รายละเอียดกระทู้

Alicia LeGrand NewsTribune Reporter http://newstrib.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=28514 Theater students and faculty from Illinois Valley Community College perform a skit written by a student at Peru Catholic School. Several skits were performed based on poems and plays written by Peru Catholic students at the conclusion of a year-long Parents, teachers and students packed into the gym bleachers at Peru Catholic School this week to watch skits written by some of the grade school students and performed by faculty and theater students from Illinois Valley Community College. The event was the ending of a year-long class sponsored by Horizon House in Peru called the Disability Awareness Program. Each month, the students attended programs to help them learn more about people with disabilities or who live and act differently. “The point of the program was the acceptance of all people,” said principal Jerry Carls. Carls said the program provided students with opportunities to understand first hand the challenges of being different by navigating obstacle courses blindfolded and experiencing life in a wheelchair. The students also had guest speakers including a child who talked about how autism has complicated his life. Carol Fesco, director of development for Horizon House, said it is important to have children meet people with disabilities at a young age so they will have more acceptance and understanding when they grow older. She said the program provides this experience and has worked to spread it throughout Illinois Valley elementary schools. The program has been running for the past 16 years. “I’m so impressed by the students of Peru Catholic,” Fesco said. Fesco said the students got involved with the activities and asked questions right away. Last month, Illinois Valley Community College hosted a writing workshop for the students and they wrote poems, plays and essays. Their original works were read by the IVCC theater department and turned into pieces which could be performed back to the students. David Kuester, a professor for the theater department at IVCC with a Ph.D. in playwriting, said they took the characters and writing and incorporated in into their usual theater games and setups. “The overall theme that came from the writing was people, no matter what their abilities, need to be treated like people,” said Kuester. Before each play, the students who helped write the scene were announced and their classmates cheered. The child authors stood up and waved at the crowd, most with smiles on their faces. The IVCC cast performed several skits ranging from popular fruits and vegetables in a refrigerator learning to accept other foods to a valley girl who told her friends it was “popular” to still be friends with their recently handicapped classmate. “It’s been by far the best program I ever brought into a school,” said Carls. Horizon House is a not-for-profit organization that provides services to adults with disabilities through a variety of services and employment opportunities. It was started by parents of people with disabilities and has a history of commitment and caring. One of its goals is to break down the barriers that prevent or inhibit people with disabilities from full participation in their community. For more information, call (815) 223-4488.