Jan 12 2010
School Days, back then
Opening topic for Open Chat Night: Facing Social Barriers in School
During my days in middle school, I was treated differently by classmates. I remember going to band class and having others constantly tease me. They looked at me as being different because I wore hearing aids.
At that age, we know kids can be very mean and not truly understand. They try to find ways to break that social barrier, strive to be cool, and become part of a group of their kind. As for me, it was a daunting experience because I was the only one wearing hearing aids in the entire school. In other words, I couldn’t find a group of friends where I fit in, and it continued into high school and on to college (during the 90s). That had put me in a world of isolation for many years afterwards and still affects me today, just not to the same extent.
I think it would be interesting to share our experiences of how we were treated in school. I am also curious to know if kids with hearing loss are treated differently in school today. Did the social interaction among kids and those with hearing loss change over the years? Has technology lessoned the burden?
Loading ...
I’ll add my comments now, since I’m usually late for chat.
Middle School are rough for most kids. For me, I was in the depths of my “awkward stage” with frizzy hair and braces. I was teased but fortunately was encouraged by my parents to simply be myself, which I have always done. The teasing also helped promt me into self exploration: Who am I, anyway? Do not get me wrong, the teasing hurt. No doubt about that. The kids that wore hearing aids were quiet, for the most part. They never seemed to get teased and always had someone to talk to. This may have to do with the sheer volume of students with which I went to school. It was one of the largest districts in the country at the time. There was always someone to befriend.
Just my two cents.
Cheers,
Melissa