The Job Hunt

As students and teachers prepare to go back to school across the country, it saddens me that I do not get to welcome a classroom of students. After many interviews over the last seven months, I have slowly discovered that people are not as accepting of people with disabilities as I once thought they were. It is very ironic to me that I am having difficulty finding a full-time job in special education because I literally want to use my own disability to help others learn to deal with their disabilities.

I think it would be very powerful for a student with a disability to have a teacher with a disability because it sends the message that they can accomplish anything in life if they work hard and find ways to compensate for their disability. Unfortunately, not all principals can see the positives of a disability and I feel that some only see what I can't do rather than what I can do. Granted I have had some interviews where I could tell that the principals were accepting of me and my disability. These were the interviews that I left with a smile on my face because even if I didn't get the job it gave me reassurance in the fact that many professionals are accepting of people with disabilities.

I have begun to look for jobs outside of the teaching world where I can still help people with disabilities but in a different way. My goal is to work in an environment where I am accepted for who I am.

I am not writing this post for sympathy but instead I am writing it to bring awareness to the fact that interviewers should assess their biases against people from minority groups before walking into an interview. This way if they understand their prejudices they can work to change them before conducting interviews. I am also writing this post to remind people that everybody deserves to be given a chance.

By: Sydney Breslow 

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