Subtracting the fourth 'R' from schools

Franklin - Reading, writing and arithmetic are still mainstays of the classroom, but there's a fourth "R" word that some want eliminated in schools.

That word is "retard," and a group of teachers and students at Forest Park Middle School have joined a national campaign to eradicate it from students' vocabularies - or at least, how it used as a derogative term.

Eighth-grade teachers Kim Trendel and Abbe Zeka in December learned of the national campaign, and they formed a committee at Forest Park to do so.

An offensive sense

Called Spread the Word to End the Word, the committee quickly gained members, including 25 students, some for whom the issue hits close to home.

Take Jesse Kastner, whose 19-year-old brother has Down syndrome. She's offended when she hears the word, whether directed at her brother or others in her school who are cognitively disabled. Forest Park has 679 students, and 12 percent are categorized as special needs.

"I know the word was started for medical use," Kastner acknowledged, adding that's no longer the case.

In modern times, when her classmates use the word, it's used to hurt or fit in.

"When you're younger, you feel like peer pressure," she said. "If you say it, you're cool."

Nicole Fitzgerald joined the committee because she has made friends with a student with a cognitively disabled student through the school's Buddies programs, which pairs students with special needs with a student without to be more inclusive.

"We're all equal individuals," said Fitzgerald. "Basically, my goal is to stop the word because it's hurtful."

She said students in school have called her buddy the "R" word, and it hurt.

"I didn't like how they were making fun of her," she said. "They would call her the R word and tell her she's dumb, and that she had no purpose. She's a person too."

That awareness is the reason behind the campaign, said Trendel, a special education teacher.

Semantic shift

"My goal, obviously, is to get rid of the use of the word in the building," she said.

It's also to educate students about disabilities, and that a disability shouldn't define a person.

"Flip the order," said Trendel. "It's a kid with a disability, not a disabled kid.

"Regardless of their disability, or severity of that disability, they're middle-school students just like (other students)," she said. "They deserve the same respect."

Zeka, a language arts teacher, agreed.

"I want them to realize they're affecting other people," Zeka said. "It's not just a word."

"I think the R word has become so common, kids don't think twice about it."

Campaign for change

That, though, is beginning to change, said Trendel.

The group is increasing awareness through a display at the main entrance of the school that asks students to sign their commitment to get rid of the "R" word. The display also contains testimonials from students about how the word has hurt them or someone they care about.

Students are also making a video to show to the school reinforcing that your choice of words has an impact.

"I think they're becoming a little more aware of it," Trendel said. "I hear the word a lot less. I think their eyes have been opened."