 2 years, I plan to graduate from high school, and my mom and I are scared that there will be no where for me to go. I love to work. I want a job when I graduate.
I love meeting new people. I hope that the people that were there could see that our voice needs to be heard too. I hope to get to go back to Disability Day next year. I hope that our club will be able to get there earlier so that we can tour the Capital building and maybe even meet the Governor. I really liked going there. Thank you Partnerships for Success for the opportunity to attend Disability Day.
