This Mother's Outrage

Good Sunday morning.  Well, it might be a good Sunday morning for some folks, but my day isn't turning out as good as I had planned.  All week I've been reminding my husband that we have to pick up a copy of the Sunday Messenger because it's going to contain coverage of the "Olympic Field Day" hosted at Central High last Monday.  All week I've been looking forward to this.  And now, with newspaper in hand, I can simply say that I am outraged.  OUTRAGED! 



If you're looking for the coverage in the paper, you'll find a 3.5 inch-ish square photo on the front of the Community section picturing a very pretty high school student face painting a child who is turned away from the camera.  I was told the photos were being supplied by Hopkins County Schools, so I wasn't really expecting that my kiddo's picture would make the paper.  But, you can damn sure bet I was expecting at least a little more than a one sentence summary of the event!  Oh, if you over looked the picture, it's the smallest one on the page. 

Now, let's flip the page and see what's on page two of the Community section this morning.  What's that I see?  A HALF PAGE photo of Italian Sausage Rigatoni?  Excuse me, am I reading too much into this?  Is food more important than the children hosted at the "Olympic Field Day"?

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad the paper honored the other athletic and academic students on the cover.   It would just have been nice to see a little more support of students who may never be able to participate in regular actvities like basketball or academic teams. Those students deserve recognition, too.

I'm not an avid reader of the newspaper, I'll admit.  But, I know there is a section devoted to Sports and I know that day after day those pages are filled with photos of non-disabled athletes accompanied by their names and their stats.  The children who participated in the "Olympic Field Day" should have been given the same opportunity for community support and coverage.  I would happily give permission for my daughter's photo and name to appear in the paper.  In fact, I did give my permission, and I supplied her picture, too.

I can only hope that next year, the only newspaper in the county will cover the event with more effort and the attention that it deserves.  Until then, check out my post about "Olympic Field Day 2012".

If you're the parent of a child with special needs (aka. a student in special education) I encourage you to get out next year and show your support.  I'll see you there.