train story

https://www.someecards.com/life/women/womans-thread-female-stranger/?fbclid=IwAR0fBJqOH5IK5kTekXNMVDI1xQMA-vjkBpFybF7CfwXHRjXn1TmW-q_sIyw

Erynn Brook sat on a train at 10:00 at night, three stops form her home when she noticed a girl, about 18 years old, sitting opposite, looking at her, lips barely moving. Erynn asked the girl if she was OK and the girl held out a laminated sheet of paper. At the top of the paper were the words, "My seizure plan". Erynn asked if the girl was having a seizure and she answered, "I'm about to, can you sit with me until your stop?"

The girl said her stop was three stops away. Erynn asked what the girl would do once she got off and the girl shrugged and replied, "Ask someone else. She looks nice, can you ask her for me?" nodding at a woman further down the train.

What do you think Erynn chose to do? 

Erynn stayed on the train with the girl, missing her own stop. The girl had a seizure. She had already folded her scarf and put it in place to catch her head as she slumped over. There were instructions on the seizure plan; what to do how long they will last. Erynn sat with her and held the girl's hand. The siezure lasted for three minutes.

Erynn told the girl she would sit with her and help her get home. The girl seized again. As they reached the girl's stop Erynn got off with her, and they slowly walked up the platform and the stairs. The girl was saying she would be fine, but Erynn insisted on helping the girl all the way home. They go slow and chat. Erynn made sure the girl got in to her house and then they waved goodbye.

Erynn says, "This is not a story about me being a good person, it's not a story about how brave she is (although she clearly is) it's a story about human needs through the lens of disability and how accessibility is not the same as acceptance or community care."

"We're taught to call 911 when something looks bad and we don't know what it is.... but she just needed to get home."

"Accommodation is the bare minimum. If I sat with her till my stop and then left, that's what accommodation looks like. It's not good enough, not for me, not for her, not for community, not for our world. Build something better, folks. Build a better world. Because different people have different needs."

This story has gone viral.

What do you see in the picture?
where is the photo taken?
How do you think the person in the photo is feeling?

explain the story (stop to ask the question in italics in the middle)

- When Erynn first saw the girl looking at her, how do you think she felt?
- Erynn could have looked away or moved, why didn't she?
- why does the girl carry a sheet of paper called "my seizure plan"?
- what is a seizure?
- why did the girl say, "she looks nice"?
- why didn't Erynn or the girl just call for an ambulance?
- Erynn missed her own stop. Why didn't she ask someone else to sit with the girl?
- Erynn says, "accommodation is the bare minimum" what does she mean?
- "different people have different needs" why does Erynn say this?
- in our community how can we make sure different needs are met?
- Why do you think this story has gone viral? what does that show about people around the world and their attitudes towards difference and different needs?
- What can we learn from Erynn?
- what can we learn from the girl?
- why is this story about no outsiders?

No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the equality act in primary school by Andrew Moffat

Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: Preparing young children for life in modern Britain by Andrew Moffat