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Middle Schoolers Experience Diversity in Action

1/28/2013

Middle Schoolers have been exploring the notion of diversity this month as it relates to athletics, by learning how physically and visually disabled youths and adults find ways to stay active.

Staff and athletes from a nonprofit called Sportable have visited campus several times this month to help students better understand people who happen to have physical challenges.

“We did a Diversity Tuesday activity in advisories where the kids talked about how to speak to someone who is handicapped, and looked at their perception of someone who is handicapped,” says Kathy Wrenn, Collegiate’s Middle School P.E. and Wellness Coordinator. “What they perceive is sometimes not the actual situation. A lot of times when kids see someone in a wheelchair, they think the person is mentally handicapped as well as physically handicapped.”

The advisory session was followed by a Middle School Assembly that included adults who participate in a range of athletics through Sportable. They talked with students about their chosen sport and how they train, using methods adapted to their particular disability.

On Jan. 24, Sportable staff members spent the day in P.E. classes, helping Middle Schoolers learn to use the adaptable equipment and methods their athletes have mastered for biking (using handcycles), wheelchair basketball, guided runs and seated volleyball.

Ms. Wrenn says the feedback from students has been phenomenal, and by spending an entire month on the topic, students have become more aware of how people with differences can set and achieve challenging goals.

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