We Are! Friends!
十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校 students are experiencing pure joy by spending time with community members with disabilities.
“这是我一生中做过的最令人兴奋的事情之一.”
作为一名大三学生，你可能会这么想, Taylor Greene is talking about belonging to a sorority or maybe taking a spring break trip. But she’s actually referring to a student organization she co-runs with Emma Rebar.
They are both 小学和幼儿教育 majors, and they are both thrilled to be a part of 十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校’s We Are Friends group—a group that came together in what Mary Anne Mong calls a “perfect little synergy.” Mong, 特殊教育助理教授, wanted to form an organization in which students would have opportunities to connect with people with disabilities. 同时, Maria Brandt from the Arc of Blair County was looking for volunteers to carry out its mission of providing education, socialization, and advocacy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Emma Rebar (far left) and Taylor Greene (kneeling on right) organized a We Are Friends day of kayaking at Canoe Creek State Park over the summer.
来源:十大网投平台信誉排行榜
一旦两者连接起来, 他们共同的愿景以《十大网投平台信誉排行榜》的形式呈现出来, 哪个是对全校学生开放的. Individuals aged 18-30 who are relatively self-sufficient and who receive services from Arc can participate.
The two groups meet at the beginning of each fall semester to decide what events and activities they’d like to do during the year. 我们欢迎并考虑每个人的意见. We Are members take it from there, planning and preparing for an activity, usually held every month.
我们是朋友的众多活动之一是迷你高尔夫郊游.
来源:十大网投平台信誉排行榜
过去的活动包括参加一场Curve比赛, swimming, 宾果和智力问答之夜, miniature golf, 人行道上用粉笔写, 还有舞会. 整个夏天, 成员们去当地的州立公园划皮艇, 这段经历对每个参与其中的人来说都是一个亮点.
“我们很多人都是第一次去划皮划艇, 但每个人都乐于尝试新事物,” says Greene. “我认为这是这个群体的一大优点, just being able to do new things with new people who have become new friends.”
Mong says it was magic watching the students be so gentle with Arc members, 指导和鼓励他们. By the end of the day, all of the Arc friends had kayaked, and many were asking for second turns. “你可以看到他们脸上的喜悦——他们只是发光. 事实证明，这正是我对这个团队的全部愿景. 那是非常非常美好的一天.”
从一开始, the 十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校 students saw We Are Friends as more than just an organization they could claim to volunteer for. And while they figured Arc members would be more than just casual acquaintances, 他们可能没有预见到他们会建立多大的联系.
“There are two wonderful girls who are like my best friends,” says Greene. “我们走得很近，每次见面都会拥抱. 见到他们，叙叙旧，增进感情真是太有趣了. 太神奇了.”
We Are Friends members get in touch with their Irish roots with a Saint Patrick’s Day party.
来源:十大网投平台信誉排行榜
蒙很高兴看到这些友谊开花结果. 正如她告诉学生的那样, 这些不是教学或指导任务, 他们是出去玩，享受彼此陪伴的时间. “他们的热情具有极强的感染力. 它们融合在一起，一切都很自然.”
虽然这可能不是一个有益的群体, they are certainly learning from one another about life and what matters most. Emma Rebar, 小学和幼儿教育 major and co-president of We Are Friends, 是发现放手的乐趣吗. “Our friends show me that I don't have to care so much about what other people think of me. 他们告诉我，做我自己是可以的，做我自己. 这让我很开心.”
Although connection is really the backbone of the program, another piece of it is preparation.
Mong says even though she teaches special education in an elementary education program, her students don’t get enough opportunities to interact with kids or adults with disabilities. 这些技能在他们的课堂上是必不可少的, which undoubtedly will continue seeing increases in the number of kids with learning disabilities and speech and language disorders as well as Down syndrome, autism, and ADHD.
因为学生们花更多的时间和他们的Arc朋友在一起, they’ve been challenging some of their own notions and prejudices about what individuals with disabilities are capable of. 有些人感到惊喜, for example, 唐氏综合症患者可以进行完整的对话. 有些成员是有才华的艺术家, one graduated from 十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校 last year while another is currently enrolled in a class at the college, 还有一个最近刚拿到驾照.
“It’s cool to see all that we have in common with people with disabilities and focus on those things rather than any differences,” says Rebar. “We’re seeing all the potential they have and how they fit into the world.”
“They're 100% capable of every single thing that we do at our group events,” adds Greene. “他们的残疾并不代表他们是谁. It’s important to see them as individuals and give them the respect they deserve as human beings.”
我们是朋友的成员在十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校用粉笔书写步行.
来源:十大网投平台信誉排行榜
不管是什么专业, Mong believes students in the organization can only be better teachers and better citizens by recognizing that those with disabilities can blend into the community.
So yes. One might now understand why belonging to We Are Friends is the most exciting, maybe one of the most important things Taylor Greene has done in her life so far. “这是我每个月都期待的事情. 我太兴奋了. And I’m always asking myself how I can get more people to come and experience the joy of this club with me.”
瑞巴说:“我们在一起的时候都很开心. It kind of gives you like a high to be around so many people who are just happy.”
