Text Study #2

Text Study 2

For my text study I read chapter 3 “The Hole in the Door” of The Short Bus by Jonathan Mooney. The book is about Jonathan Mooney driving around the United States in a short bus, or otherwise known as “the tard cart” or “the cheese box.” He goes around the country interviewing people who are “disabled” or “abnormal.” Jonathan was put into special education after being told he had a learning disability and had a diagnosis of ADD by the end of third grade. “The Hole in the Door” is a chapter about a twelve-year-old kid named Brent who hides in the bathroom during school but has a passion for soccer and paintball.

How does the text illustrate or challenge your values and beliefs?
Brent is afraid of school. “After his first few days of school he hid under the bed,” Brent’s mother says. He’s humiliated when asked to read in front of the class because words are hard for him to transfer from paper to speech. Brent was placed in the slowest reading group. This challenges my beliefs because the teacher in this case is being degrading toward Brent by placing him in a group of people who aren’t as nimble academically. I can personally relate to this because I remember in elementary school having to leave class to see a reading specialist and feeling like I wasn’t as smart as everyone else. It hurts believing that you’re dumb, but in reality you may be very intelligent in a different way.
What hard questions does the text raise about your values and beliefs?
I have often wondered why our culture is so unjust when it comes to school because dividing the “smart” from the “dumb” doesn’t make learning any easier. Brent will remember school being like a living hell because he is forced to do things his brain won’t allow him to. If students could explore their interests and choose their own classes like we do at PSCS they would not grow up with these scares believing they’re stupid. Soccer is something Brent loves, and when he’s in the game he isn’t thinking about how he’ll escape to hide in the bathroom. I used to go to the nurse’s office every day pretending I was sick to get out of class because I was so afraid. The positive memories I have of school were recess, assemblies, and fieldtrips to the zoo. Things really don’t have to be this way.
How were you reinforced in your values and beliefs, or how did your understanding of them change as a result of studying this text? What was the biggest takeaway that will influence your final credo?
Jonathan Moony talks about the term LD (learning disabled) and the history of its meaning. It used to be called word blindness and meant a neurological defect. I find it interesting because Moony then begins talking about the human brain and how people like him and Brent have a smaller left hemisphere (the section of the brain that processes language). Even though this is true, the brain is so accommodating that other areas become larger to compensate. This book taught me that everyone is smart in their own way. I dance, Lauren is a gifted writer, Oliver loves Aikido and some people love math. No one should be considered defective because they struggle with reading. Everyone has their own intelligence.
What are your core values? What do you believe?
My core values are respect, equality and acceptance. I believe everyone has their own intelligence.