Invisibility is undoubtedly among the coolest superpowers known to man. However, when it comes to individual students in an academic environment being invisible is not something to be envious of. The invisible student is not someone who encountered a toxic waste spill and now has the ability to become invisible. Instead, it is a student with a social disability potentially caused by nature or traumatic encounters which has hindered their social capability. An invisible student is a student who is challenged socially and has a hard time, or is unable to make friends, thus leading to isolation, or invisibility, among their peers. Invisibility in this instance is not a super power, but instead it is a super downer.
Invisible students exist in nearly all classroom environments and oftentimes go unnoticed. This is due to the fact that they never make their presence known. Class excursions are often the worst for these tyes of students because they are isolated and cast aside by their peers. It is shocking to note how awful school trips can be for the invisible child as are the perfect opportunity for the invisible child to feel even more isolated. As many students are socializing and having fun with their friends the invisible child is constantly reminded that they have no friends, thus lowering their self-confidence and subsequently isolating themselves further and making it even harder to make friends.
During the research phase of the article “The Invisible Student” Ryan Hourigan shadowed a seventh grader named Jason. Jason has extreme difficulty communicating and interacting with his peers and thus has no friends outside his immediate family. However, an interesting aspect of Jason’s academic career is that he always seems to enroll in band class despite all of his challenges. Also, the most frustrating aspect of this is that there is no clear or easy way for Jason to make friends. In a sense, he can’t be helped and it’s tragic to watch a child go through something so difficult and be unable to fix it.
Overall, invisibility is only positive depending on the situation. In certain cases it can be great and in others it is an exceptional downfall. The push to assist the students who go unnoticed is an ongoing, uphill battle and relies on the change of social institutions to better accept and assist these students. Sadly, time will be the only factor to see real positive change.
Questions:
How can we get students to include others when they don’t want to?
Why is it so valuable to be considered outgoing?
How might you build ones confidence when they’ve been put down their whole life?
Hourigan, R. M. (2009). The invisible student: Understanding social identity construction within performing ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 34-38.
Invisible students exist in nearly all classroom environments and oftentimes go unnoticed. This is due to the fact that they never make their presence known. Class excursions are often the worst for these tyes of students because they are isolated and cast aside by their peers. It is shocking to note how awful school trips can be for the invisible child as are the perfect opportunity for the invisible child to feel even more isolated. As many students are socializing and having fun with their friends the invisible child is constantly reminded that they have no friends, thus lowering their self-confidence and subsequently isolating themselves further and making it even harder to make friends.
During the research phase of the article “The Invisible Student” Ryan Hourigan shadowed a seventh grader named Jason. Jason has extreme difficulty communicating and interacting with his peers and thus has no friends outside his immediate family. However, an interesting aspect of Jason’s academic career is that he always seems to enroll in band class despite all of his challenges. Also, the most frustrating aspect of this is that there is no clear or easy way for Jason to make friends. In a sense, he can’t be helped and it’s tragic to watch a child go through something so difficult and be unable to fix it.
Overall, invisibility is only positive depending on the situation. In certain cases it can be great and in others it is an exceptional downfall. The push to assist the students who go unnoticed is an ongoing, uphill battle and relies on the change of social institutions to better accept and assist these students. Sadly, time will be the only factor to see real positive change.
Questions:
How can we get students to include others when they don’t want to?
Why is it so valuable to be considered outgoing?
How might you build ones confidence when they’ve been put down their whole life?
Hourigan, R. M. (2009). The invisible student: Understanding social identity construction within performing ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 34-38.