• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

North High Students Find Out Struggles of Disabled

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

Ninth-graders at North High School did more than just learn about students with disabilities last week.

They also got a sense of what it's like to navigate a campus in a wheelchair, to do schoolwork with a processing disorder and to dress with physical limitations.

All week long, the freshman health and technology classes at the Torrance campus engaged in activities tied to Mainstreaming the Disabled week.

On Wednesday, students sat in wheelchairs and learned how difficult it can be to maneuver through corridors, around planters and into doorways at a high school. They also attempted to dress wearing oven mitts.

And they did an exercise designed to give them the perspective of having a processing disorder. The ninth-graders were asked to trace a line in the space between two concentric star shapes -- while viewing their progress only through a mirror.

On Thursday and Friday, panels of speakers with disabilities -- both students and adults were included -- talked about their lives and fielded questions.

As much as North's students learned about individuals with differences, they generally discovered that teenagers are teenagers, with all the same aspirations and anxieties, Principal Annette Alpern said.

"It's such a special program, and it's been in existence for over 20 years," Alpern said. "It's the one piece that we add on top of the whole program that really instills an appreciation and awareness of others."

Nods from above: Two Gardena elementary schools welcomed some high-profile visitors last week, to help them celebrate recent academic accomplishments.

On Oct. 21, U.S. Department of Education Acting Assistant Secretary Beto Gonzalez visited students at 156th Street Elementary School to thank them for being one of thousands of schools to participate in last year's National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Gonzalez -- who grew up poor in California, the son of migrant workers -- visited classrooms and shared his personal story of education with students, Principal Esther Kim said.

"He had very caring teachers and administrators, and that's how he got the strong message that to be somebody, you really have to work hard in school," Kim said. "It was a very good message for the students."

Later that same day, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell visited 186th Street Elementary School to join in the campus' "Literacy and Fitness for Life" celebration.

O'Connell read to students, who in return donated "Pennies for Jack," hundreds of bags filled with 186 pennies each, which will be sent to the Gulf Coast for hurricane relief, Principal Marcia Sidney- Reed said.

The event also showcased the school's many after-school programs, including the Toyota Technical Center engineers, who demonstrated their remote-controlled race cars.

Walk, don't run: Carden Dominion Elementary and Preschool in Redondo Beach plans to host its annual walkathon from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The event is expected to feature a haunted house and silent auction as well as food and prizes. Proceeds will help pay for new computers, playground equipment and enrichment activities at the private school at 320 Knob Hill Ave.

For more information, call 310-316-4471.

Kings of the ocean: About 70 students from San Pedro High School's marine science magnet took a turn at the head of the classroom this month, teaching local elementary school kids about sea lions.

Crestwood Street, Leland Street, Park Western, Point Fermin, Seventh Street, Taper Avenue and White Point elementary schools all received the lessons, which were educational and also promotional -- to get students excited about the marine science magnet fund- raiser, an Oct. 22 screening of "Sea Lions: An Incredible Encounter."

Between making sea lion puppets, sticking their faces underwater for demonstrations, and demonstrating the way seals and sea lions move, the high school students said even they ended up learning a lot.

"I think it showed us how we should behave in classes, because we got to step into our teachers' shoes," said 15-year-old Karen Leon. "It was hard."

New chief in Westchester: A new local district superintendent is taking over this week in Los Angeles Unified's District 3, which includes schools in Westchester and West Los Angeles.

Grace Strauther, once a principal at Jordan High School, used to oversee high schools in the Silver Lake area and is a former consultant with the Council of Black Administrators. She replaces Sharon Curry, who is moving to a central office position.

Peppy performance: The Dana Middle School concert band and marching band will perform their upbeat, football tunes at a concert Thursday.

The free event starts at 7 p.m. at the campus, 1501 S. Cabrillo Ave., San Pedro.

Parents united: "Teen Sexual Behavior," the first in a series of meetings open to parents of middle and high school students in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified district, is scheduled for 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Ridgecrest Intermediate School multipurpose room.

Diane Medsker, parent education coordinator for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, will speak. Other guests and topics are scheduled for upcoming evenings.

For more information, call Lisa Larson, safe school coordinator for the district, at 310-732-0900, Ext. 209.

-- Ian Hanigan and Melissa Milios

Source: Daily Breeze

More News in this Category