Recently, many stars and big V forwarded a message through Weibo, reminding "friends who drive" to pay attention to the courtesy of children carrying orange schoolbags, "because they are deaf". This appeal was subsequently reprinted in large numbers.
This charity donation project initiated by China Audiology Development Foundation has aroused controversy among netizens and children's rights experts since it entered the public eye. Supporters believe that this method protects the traffic safety of hearing-impaired children, while skeptics believe that orange schoolbags will make hearing-impaired children "labeled" and treated differently, thus causing their psychological burden and even being more vulnerable to illegal elements.
Can orange schoolbags protect hearing-impaired children?
The traffic safety of hearing-impaired children can not be ignored.
Hearing-impaired children can't accurately perceive the speed and distance of distant cars because of hearing impairment, which is very dangerous in traffic. In China, there are more than 4.6 million hearing-impaired children aged 0 to 14, which is the country with the largest number of hearing-impaired children in the world! The traffic safety of hearing-impaired children in China can not be ignored!
According to official website China Audiology Development Foundation, there are 25,000 primary and secondary school students injured or killed in traffic accidents every year in China. Hearing-impaired children are at greater risk in traffic travel because of hearing impairment, which is also the reason for launching this project.
On March 3rd, 20 16, World Love Ear Day, fifteen ministries and commissions including China Disabled Persons' Federation, Ministry of Education, State Health Planning Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology called on the whole society to care for hearing-impaired children. In order to actively respond to the call, the China Audiology Development Foundation launched an "orange schoolbag" public welfare program for the whole society, collecting money for the society and distributing orange schoolbags to hearing-impaired children, each 1.20 yuan. After carrying this eye-catching schoolbag, pedestrians and car owners on the road can pay special attention to children carrying orange schoolbags, because they may not hear the reminder clearly.
The Proposal for Protecting Traffic Safety of Hearing-impaired Children initiated by China Hearing Medical Development Foundation wrote, "Orange is a bright and lively color and the warmest color in the warm color system. The visibility of orange is very high, and the wavelength is 590-6 10 nm, which is very eye-catching and easy to be found in the environment. We combined the schoolbag with orange, and equipped reflective strips on the front, side and backpack belt of the orange schoolbag to create a functional schoolbag that can not only enhance the travel safety of hearing-impaired children, but also provide them with artistic learning tools. "
According to the official website information of the Foundation, orange schoolbags were donated to about11000 hearing-impaired children in 2000 schools for the deaf, special schools and1000 speech rehabilitation institutions nationwide, thus covering all school-age hearing-impaired children. Ye Fei, assistant secretary general of China Audiology Development Foundation, said that at present, * * * has donated more than 1000 schoolbags, including about 100 in schools and rehabilitation institutions. He said that as long as institutions and schools apply, the project will continue.
Controversy: "orange schoolbag" becomes the label of hearing-impaired children
The "orange schoolbag" program advocates that the public should slow down when they see hearing-impaired children carrying orange schoolbags on the road, and provide them with priority rights of way.
However, with the implementation of the plan, there are many opinions against the "orange schoolbag". The reasons are as follows: hearing-impaired children are "labeled", which increases the chances of hearing-impaired children being violated and makes them grow up in suffering. That sounds reasonable.
Some parents of hearing-impaired children are worried that carrying "orange schoolbags" will bring excessive labeling. For special groups, they need equal civil rights and development opportunities, not excessive protection labeled as weak. The rehabilitation of hearing-impaired children also needs to return them to "normal children" instead of isolating them. This is not to say that we should ignore the differences in physical conditions, but try to avoid external division.
Wu is the vice principal of chenghua district Special Education School. She also has a deaf son. Having been in contact with disabled children for more than 20 years, she believes that it is worthy of recognition that the "orange schoolbag" has aroused social attention to special children, but the problem of "labeling" is inevitable. "Schools and parents will teach children basic traffic rules. They know how to "take the zebra crossing, go at the red light and stop at the green light". In fact, drivers don't need to give way. What they need most is the understanding and tolerance of the public, not excessive concern. " Wu Shuo, her son once refused to wear a conspicuous behind-the-ear hearing aid, hoping to replace it with a small, undetectable device. "This shows that he wants to hide his hearing impairment."
From the long-term interests of hearing-impaired children, what they need more is to solve the hearing-impaired problem with the development of technology and get fair treatment from the whole society, so that they can not only enter special schools for the deaf, but also get equal treatment from the whole society and integrate into society without discrimination, rather than let them live with the label of hearing-impaired.
Liu Jitong, a professor at Peking University School of Public Health, said that whether to label children and whether it brings shame should be analyzed in the actual background. If the existing social service conditions and technologies can make the hearing-impaired children not only hide their identity, but also obtain travel safety, then of course they should choose to protect their defects. On the contrary, the "orange schoolbag" is a way to expand social concern.
Organizer's response: Ignoring is the biggest discrimination.
In response to concerns that hearing-impaired children will be discriminated against when carrying orange schoolbags, Ye Fei, assistant secretary-general of China Audiology Development Foundation, said that the premise of removing "specialization" is that the public can face up to the particularity of hearing-impaired groups. In the current traffic environment, what they can do is to appeal to as many people as possible to pay attention to the objective needs of this group. "Ignoring is the biggest discrimination."
Some experts also believe that we can continue to explore the "orange schoolbag" activity, but whether to carry this schoolbag should be decided by the hearing-impaired children themselves, and parents or schools should not make decisions for their children. If some children choose this kind of schoolbag by themselves, we should also be alert to its disadvantages, not only to prevent children from being treated differently by society, but also to prevent children from being infringed, especially in rural areas.
It is reported that the "orange schoolbag" should contain art supplies. Ye Fei said that in previous surveys, it was found that hearing-impaired children have strong visual perception although their hearing is weakened, and many hearing-impaired children are engaged in painting and design as adults. Based on this, it is planned to add these art supplies to the schoolbag.
Ye Fei also said that hearing-impaired groups are facing many practical difficulties, such as schooling, employment, marriage and so on. "We hope that by promoting the implementation of some public welfare projects, we can eliminate the sense of difference in understanding, remove the particularity and return to the ordinary."