Students learn about acceptance, compassion from classmates with disabilities

From the LaCrosse Tribune in Wisconsin:

Ryan Barta (pictured) stood alongside his peers, waiting to see who this year’s Tomah High School homecoming king would be.

The crown was teasingly held above the heads of several seniors on homecoming court before coming to rest on his.

The 19-year-old’s arms shot into the air and the message he signed to the crowd — friends, thank you — was unrehearsed and heartfelt.

He couldn’t say it enough times.

He couldn’t say it fast enough.

“When he was born with Down syndrome, we didn’t have a clue of what to expect,” his mother Linda Barta said.

“We never dreamed something like this would be possible for Ryan.”

Like many special education students, Ryan was included in the classroom at a young age and took the fear out of what it means to have a disability.

He made friends with his classmates and, as he transitioned into high school, became the football team’s water boy and a drummer in the band.

Tomah High School students always welcomed and included Ryan and “have made such a difference in his life,” Linda Barta said.

“What they have given him, I hope he has given back,” she said.

There are many lessons — acceptance, tolerance, appreciation — students learn from interacting with all kids who attend their school, Principal Marlon Mee said, “but it also teaches that anything can be accomplished if they try.”

These important lessons can’t be fully taught in the classroom, Mee said. They need to be applied in the hallways as well as at athletic events and home.

“When I was in high school, the Ryan Bartas of the world were relegated to some obscure section of the school, never to be seen or heard from,” Mee said in a letter to parents.

“An education is more than academics. Some kids may be having difficulty learning geometric equations, diagramming sentences, or locating Wisconsin on a map. However, they are learning about life. They are learning tolerance, compassion and understanding.”

“I can’t think of a prouder moment or a more emotional moment than at that pep (assembly) when (Ryan Barta) was announced king,” Mee said.

“The kids were standing up and cheering. I can’t describe it.”