[Excerpted from my blog, On the Reservation]
I have a 13-year-old cowboy in my classroom who cannot add. He cannot remember the alphabet. And he most definitely cannot read.
But even with a disabled hand and a limp, “Elmer,” who has mental retardation, can cut bales of hay. He can tell you which direction the sun rises. He can feed the horses, figure out which sheep are missing and make dinner in the microwave. Sure, we have physical therapy and we have occupational therapy, but more importantly, we have water that needs hauling. And wire that needs cutting. And porches that need sweeping.
According to the therapist who evaluated Elmer earlier in the year, most children with his level of physical and mental disabilities would not be able to manage the range of motion, strength and skill that he has. Years of being a cowboy and helping the family survive has given him abilities that he probably would not have had if he had been sheltered, coddled and living in the urban confines of, say, Washington, D.C.
For more, go to http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/jshyu/
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