They say you never really know another person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
But what if that person can’t walk?
To help better understand what it’s like to be disabled, the fourth-graders at Oxford Elementary participated in a Disability Awareness Workshop on Monday.
With aid of parent volunteers and materials provided by Oakland Schools, students experienced a variety of disabilities including visual, hearing and speech impairments, dyslexia, the inability to walk, missing limbs and diminished motor skills to name a few.
According to teacher consultant Kristie Weinert, who organized the workshop, the activities are designed to ‘build empathy.?
‘Instead of just staring or wondering, they get a chance to experience it and see what it’s like to have a disability,? she said.
From wheelchairs and crutches to braille books and special eating utensils to electronic voice boxes and prosthetic legs, students tried out a number of devices used by disabled people to help overcome their daily challenges and live their lives as normally as possible.
This is the sixth year OES held its workshop. It was the first school in the district to do such an activity.
Weinert’s proud of the fact that it’s spread and now Clear Lake, Lakeville and Leonard elementaries all do disability awareness workshops.