My first experiences in the education system began where I do not distinctly remember there to be any discrimination or bias. I had the opportunity to be surrounded by fellow children from all different walks of like, some of whom had disabilities. I had never considered what children in special education were going through, what their daily thoughts regarding their education were, nor how they had been assessed as such. Most of what I knew about the disabilities of fellow peers was kept a secret – a hint towards the stigma that once prevailed amongst the classification of disability. The first and only time that my mother received a phone call from my teacher was in Junior Kindergarten. I was zealous, and could not find it in myself to sit on the carpet and pay attention to the teacher as she read a book. The teacher was concerned that I may have a behavioral or learning disability that inhibited me from paying attention. My mother can recount the story to this day, as she had to explain to the teacher that my actions were
regular for an energetic four-year-old child. Upon further discussion, it was revealed that this teacher had been quick to refer students that did not comply with her rules to special education classrooms. A lapse in her efficacy of Classroom Management and not my ability to learn. The circumstance was never brought up again and I never received separate learning assistance throughout the entirety of my education. Thinking back to the moment, I cannot help but wonder how many students were regularly dismissed to other classrooms or misidentified with disabilities because the teacher deemed their learning needs inconvenient or misinterpreted students actions. Without a mother who was as educated in the field as she was, my educational experience may have not been the same. I cannot compare my experience to those of students from other ethnic backgrounds, because I do not have the cultural upbringing that they had; however, I can wander about the identification process of Indigenous learners who are placed into special education.