STRIVING FOR A NEW NORMAL: Keeping the Lessons We Learned from the Pandemic

STRIVING FOR A NEW NORMAL: Keeping the Lessons We Learned from the Pandemic

By Emily Beitiks, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Psychology and Social Sciences

At the start of my class each semester, I ask students to share something that was particularly hard and something they discovered about themselves during the year of online learning. The hardships come easy—the sudden separation from the things they loved, athletic teams, and friends and, for many, the lack of freedom as they moved back in with families. The positives come next. Students recognized those most important to them, embraced new hobbies that they continue today, and did some work on themselves that they’d been otherwise putting off.

Once the students have answered, I urge them to draw connections between what they went through and what it’s like for many who acquire a disability. Most visibly disabled people have at some point had to deal with a stranger stating, “You’re so brave! I don’t think I’d be able to go on if I had a disability!” But most people do, and unexpected positives come out of the journey. Adjusting to life with a disability is undoubtedly hard, but through rehabilitation, people adapt the things they most loved before to find new ways of doing them.

Exciting things come from the perspective disability brings. When you navigate a discriminatory society every day, creativity, flexibility, and a unique perspective emerge out of that experience, not in spite of disability, but precisely through it. We owe a lot of gratitude to disabled people who paved the way for the online programming that made pandemic education possible; students with disabilities have fought for that access for many years, but it took a pandemic to make it publicly available.

As a teacher, I admit I don’t love hybrid teaching. Trying to run Zoom while lecturing live leads to tech stumbles. But it’s worthwhile. We expanded education access beyond legal compliance. Offering hybrid education doesn’t just benefit students with disabilities who need to miss class for disability-related complications; it helps athletes traveling for games and students who are parents when childcare is unavailable, while the recordings provide a tool for students struggling to grasp challenging concepts. We must temper the rush to “return to normalcy” by acting on the lessons of adaptation we all experienced in the pandemic, gaining empathy by linking our pandemic taste of confinement to the ongoing plight for access of disabled people. Normal was never inclusive to disabled students, so let’s aim for something better: an inclusive and equitable future.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Research Focus:

I’m particularly interested in studying disability in popular culture, especially the stories that fixate on—and pressure—disabled bodies into being enhanced and normalized by science and technology.

Tips for Research:

You have to let research be messy. My doctorate is in American Studies, an interdisciplinary field that allows for pulling from lots of different disciplines and methodologies to pursue research questions. If you’re overly rigid in how you pursue your research and expect a linear, clean path to your answers, you might miss out on a key part of your story.

How to You Achieve a Work/Life Balance?

I’m a mom of two kids, 10 and 7, and my family loves to spend a lot of time in Lassen National Park. We make time every week for board games. My personal hobby is sewing my own clothes.

There are days where I’m entirely focused on work and neglecting my family, and other days when I refuse to even look at email. A work/life balance is somewhat impossible day by day; I focus on the bigger picture. I frequently take stock to question whether I’m being present with my family.

What surprised you most about Menlo College?

I am particularly impressed by how outspoken the students are, always willing to jump in and share their thoughts and be vulnerable. What has given me particular joy is supporting the students at Menlo who live with disabilities and are working to advocate for greater support for disability and neurodiversity on campus. I’ve been equally grateful getting to observe nondisabled students growing into allies, asking tough questions to challenge ableism in themselves and their communities.