A Usenet persona calling itself KMAN wrote:

A person with a disability is not an object. They are a human being, not an
"assignment."

They are human beings, and they are students. Students are given
assignments. Assignments may include mentoring other students.

This "mentoring" as you have described it is nothing but the objectification
of the person with a disability as lesser human.

No more so than any form of didacticism for any other student. No more so
than by creating a "specialized" curriculum for a disabled student, and in
fact less so. Students are, by definition, ignorant of the things they are
to be taught. Assigning studies is a perfectly ordinary part of every
educational scheme, and it's not "objectifying" anyone to do so,
irrespective of their abilities. When any student needs specialized teaching
or mentoring, providing it is not "objectifying" them or categorizing them
as a "lesser human," it's simply recognizing that students may learn
differently and may require some additional instruction to help them
succeed. No "objectification" is present.




and you incorrectly
presume that one has to "make the choice" to be a mentor. No such
restriction is found in the definition of the word.

I think most people's understanding of a mentorship relationship is that
the
two people have chosen to be in the relationship.

Certainly such relationships are possible, but it is not a requirement.

I disagree, but this is getting into semantics. Whatever you wish to call
it, I am in total disagreement with a forced relationship of this nature.
It's about the worst thing you could do for all concerned.

Ridiculous! People are in "forced relationships" throughout their lives.
They need to learn as children how to deal with such relationships through
experience.

Ridiculous! A person with a disability gains nothing positive from being
taught that they are lesser human beings and the non-disabled person gains
nothing positive from learning that they should assume power and control
over people with disabilities.

Sophistry. Providing mentoring is not, as you insist, an evil plot to
"objectify" and "dehumanize" the student, nor is it a method of creating
juvenile despots with megalomaniacal tendencies.

Just because there are negative forced
relationships in the world it makes no sense to deliberately subject people
to experience them.

It makes perfect sense. It's absolutely necessary to *every* child's proper
development to expose them to situations and relationships in which they
have to learn to compromise and seek consensus with others. That's one of
the primary things that group schooling is for; to expose children to other
children in venues that force them to learn to get along with others.
Students who receive exclusively private tutoring, with the absence of peers
with whom they can learn to form relationships, are ill-equipped to survive
in the real world. Just ask any child star.

With your way of thinking, it would make sense to
sexually assault children so they will be able to deal with it. Yes, your
thinking is that scary.

Specious, amphigorical nonsense. Learning to relate to and get along with
ones peers is entirely different from engaging in sexual abuse.

By even suggesting this as an appropriate analogy you destroy your
credibility.


They are CHILDREN. They don't get to be in charge of things until they are
grown up.

But you think children who are not disabled should be in charge of children
who are disabled.

Mentoring is not being "in charge of."

Is the person with a disability freely inviting the individual to be their
mentor, and is the person being inviting freely accepting the invitation? If
not, your program is nothing more than assigning a non-disabled boss to a
person with a disability.

Doesn't matter. They are students. They must complete the assignments given.
As for "assigning a boss" to a disabled person, every person who enters the
workforce gets assigned a "boss," and every person needs to learn how to be
"bossed" in one way or another. That's life. Get used to it.

--
Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser