Emily Klink

UWRT 1102
March 26, 2016

A Humanizing Condition
Literacy is defined as the competence or knowledge in a specific area. I believe that
literacy goes beyond this definition, where an individual directs their specific knowledge into
shaping the course of not only their life, but the life of others as well. Being kind and loving
towards people has always been something that I have strived for. I have been described by many
as a people-person. This is partially due to the well-known fact that I will talk the ear off of
anyone who will listen, but also because I try my best to make others feel happy and accepted.
Everybody has a passion in this life, whether it be sports, animals or even school. My passion,
the thing that gives me the most joy and satisfaction, is helping others. Therefore, the form of
literacy that I have chosen to focus on is human rights and opportunity, particularly for
individuals with special needs.
This specific kind of literacy has been one of high significance in my life since my senior
year of high school. At the start of the school year, I was approached by a family friend who
worked as a special educator at my high school. She told me that she was in search of volunteers
to become peer tutors in her classroom and suggested that I apply. Having never worked in a
special education setting at this point in time, I was a bit apprehensive but decided to take
advantage of the opportunity. Going into the classroom, I admit that I had preconceived notions
of what I would encounter. I believed that these students would be hard to work with, unwilling
to cooperate or maybe even violent. However, my experience with these individuals was
anything but what I had expected. There was definitely some variation between how each student
could perform, with some being more functioning than others, but I have never met any other

group of students who loved learning and cared for people the way that these students did. I can
say wholeheartedly that I learned so much more from these people than I ever taught them, and
my involvement in their classroom completely changed my life. Due to the love shown by a
group of fifteen students, I am now studying special education in hopes to one day inspire
individuals with special needs and teach them that they are capable of achieving anything that
they set their minds to. I want people to understand that having a disability, whether physical,
intellectual or developmental does not define the content of an individuals character. Because of
this, it is essential for society to raise public awareness of disabilities so that we can provide
more extracurricular opportunity for individuals with special needs.
We all deserve to be respected and treated equally. This applies to everybody, despite
ones race, gender, or ability. It is critical to fight negative stereotypes and misperceptions of
individuals with disabilities by teaching the public to focus on the skills and positive qualities
that they possess. Special Olympics is one of the many programs that teach everyone, despite the
degree of functioning, to open their minds to the potential and talents that the disabled contain.
Being the worlds largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities, Special
Olympics allows for people to find joy, confidence and fulfillment in their life and to find
meaning outside of their disability. There are several celebrity sponsors of the Special Olympics
program, all of which help in educating the public about this important cause. However, the main
advocate for this cause that I have the privilege to know is the same women who encouraged me
to become part of the special education program at my school three years ago. She led me to
recognize the need for awareness of the abilities of the disabled and inspired me to passionately
advocate this belief.

The opportunity to better the quality of ones life should be a right for all. Disability
should not limit what one can achieve and should not confine an individual to a specific label.
Individuals with special needs need to know that they are more than their disability, and we as a
society have the power to show them this. Through love, support and education, we can create a
society in which individuals with special needs can be themselves, embrace who they are and
utilize skills that they never knew they held.