Finding insights in "Riding the bus with my sister"
One place to find insights about abilities awareness is in Rachel Simon's book, "Riding the bus with my sister." Her book is based on her experiences riding city buses with her sister, Beth. Through these adventures, Rachel learns about the life and spirit of her sister.
Thanks to the book, we get to go along on the journey of discovery and exploration. We learn about Beth, a strong young woman with a disability. We also learn about Rachel as she learns about Beth. And we see the reactions of dozens of people to Beth as she rides the buses all over town.
As you read the story, did you identify more with Beth or Rachel? Why?
Why does Beth want Rachel to ride the buses with her?
Why does Rachel agree?
Which of the bus drivers did you most identify with? Why?
What's your reaction to Rachel's struggles around self-determination?
What insights about abilities awareness have you gained from reading this story?
Thanks to the book, we get to go along on the journey of discovery and exploration. We learn about Beth, a strong young woman with a disability. We also learn about Rachel as she learns about Beth. And we see the reactions of dozens of people to Beth as she rides the buses all over town.
As you read the story, did you identify more with Beth or Rachel? Why?
Why does Beth want Rachel to ride the buses with her?
Why does Rachel agree?
Which of the bus drivers did you most identify with? Why?
What's your reaction to Rachel's struggles around self-determination?
What insights about abilities awareness have you gained from reading this story?
posted by Tom Gilsenan @ 8:07 AM
6 Comments:
At 4:24 PM, February 02, 2006,
Tom Gilsenan said…
tom
At 11:13 PM, February 05, 2006,
Anonymous said…
1) In reading the story I identified more with Rachel. I started working in a group for develop mentally disabled individuals seven month ago. I have had to learn so much, and I am still learning everyday. I think that like Rachel I sometimes wonder how much is the person and how much is the diagnosis.
2) Beth asks Rachel to ride the bus with her because Rachel expresses concern about her bus riding at Beth’s Plan of Care meeting.
3) Rachel agrees to the bus because of her feelings of guilt and obligation to her sister.
4) The driver that I most identify with is Melanie. She was ready to listen to anyone on the bus that had a problem or needed support. Also she handled life with humor which is how I deal with life. I feel that you always need to keep a sense of humor no matter what is going on.
5) Rachel’s fight for self determination is something that I respect and see daily in my job. People fighting to be seen and heard as adults. I think that Rachel’s want to protect is something that everyone working in this field needs to face and over come. There is a difference in supporting and protecting, and it a line that many of us cross.
6) I think that this should be required reading for anyone working in the field. I also would recommend it to families of the people I work with. This book has given me so much to think about. We need to work harder to insure that people with disabilities are achieving their goals, and not the goals we believe they should have. This book has made me take a look at how I interact with the people I work with.
At 10:06 AM, February 13, 2006,
Anonymous said…
I felt as though I identified more with Rachel because I am very headstrong, very worried about others around me, always making sure that things are okay, and somewhat underestimating those around me at times. I also felt that I identified with her because she is driven and often wraps herself up in her work that she doesn't take time to experience life.
Beth wants Rachel to ride the buses with her so that Rachel can experience her world. She wants to show Rachel what she goes through, meet her friends, hopefully have Rachel marry a bus driver, and just to show that she is okay and that Rachel and the family should not have to worry about her. I think she also has a desire to just have her big sis around because she's been somewhat absent for the bulk of her adult life.
Rachel agrees partially because she feels guilty, like she's been a bad big sister, and partially curiousity to see what Beth is up to on the buses since no one in her family knows what she does and no one knows if they're comfortable with it.
Out of the drivers I would say that I identify with Estella. I believe this because she is very independent and strong, and also hardworking. I'd like to think that these are qualities that show through in my personality as well.
To me, I can see why Rachel struggled with self-determination. It's easier to aid a client in their daily decisions as opposed to a sibling, especially a younger sibling. As a sister you're the protector, as the social worker you're the enabler.
I've gained the insight of the true abilities of the developmentally disabled. I've always known that they are capable. But now I know just how capable they can be. And call me ignorant, but I never really thought about the "sex" issue before. That caught me by surprise.
At 1:12 PM, February 13, 2006,
Anonymous said…
1)As I am still reading the book "Riding the bus with my sister" I can identify more with Beth. She is a strong women, who has a disability that is visible. She has been through alot her years of living. She has been doing an amazing job in living by herself, and understanding the people she meets through her life in a unqiue way. She is a neat person. This book points out how Beth copes with her disability. I have a disability also, but mine is not visible. I have been struggling with certain issues regarding my health. This book has made me realize to thank my blessings. When you have certain disabilities, I think it makes you a stronger person. You have a special ability, which will help you relate to others and focus on their strengths.
