Month: May 2017

seeingteacupsindragons:

You know what we need more of? Beginner’s classes for
adults.

It’s supposed to be really, really good for you to keep
learning new things as you age. It helps stave off strokes and dementia and Alzheimer’s
and improves memory. And hey, learning stuff is fun.

But I really don’t want to be infantilized when I try to
learn something. And I definitely don’t learn the way a child does. And
honestly, what adult wants to be in the same class as children? Very few.

This occurred to me recently because I’d like to learn how
to actually ice skate properly. My parents never signed me up for classes,
because it wasn’t a thing they ever cared about or thought about. Now I’m in my
twenties and want to learn, and also don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of
eight-year-olds who probably honestly skate better than I do. Because that’s
embarrassing, and embarrassment is not how you learn.

Would it be good to lose the social stigma of being worse at
something than a child? Yes. Hell
yes. But we’ve got to start somewhere, and like I said: adults don’t really
learn the way kids do, and a lot of people use these kinds of activities to
make friends, and I don’t want to make friends with an eight-year-old, either.

So.

Beginner’s classes for adults. Let adults suck at stuff and
learn how to get better and learn new things and broaden their horizons, while still being treated as adults. Classes for writing, for pottery, for chess, for art, for instruments, for singing, for sports, for chemistry. For everything, dammit.

urbancripple:

Here’s some examples awkward accessibility being a thing:

Your at a hotel that has a lift to get you from one sub-floor to another, but the lift can only be unlocked and operated by one specific person that the hotel now has to go find. Sure, they’ve made the entrance to the sub-floor is accessible, but now it’s a thing.

The buses are wheelchair accessible but the driver has to stop the bus, take 30 seconds to lower the goddamn ramp, move passengers out of their seats, hook up the straps and then secure you in the bus. Sure, they’ve made the busses accessible but now it’s a thing.

The restaurant has an accessible entrance, but it’s past the trash room and through the kitchen. Sure, the restaurant is accessible, but now it’s an insulting thing.

Here’s some great examples of accessibility not being a thing:

The train to the airport pulls up flush with the platform. I board with everyone else and sit wherever the fuck I want. Riding the train is accessible and not a thing.

In Portland, I press a button the side of the streetcar and a ramp automatically extends at the same time the door opens. I board in the same amount of time as everyone else. This is not a thing.

I get that it is difficult to design for wheelchair accessibility, but folks need to start considering the overall quality of the experience versus just thinking about meeting the minimum requirements.