Rachel is a junior at UNH with a passion for learning. Although she has always loved to learn, Rachel’s learning disability was always seen before her thirst for knowledge. Trying out different majors at UNH, Rachel is not sure what she will finally major in but she does know that her dream is to create educational change in our schools for students with disabilities.
READ ALL OF RACHEL'S STORY
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BEING A STUDENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
INTERNING IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM
LEARNING TO LOVE TO WRITE
MAKING THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE
ACCOMMODATIONS
STRATEGIES
CHOOSING A MAJOR
MAKING EDUCATION CHANGE
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BEING A STUDENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
I didn’t like the way special education was handled in high school. I was always college bound and I thought I had expressed it. I didn’t even realize I was in the tract of classes for not going. I was in the class with all the kids that were going to drop out. You weren’t expected to get more than a C. You were taken out of the classroom for tests and quizzes and basically given the answers. I didn’t see any sort of push to take the SATs or to try harder. From my perspective, why would anyone with a learning disability be there? They weren’t seeing past the superficial aspects of a learning disability.
The summer before my junior year I was on vacation and I remember thinking, what am I doing? My lack of effort seemed to be enough for teachers but I knew I was much more capable. I was not being steered in the right direction. Wanting to prove I was as smart as everyone else, I asked to be taken out of inclusion classes. My junior and senior years I began taking harder classes and getting good grades. To be on the college tract, I ended up needing to take Algebra 1 my junior year summer and Geometry and Algebra 2 my senior year. I am really thankful I put it all together and realized my potential.
My learning disability was never talked about with me. I never saw the documentation so I never knew about my learning style. They don’t explain to you that you really are smart, that you have a high IQ but there are these discrepancies. Now I know my disabilities and how to best compensate for them.