Aug 21.

8/21/2025 7:16. Correspondence 6

An early one today. Today was very good, yet fairly mundane. I have no crazy stories or outrageous anecdotes. It mainly consisted of going to class. Great classes, but nothing too exciting. The only other thing I did today, other than homework, was go to this meeting that taught me how to use this wonderful note-taking software afforded to me from the disability office. It is truly incredible software that makes note-taking and studying a breeze, but all I could think about was "why is this not for everyone?". There was a lot of signage in the disability office about giving everyone equal opportunity to succeed, and I more than understand that. I would not be here today if I had not been afforded the accommodations I was given in high school. I succeeded because the few times we had paper essays or tests, I was allowed to type. Even then, though, why not allow everyone to type? We live in a digital world, full of constant technology. I can not imagine anyone needing to handwrite more than a few paragraphs at most. Same concept as note-taking. Professors allow digital note-taking and typing, so why not grant the next step to everyone and encourage the use of note-taking technology to aid everyone? People are here because they paid to be here. I could see an argument that a professor believes that you might retain a concept better if you take notes or whatnot. But to me, at that point, it's in a student's hands to thrive or sink. If someone is truly dedicated to learning and success, what difference does it make if they handwrite it, type it, or use note-taking software? No method even matters if said student doesn't take the time to actually study and learn the notes they wrote down.  Maybe there are other reasons and arguments as to why the technology is limited, but the way I see it is that they are putting a restriction on this software that could aid so many people, disability or not. I am again so truly thankful for the accommodations I've been provided with throughout my entire school career, but tell me how I, someone with dysgraphia and dyslexia, would use this differently or more ethically than someone who does not have a learning disability. I don't know. I'm rambling, and this is just my two cents. Who knows, maybe it would make a class unhelpfully easy for someone without a learning disability. In all honesty, I haven't even used it in a class yet, so maybe my opinions will change as my time here develops.

We shouldn't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. If someone invents a teleporter, though, should only creatures that can't climb use it? Or should everyone take it up? We're going to the same place after all. 

Be human and be kind, 

Calvin Landreth.