On 30 May 2012 00:40, James Overboe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear Becky,

Throughout my education always had ableist crap like you experience
thrown at me. A few years back as a tenure track assistant professor, a
student wondered what took me so long to become an instructor (given my
age and in comparison limited experience). Another student piped up,
"Dr. Overboe had to wait for the world to catch up to his way thinking".

Sadly, Becky presently (and I believe for the rest of my life) there
will be negative people who make negative comments andwho feel I do not
belong or am not intelligent enough. As much as I can will avoid them
and focus on my acheivements' and the positive connections they offer
me.

Congratulations on the grades and the important point for you is that
you enjoyed and learned. Along the way you will have to put up with
negativity. I am confident that within your life many people will not
only appreciate what you have learned and you will provide insights they
could not have imagined without your input!

warmest wishes,
Jim

James Overboe
Associate Professor
Sociology Department & Cultural Analysis and Social Theory M.A. program
Wilfrid Laurier Unversity
>>> "m.hersh" <[log in to unmask]> 05/29/12 6:08 PM >>>

Dear Becky,
Congratulations on passing the module. I think that negative general
comments are very bad practice and should be discouraged. Don't let
anyone discourage you or stop you studying. If the pass mark is 40% it
is 40% not 55%. From the context, I get the impression you find your
course valuable and it is obviously important for your future career, so
don't let anyone put you off. And be proud of your achievements, though
it is a pain if other people do not recognise them.
Best wishes,
Marion

On 29/05/2012 20:59, Rebecca Jay Dutneall (Becky) wrote:
> Dear all.
>
> I wanted to share something with you that has had a profound effect on

me. It took me back to the conference in April that was organised by the

Centre for Disability Studies.
>
> I have now reached the end of the Foundation Year in BA Social
Sciences Degree here, at the University of Leeds. The reason I'm writing
is because today I received my first set of marks for one of my modules
- I know these marks may change, either way - but I still wanted to
share my joy with you, and a rather negative comment that was made in
the feedback - albeit the feedback was generic rather than individually
tailored. I scored 44% (Conflated). The pass mark is 40%, so of course
I'm very happy that I've passed unfortunately though, this is the
generic feedback again, and I don't wish to copy the wording exactly so
I'll attempt to paraphrase, basically, the feedback appears to be
suggesting that anyone scoring less than 55% is wasting their time and
should reconsider their time at University.
>
> This is not helped me because it is something I have heard repeatedly
through the times that I have been 'forced' into mainstream FE and had
little to no support to achieve my ambitions of obtaining some GCSEs.
This has been preying on my mind over the weekend, prior to receiving
the exam results. I think if I could have a meeting with someone like
Michael Gove, I'd like him to do something about the fact that a fair
proportion of the qualifications I did at school is not recognised in
the 'real world'. Even getting into University with the qualifications I
have got, I had envisaged being a minefield, however the tutor at the
School who is responsible for students with disabilities and other needs
seemed genuinely sympathetic to my problems.
>
> There have been some people here who have been incredibly encouraging
when I have passed module but, and this relate to comments that were
made to me both that residential specialist college I was there and at
the mainstream college I went to that "the mark I got was worthless as
far as they were concerned". That really, really hurts!
>
> Well,I know that's just one result so far, but I am now more
optimistic that I can do just as well with my remaining marks. Being a
disabled student in the 21st Century really isn't easy. Yes, the
University does have support mechanisms in place, obviously that plan
was never fought through properly as there are more students in need of
support from the mental health coordinator (yes there is just the one!
-this service is also used by staff) and they need to increase the
amount of strategy support tutors, and hire some on a full-time rather
than the majority being part-time workers.
>
> If anyone is interested in my further results, please do not hesitate
to contact me off list.
>
> Becky.
>

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This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).