| What's the point? |
[25th Oct, 2007|12:38 am] |
| [ | I'm feeling |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Alrighty! Let us delay no longer!
Before I go on, I must warn you that this commentary is riddled with beautiful political imperfection, not to mention much in the way of undesirable grammar, with just a tad bias for good measure. I only hope those of you with a legal background will not take my words personally. I hope you'll all see that that's not my intention! I'm sure we all just want life to be as good as it can be for all! But before I jump on board the activist bandwagon, allow me to quit while I'm running behind, fresh from a close shave with the guard's van! Actually, that was my bathroom door, but more on that another time.
Synicism has so far dominated my impression of Higher Education. One cannot possibly be an undergraduate for more than the advertised duration of their course without feeling some degree of disappointment (no pun intended). But now, Keele is most definitely no more for me!
I've not been open about my initial experiences at Royal Holloway. Perhaps it's because I'm not getting paid this time! Whatever the reason, I can proudly dismiss a reluctance to admit defeat for the second time! In fact, it's immeasurably refreshing to be on the receiving end of decent support! I've had mobility training and note-taking provisions here, both of which have also been positive experiences for me in the past. But what sets Royal Holloway apart is its overall approach to disability issues.
University representatives, read on! It's not about creating a perfect infrastructure. It's not just about adhering to legislation. Both of the above will help enormously, or would if they were both possible. What counts, is whether or not you guys actually want to help disabled students in the first place. Of course you do!
But how do you go about it? Is it worthwhile going through the law book and insuring you have every possible bit of the disability discrimination act implemented? Yes, certainly. At least this way you can guarantee yourself against legal action.
I guess my point is that for me and I suspect many disabled students, what really counts is the effort universities are willing to go to, to accommodate our needs. Once you've made your buildings accessible, don't just go ahead by drafting in a manager to head up the department with no experience of disabled issues. Equally, don't employ a disabled disability co-ordinator, simply so you can tick off another box toward the goal of demonstrating yourself an equal opportunities employer. Do it properly by giving your ideal candidate real responsibility to practice their expertese. For want of a better example, would you employ a Professor of Applied Mathematics as head of your social work courses? Probably not. I'm not saying that such prejudices are helpful, I merely mention them to illustrate my point. I'm sure there must be a mathematician at the head of a humanities school somewhere. I mean, we all know such terms aren't always exactly reflective of the full picture.
If you're working in the field of rehabilitation, why? Probably not purely for financial gain, let's face it. It can't be for the hours either, unless you thrive on a longer than average working week. You're doing what you do because you care and want to make a difference to people who really will appreciate your efforts. You don't like your job, you love it and are more than content with devoting yourself to the cause of other people. Again, this stereotype doesn't exactly stand up on its own either, nor am I intending that it should.
What am I getting at? Vision? Foresight? Something like that. I think I can perhaps best articulate this whole thing with this philosophy. Rules are for the benefit of the ignorant, and the guidance of the wise.
Has Daz really gone mad? Nope, I am mad! I think. Seriously, don't kid yourself, of course I've not had 5 weeks of trouble free time at university. But what I have had is the resources, the people, the time and the efforts of others on my behalf to help me whenever I've sought it. Perhaps my expectations are low, but I don't think I can possibly ask for more than that.
P.S.: I wasn't kidding when I talked about writing quality! A prize for the person who spots a single reference in that tripe! |
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| Comments: |
Hey,
Yay, definitely! ) :) :) : :) (smiley faces, don't know if Jaws would read them) :)
Bubbles and star
Lol,
Couldn't tell ya, not had to reference anything for quite a while now.
All our coursework seems to be programming assignments right now which is good if you can do them. But instead of referencing, we have to use this stupid coursework submition system which I can't use. So, I've been trying to blitz programming this week, in the hope that I don't get caught out by missing a deadline because I couldn't submit the work.
I got very confused with referencing before though, as History used their scheme at Keele, while Computer Science swore by Harvard. Always got them muddled up! | |
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