Blog Post #6

Last week Julian started off class with a demonstration on how to write a good outline. Writing outlines usually take up a lot of my time but once you have it, it’s a lot easier to write your paper. We had several activities in class last week and they all gave us a glimpse of the challenges students with disabilities face on a daily basis. In one activity we had to listen what one person was reading but at the same time there were many distractions by other students that made it difficult to listen. In this activity I felt the need to escape from the chaos. It was very frustrating. In another activity we had to do a simple task at bell tower but it turned out to be the most frustrating activity than all the others because it we had to do it in a wheelchair. I have never noticed before how difficult it could be to get around bell tower in a wheelchair until that activity. I learned that students with disabilities are the invincible diverse group on campus. 

The article by Goldman had a lot of surprising research. The article mentions that both men and women tend to choose gender-based fields and that women negotiate gender when they pursue majors in STEM fields. I don’t think gender was ever a thought for me when it came to choosing what field I wanted to go into. I remember in the 11th grade I was leaning more towards math and physics fields because for me it was more straightforward than my English classes. I actually learned about women being underrepresented in STEM fields in college and I was shocked at first. I think it’s silly to let gender play a huge role on my choice of academic study. The article by Rankin was about transgender men and women. I found this article a bit depressing. I don’t think anyone should ever be mistreated for being different especially in something they have no control over.  I was happy to learn on chapter 9 that women are now more likely to go to college than men.  I am also now left wondering why that is. Why are less men going to college now?  On chapter 10 of the book Diversity in American Higher Education, I learned for the first time that in 1951 the American Psychiatric Association added homosexuality to its list of mental disorders. At first I laughed when I read this because I had no idea how oblivious Americans were when it came to homosexuality. A lot of mammals display homosexual behaviors. It makes sense that the human species would also display homosexual behaviors and not conclude that it is a mental disorder.