2) Why does Beth want Rachel to ride the bus with her? I truly believe that Beth wants to edcate her sister about herl ife and to show her sisiter a different way of life. Some of the events that occured in this story touched my heart.
3) Why does Rachel agree? Rachel has a great life, but still feels empty inside of her spiritual side. Rachel feels a need to take time off, and spend time with her sister. Beth has always been asking Rachel to ride the bus with her. Beth enjoys riding the buses around the city. Rachel knows how important this means to Beth. Rachel wants to find out why Beth enjoys riding the buses.
4)Which bus driver did I identify with? Tim, he is a compassionate person, who enjoys life. He says life is rewarding, but there is much more to this than taking people for a ride. Tim explains how the worls in a grain of sand, in the smallest moments of life. He says he was unable to see this when he was younger. Tim enjoys talking pictures of things people don't normally look at. Tim talks about the way everything wants to grow even the little green plant that sits in the bus window, which wants to grow even when its in such a tiny pot. This relates to life. This is the first step for Rachel in realizing how Tim the bus man life. I focus on not judging people who are different.
5)What's my reaction to Rachel's struggles around self-determination. My understandings are that Rachel is usually in contol of her life, but when she spends time with her sister Beth is in control of Rachel's life. When I was reading, I came across an example of power and control. Beth has a routine everyday. Beth gets up around 5am and was getting ready for the day. Beth woke up Rachel and told her to get ready for the day. One other time in the book Rachel commented that she was following her sister around town.
6)What insights about abilities awareness have you gained from reading this story? So far, I have enjoyed this book. This book helped me realize how different people see the world. People with diabilities have strengths in different areas. Some people with disabilities have taught other people to become a stronger person, by overcoming obstacles in life. People with disabilities are smart in their own ways. When Rachel rides the bus with beth, she slowly understands her passion for riding the bus. Beth feels connected to the world. This might be her calling. Rachel is determined to understand why Beth enjoys riding the bus.
At 1:14 AM, February 15, 2006,
Anonymous said…
1. I think that I identified more with Beth rather than Rachel. I think the reason that I identified more with Beth is that I have a disability myself. I think that anyone who has a disability, regardless of what it is, has to undergoe stereotypes and judgements more than normal people do. I am sure that I have not undergone nearly as many problems with this as Beth has, but I can definately relate.
2 I thini that Beth wants to gain a positive relationship with her sister. I was so happy when Rachel said yes because I knew that this would open up a whole new realm of possibilities for the both of them. I think that Beth also just wants Rachel to see what her life is like, to see who she really is.
3 Honestly I think that the main reason here is guilt for not being there for her sister. I think that Rachel knows that she has not been the best sister to Beth and that this is her time to make up for it. Rachel leads a busy life and as we can see in the book, she lets her life take control of her rather than her being in control of her life.
4 I am not really sure which one of the drivers I can identify most with. I liked Tim because he was so kind and seemed to have quite a bit of insight. I can also identify with Jacob about having a spiritual awakening that lead him to lead a better life, thought mine was not nearly as profound as his. I see a little of myself in all of these drivers so it is hard to pick just one.
5 I think that Beth and Rachel are both extremely determined people and when they mix there is a bit of a power struggle. I think that Rachel has a hard time coming down to Beth's level of understanding. Beth does what she wants and Rachel has a hard time accepting that for what it is.
6 I think that this book has made me more aware of the respect that I have and should have for people with disabilities. They are often some of the first people to be picked on and we should all be the voices to protect them.
At 8:37 AM, February 24, 2006,
Anonymous said…
1. I identified more with Beth. The reason for this is that she has that care-free attitude and takes things as they come. She tries not to let a whole lot bother her and those are some traits that I possess.
2. I think that Beth wanted Rachel to ride the busses with her so that she could see what Beth's world is like. Also to show Rachel that riding the bus is more than just riding the bus...she has people on these busses that are like family to her and teach her valuable like lessons.
3. I think that Rachel agrees to ride with Beth because she wants to see what Beth's life is like and see what she finds so interesting about riding the bus.
4. I think that I could identify most with Bailey. The reason for this is because he is a person that likes to help people out when he sees that they are in need. Like Beth for example. He saw that she needed more to her life than just riding the busses, so he asked her to do something for him, get his children up for school. He could have figured out another plan, but he saw that Beth needed something more in her life.
5. I think that I learned more from Rachel in this story than Beth. But as for abilities awareness I learned that the best thing you can have is patience and be understanding. I think that through out the book I could identify with Rachel when she would get so frusterated because she could not understand why Beth does and says the things she does. It would be hard.
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