Manning 2018 Me Lo Dijo
Manning, E. (2018) ‘Me lo dijo un pajarito – neurodiversity, Black life and the university as we know it,’ in Bloomsbury Academic eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350032910.ch-007
Every classroom that penalizes students for distributed modes of attention organizes learning according to a neurotypical norm. Every classroom that sees the moving body as the distracted body is organized according to a neurotypical norm. Every classroom that teaches predominantly for one mode of perception is organizing its learning according to a norm. Every classroom that knows in advance what knowledge looks and sounds like is working to a norm.
Erin Manning’s powerful paper “Me Lo Dijo Un Pajarito: Neurodiversity, Black Life, and the University as We Know It” (reading linked below) examines the struggles neurodiverse individuals face within institutions of neurotypical power. She explores parallels between the marginalisation of neurodiverse individuals and the experiences of Black individuals in academia. Examining this through an intersectional lens once again highlights the interconnected systems of oppression at play – race, neurodiversity, and other identities are often intersecting to shape experiences and access to opportunities within academic institutions.
Manning also highlights how traditional classroom settings cater to normative modes of knowing, alienating those with alternative learning styles. To reflect back on my classroom within this context, it’s clear that in many ways it’s a normative space of exclusion, structured to align with a traditional ideal of ‘right kind of classroom’ for learning. Within the CCI where I teach, there have been many accommodations to bring in online and blended learning elements to support other kinds of learning, but Manning’s thoughts in this regard trigger me to consider that this is no where near enough.