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 I've always believed that education should be an equalizing environment where everyone has an equal opportunity. However, reading Toward Ending Ableism in Education by Thomas Hehir and witnessing the discussion between Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor in Examined Life has caused me to reconsider the true meaning of "fairness" and "inclusion," particularly for students with disabilities. Hehir and Butler both push us to look past band-aid solutions and truly examine the causes of ableism in our structures, especially in educational institutions. Hehir argues in Toward Ending Ableism in Education that our educational system actively discriminates against disabled students in ways that limit their access to education, rather than merely ignoring them passively. According to him, "ableism" is a collection of attitudes and behaviors that presume that individuals with disabilities are less able or superior. It manifests itself in education in many ways, fro...

 Rodriguez describes how he acquired English in "Aria," not only as a language but also as a means of assimilating into American culture. At first, he says, he felt lost and uneasy, as if English were a "public" language that wasn't his. His "private" language was Spanish, which he used for comfort, family, and home. He had to learn English, but it also caused a rift with his family because he began to identify Spanish as more "other" and English as more "American." Many of us who were raised bilingually, I believe, can identify with this issue. I feel like I'm interacting with the outside world when I speak English, but there's something unique about speaking my own tongue with family. Rodriguez's narrative is compelling since he does not consider himself a victim. Rather, he believes that his trip is essential, even if it means losing something in the process. He accepts that his connection with his family changed as a...

 I initially assumed that Patrick J. Finn's Literacy with an Attitude would be another scholarly in-depth analysis on the value of reading or ways to improve educational institutions. However, it went beyond that; Finn contends that literacy encompasses social power in addition to reading and writing. He explains how literacy is a crucial instrument in the way that educational institutions are set up to maintain some groups in positions of power while others remain in lower status. This changed everything for me as a 19-year-old college student who was only beginning to experience the world outside of high school. Finn's main argument is that different social classes receive distinct and unequal instruction in literacy. Working-class children are frequently taught "functional literacy"—the ability to read and write well enough to follow instructions and get by in daily life. Middle- and upper-class pupils, on the other hand, receive instruction in what Finn refers to ...