Marcus: On Being Good & (Dis)ability

 Visible and Invisible rules/codes of conduct that govern Marcus's school and classroom

A visible rule in Marcus's classroom is that the students have to raise their hand before they speak. Marcus struggled with this rule and would sometimes yell out and interrupt Emily why she is speaking. Knowing Marcus means well and is just sharing his thoughts, Emily would still allow him share out. Another visible rule within the classroom was a "take a break" table. Students would go to the table when they were having a difficult time in the morning. I think having a space within a classroom for students to break is a great idea. There is also a "buddy room" that was another space for students to go and take space. I thought having a break space outside the classroom was a good idea just in case they want to be alone. Also, I thought it was great that offered another space for a break before going to the principals office. Marcus at times was a lot to deal with and I think Emily did a nice job being patient with him. An invisible rule I think could be that the rules were kind of broken for Marcus because he had more of a difficult time. 

Similarities/ Differences to youth spaces that I know

The rules and codes of conduct in Marcus's classroom are similar to youth spaces I know in a few ways. A daycare I used to work at had a space within the classroom where students would go to take a break if they were misbehaving or needed space. Another similar rule was students had to raise their hand before speaking out. There was two students in the classroom that really struggled with raising their hand and would always call out. The teacher responded the opposite of how Emily did. The teacher would give them a warning and then tell them to go take a break which I didn't agree with. A difference in Marcus's classroom and the daycare is that there wasn't a room outside the class for students to go to. In other youth spaces I've seen some have break rooms and some don't. Depending on the youth space students raise their hand to speak or just share out when no one is speaking. In some youth spaces I see some staff who are really supportive and resourceful like the ones in Marcus's classroom and in other youth spaces I see staff who do the bare minimum. 

How might these rules connect to Ferri's discussion of norms, normalcy and dis/ability?

The rules in Ferri's discussion connect to Marcus's rules because in the Ferri's article it states that the school is designed to take what makes someone different away from them and I think Marcus's school does a really great job with providing support and great resources to make him feel more like he belongs in the classroom. The teacher allows him to kind of do his own thing while still doing what he has to in class.