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For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

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Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#101

Post by PhasmaFelis »

jwr wrote: post #15
ekianjo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This kind of categorization perhaps wouldn't fly in the States I see this as a bit of a paradox in the States. There is always some discussion about how everyone should be treated as equal, yet your "race" (whatever that means in the age of genetics!) is recorded by the government, and minorities are tracked by employers even though this is absolutely not related with their skills. If i think too much about it, I'd…

I also never understood this. Why ask about race if race is supposed not to matter?

Race shouldn't matter, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. You can't fix racism by pretending it doesn't exist.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#102

Post by PhasmaFelis »

ekianjo wrote: post #6
hkmurakami wrote: post #4

I remember when I worked in an auto-industry factory (as part of my training) in Japan, we wore caps with colored bands that denoted rank/category. New employees were dark blue. Equipment/facility maintenance people wore yellow bands. "Management" inside the factory, as well as the white-collar employees had light blue. Outside guests wore red. Amidst this, workers with disabilities wore caps with green bands. Many w…

> This kind of categorization perhaps wouldn't fly in the States I see this as a bit of a paradox in the States. There is always some discussion about how everyone should be treated as equal, yet your "race" (whatever that means in the age of genetics!) is recorded by the government, and minorities are tracked by employers even though this is absolutely not related with their skills. If i think too much about it, I'd…

The "Race" sections on government and employee forms always have an opt-out/no-response option. They're not tracking anyone against their will.

It sounds a bit like you're perceiving the world as it should be, rather than as it is. Of course you and I know that "race" is nearly meaningless in terms of actual ability--but as long as there is widespread, systematic discrimination based on skin color, race remains very real in practice. You can't fight that discrimination by passing a law against it and then pretending everything is perfect forever. You need to be able to see where and how racism persists and fight it on the ground, and to do that you need to track the comparative treatment and experience of different people.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#104

Post by matart »

mistakoala wrote: post #94
JPKab wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am curious if there are any programs which pair developmentally disabled adults with nursing homes? I think it would be a good mix for them to have jobs in which they knowingly play a role in providing companionship and assistance for the nursing home residents.

I am optimistic enough to believe that this would be worth looking at, but I am pessimistic enough to believe that it would not get a moment's consideration in a risk-averse and/ or litigious society.

I am unsure of the details but there is a "nursing home" for mentally disabled people across from my house (in Canada). It has careworkers there 24 hours. They come and go as they please (the door does lock though and they need to wait to be let it). Families come and visit. It seems like a great thing to have.

It is also close to a university so some will take courses and others find small jobs on campus, if they can.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#105

Post by bane »

aragot wrote: post #95
bane wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It turns out that recent studies have shown that employers will still find something to discriminate about. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/2... Not saying the American system solves this either. But it's interesting how the different approaches end up working on the ground.

I'll try not to reach a Godwin point in saying this, but we don't really do that for discrimination but because we're traumatised of lists with people's religions on it. Saying the "race" word is a big no-no too. It's a cultural legacy rather than a real approach.

You know, that's actually a good point. I hadn't really considered the cultural context of that issue in France. Americans tend to be very German focused when thinking about it.

I guess the good news is that sometimes we find European politics about as baffling as I'm sure Europeans find American politics at times.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#106

Post by monknomo »

matart wrote: post #104
mistakoala wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am optimistic enough to believe that this would be worth looking at, but I am pessimistic enough to believe that it would not get a moment's consideration in a risk-averse and/ or litigious society.

I am unsure of the details but there is a "nursing home" for mentally disabled people across from my house (in Canada). It has careworkers there 24 hours. They come and go as they please (the door does lock though and they need to wait to be let it). Families come and visit. It seems like a great thing to have. It is also close to a university so some will take courses and others find small jobs on campus, if they ca…

I think the grandparent poster meant nursing homes where mentally disabled people work taking care of the residents, not nursing homes that care for the mentally disabled.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#107

Post by ScottBurson »

gokhan wrote: post #53
maccard wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently working as a tutor in a center for gifted (high intelligence) children. Along with this intelligence, in many cases comes some mental difficulties. As an instructor in this environment, it is actually very difficult to deal with some children who are unable to interpret what I am saying to them. Not only does the child get frustrated when I don't understand what they're trying to tell me, but I get frus…

My son (7) is gifted, his school has no program for children with special needs, and he's having enormous problems in school with other children and his teacher. Would you mind sharing some tricks to share with his teacher that might help her handle my son better? We told her to keep him occupied, send him for photocopies, give him some extra tasks in class etc. but she doesn't want to do such things since my son som…

I'm not a teacher, but I was once a gifted child.

If there's any way you could get him into a school with other gifted kids, it would be a wonderful thing. I realize that may not be possible.

In a few years you might be able to get him started on Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/), but I guess at 7 he's still a bit young for that. There may be other online resources that would work, though... look around.

And as someone else mentioned, homeschooling might be an option.

In any case, I would suggest encouraging his interests and (particularly at this young age) not worrying about the subjects he's not interested in.

If he needs to burn off some energy, permit me to recommend my favorite sport: table tennis. It's a great sport for kids, and 7 is not too young to start learning it. Just a suggestion.

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#108

Post by [deleted] »

JPKab wrote: post #81
rayiner wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a paradox. We have a lot of discussion in the U.S. about how everyone should be treated equally as a response to our historical and continuing failure to treat people equally. We keep track of race as a way to monitor our progress on that front. When you start tracking, you might be surprised by how little your organization is doing to treat people equally: http://www.google.com/diversity/at-google.html#tab=…

The problem the US has in this regard is the blunt, stupid way we do it. "Race" is an example. I work at a consulting company with very competitive hiring. Many of my teammates are "African American" according to the standard US classification, but guess what? Most of them, although born and raised in the US, are the children of Nigerian immigrants. A candid discussion with one of my co-workers on a recent business t…

[deleted]

Re: For Hire: Dedicated Young Man With Down Syndrome

#110

Post by innguest »

JPKab wrote: post #82
ekianjo wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By the way, in Germany, they don't track your race, but they ask you for your religion when you move there. And it's actually a trap ! If you answer that you have any, suddenly you'll see a religion tax (deducted from your salary every month) going to your religion of choice. In Germany is literally "pays" to be agnostic.

Lol. Why on earth do they do this?

Are you kidding me? This is a great idea and incredibly fair.

Why should non-believers fund churches with their tax money?

Believers should be responsible for funding their churches/temples/holy places without relying on those who don't care.

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