Ouch weblog: individual blog entry
2 Sep 05, 12:00 AM - A Blind does well at exams shocker
In an article entitled Blind faith paying off for Gareth, the Salford Advertiser gets this week's award for 'a bit of a crappy story featuring a disabled person'.
In summary, Gareth is 16, he's blind and he did well at his exams at a mainstream school in Salford. Or as the North-West local paper put it: "With the help of teachers and friends, Gareth struggled and overcame the mobility difficulties of studying at a regular school and will now start a BTEC course in September".
As well as boring crappy rubbish 'this is not a story' journalism, note how it nicely plants a seed in the mind of the reader that disabled kids normally do badly at school. Also note how the 'blind faith' cliché doesn't work here.
How do these stories get in the paper? Gareth, mate, good luck for the future, nice exam results.
Despite the overwhelming odds, overcoming adversity and triumphing beyond all possibility whilst suffering disability, Cripppled Monkey is about to bog off home for the weekend, "even though".
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 03 Sep 2005, Steven Durham wrote:
This story should be reported to the obscene devison of the metropolitan's pornograthy unit
• Complain about this post
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 03 Sep 2005, torie wrote:
hi yah. congrats on your exams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep up the good work!
• Complain about this post
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 03 Sep 2005, Leon Gilbert wrote:
Your frustration with this type of journalism is understandable, I think you have misinterpreted it though, where does the "shocker" part come from, apart from in your disproportionate response? Would it be better, had this article not been reported at all? The reality is that if the media is one of the few areas through which a difference (no matter how slight) can be made to peoples' perception of blind & visually impaired people, your reaction has done more harm then good. IMHO This article is far from boring, it is a small part of a much larger picture but it's still interesting education wise as not many articles about blind/vi people in mainstream schooling even make the press. I find Ouch very deficient in it's coverage of blindness anyway, apart from the great stuff written by people in the first person.
• Complain about this post
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 05 Sep 2005, Clara wrote:
Doesn't this also quite neatly give the impression that Gareth's teacher not only deserves a medal for her heroic DDA compliance but that he/she contributed disproportionately to his exam success and that really it is her who got these exams "for him"? Barf-worthy...
• Complain about this post
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 05 Sep 2005, Katie Fraser wrote:
Great story but there is one problems with it. One is that it's a way of taking the softly sweet approach that people sometimes put when talking about disabled people which is a big put down! Ewww! I did agree with the comments made by a certain Chris Page from Herts.. Erm.. He writes on the Ouch messageboards doesn't he!
• Complain about this post
Comment
At 12:00 AM on 06 Sep 2005, Tribec wrote:
Having worked with Gareth for quite some time, these results are no real suprise. He's intelligent, funny and very alert. I'd forgot he was doing his exams this year, but well done to him. As for the article, the paper in question is the local free newspaper, it isn't a big paper, and I wouldn't expect the level of article to that of the Times.
• Complain about this post
Comment on this entry