It isn’t shocking to learn we live in a world where everything isn’t available to everyone and so today we celebrate Special Education Day. On this day, in 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) into law.
During my second year in college, while studying computer science and trying to earn money, I had the pleasure of working as a Notetaker for students with disabilities. I worked closely with a young man who was a paraplegic. While helping him in class, I learned how to be a teacher. Not because I was teaching him, but because he was studying to become an elementary school teacher and it was my job to take his class notes. At the time I never questioned how he would teach his future students, where he would teach, or who would help him in his classroom. I thought about how much fun he would have teaching a class someday. It’s because of parents, teachers, students and loved ones who advocate for individuals whose rights are being withheld that the two of us were able to attend the same prestigious University.
Celebrate today by learning more about the IDEA Act, it’s progress and needs. It’s the end of the year, so you can squeeze in those final year-end tax donations and maybe volunteer a little or your time. Stay educated and…
Thees and Thous 