Different examples of essays:

 

 

WHAT IF I WERE/HAD...

 

 

1) WHAT IF I HAD DIABETES... (by Mariarita, Maria, Emily, Eliza)

If I were diagnosed with Diabetes, I would be really shocked. It would probably  mean that my life changed forever and would never be the same anymore.  It would also mean that I could never eat and live like before.

 

If I had Diabetes, my life would be quite different. It would mean that I had a disease in which my high blood sugar levels needed to be controlled all the time. If I wanted to do sports, I would always have to check my blood sugar value with my device. The normal value would be between 80 and 180 on the device. If it were too high, I would have to decrease the blood sugar with my device; it is adding insulin to my body. It would open the cells so they can gather the sugar. If the blood sugar was too low, I would have to eat dextrose. I would always have to carry my bag with all the necessary things in it, like my devices, my diabetic pass, my blood glucose meters and my batteries. Maybe I would try to hide it from my friends and other people. If I had Diabetes, I would have to go to the doctor really often, at least once a year for a check-up.

 

In conclusion we want to say we have a lot of respect for these people who suffer from diabetes. We can’t imagine how hard and difficult life must be with that disorder.

 

 

 

2) WHAT IF I WERE HANDICAPPED ... (by Johanna Nier, Fernando Canten, Aurora Macchia and Jette Rose and it is based on a personal experience)

 

A handicap is a condition in which part of your body or mind has been permanently damaged or does not work normally. This word is now considered offensive by many people, who prefer the word disability.

 

Imagine you are a disabled child and you need to go to school. A handicap makes daily things nearly impossible or very difficult until you find a way to solve them. In Buxtehude there is an institution called counseling. If you have a disability and you need support you can go there.

 

If I were handicapped, a bus from the counseling would pick me up in the morning. We would go to the center because school starts at 8:00AM. The school day begins with normal school subjects like math or German lessons. There is just a small number of students in a class, so the teacher can focus on every single one.

Throughout the day, I can go to different therapy programs which can help me to succeed in my daily life.

 

One therapy is about movement to control my body. In the room you can find a trampoline and a swing.

We play many different games and do some exercise.

Another therapy helps me to control the movements in my face. During these 30 minutes people help me to brush my teeth or massage my face with a soft brush.

 

When the day was too stressful, I have the opportunity to go to a special room where I can calm down. I can lay on a waterbed and listen to different kind of sounds. I can choose between the different lighting which is really relaxing. In the afternoon either my parents pick me up or the bus takes me back home.

 

All in all the counseling is a place where the employees try to make a normal life possible for handicapped people.

After school they offer to work in a paper workshop or to produce fire starters. The disabled people will have a future and get well integrated. They have the possibility to work with a company which cooperates with the counseling.

 

 

3) WHAT IF I WERE HANDICAPPED.. (by Chiara, Christina, Neele; Nele)

 

 

We were trying a weelchair to feel how it is to live as  a handicapped person . We went to some classrooms, to some physic rooms and to the gym. The first problem was the small door in the gym because we did not know how to get trough it. We couldn’t imagine having this restrictions everyday. My life wouldn’t be as easy as it is now. I would be restricted for many things and couldn’t do what I want to do.

 

I would feel expelled from  society and like a sort  of  outsider. Moreover,  life in general would be very difficult because of  lots of obstacles in different places, like stairs, toilettes.... If everybody looked  at you, you would feel weird and unconfident.  A lot of people would have prejudices and I couldn’t live without the help of others. I would be always dependent on my friends or family. If I  did sports, I would be disadvantaged, for example: when you play basketball  you are smaller than anyone else and it is more difficult to throw the ball into the basket or even to another player, furthemore, the others can run faster than you.  Also,  if I were handicapped I couldn’t do sports,  go dancing or do gymnastics. There would be a lot of problems at school too. If I were handicapped, I couldn’t enter small places like toilets, and moreover you couldn’t go up the second floor or see the board from every desk in the classrooms.

 

We have a lot of respect for everyone who is sitting in a wheelchair. It must be very difficult to have the same life as a no handicapped person does. They must be very strong if they do their life even if it is much more difficult than ours.

 

 

 

 

 

4) WHAT IF I WERE HANDICAPPED... (by David & Carolin)

(Integration in elementary school)

 

 

 

If I were handicapped,  I would want to go to a school where I would be accepted and supported.  In the ‘’Grundschule Stieglitzweg ‘’  in Germany, there is a  special class for this.  On Tuesday,  we got to visit a fourth grade  and were introduced to what a regular school day of kids with mental disabilities looks like. 

 

There were five kids who needed extra support to learn. Two of them took part in a ''normal class'' and got help by supervisors  if they needed it. The other three kids were separated from the normal class. They were taught by two women, one of them took care and watched them, because they have a slow learning process and to improve their concentration level. The topic of the lesson was ‘Niedersachsen’. First they repeated what they did the last lesson and showed it on a map. When they talked about rivers, cities and mountains, they were asked personal things about that.

 

We noticed that they could follow the main teacher very well and they felt integrated .

 

About the kids: Two of them have down-syndrome, three have other disabiliies and one has social problems. After a few minutes,  we realized that each of them has their own personality and their strengths. Some of them were really self-confident, some of them were naughty and had their own opinion which they wanted to push through. Like kids without handicaps!

 

After the geography lesson, we went to the library. The supervisors read books for them. First, we did not know what to do, but then one of the boys with down-syndrome came and asked one of us to read something for him. He listened carefully and viewd the pictures with great enthusiasm. When we finished the book, he told us about his math skills and counted the people in the room.

 

At the end of this exciting day, we knew a lot more about integration of disabled people in elementary school. We learned that they have a slow learning process and that they need special help, but we also realized that besides their disability, they are normal kids finding out what they are good at.

 

 

 

5) WHAT IF I HAD RHEUMATISM...

(by Raffaele Caten, Alicia Garcia, Jana Puerto and Jule Hauff )

 

 

Which parts of the body are affected by rheumatism ?

 

 

 

1. shoulders

 

2. elbows

 

3. hands

4. fingers

 

5. hip

 

 

6. knees

 

 

 

7. hocks

 

8. toes

 

 

6) IF I HAD RHEUMATISM..(comic by Cristian, Melina, Jule and Mirian)

 

 

 

7) WHAT IF I WERE BLIND...

 

 

BLINDNESS

The official definition of blindness in the Oxford dictionary is: The state or condition of being unable to see because of injury, disease, or a congenital condition. Being blind, for you to understand, is a disability, and people that have it can’t see anything. Their daily life is more difficult than ours and they need to be helped all the time.

 

 

IF I WERE A BLIND PERSON…

My life would be very different. I would be always dependent of somebody and I would need a guide dog. I would have my other senses a lot more developed and I would guide myself by smelling, hearing, touching and tasting things. And I will always carry my cane with me!

 

I’d feel scared to go outside because I wouldn’t be able to see if a car or a bike is coming, or if the traffic lights are green or red. I’d feel insecure because I wouldn’t know if I’m walking the right way or I’m going to trip on something. When I meet new people I’d have to touch their face or hands to recognize them or just listen to their voices.

 

My daily routine would be more complex because someone would have to prepare my clothes and help me going to the bathroom. When I have to go to school by train or any public transport, I would have to be accompanied by somebody. In school, I would have to have special books that are written in braille and when the teacher writes something in the board, somebody would have to tell me what he wrote. Also, when I have to go to a restaurant or a bar, I wouldn’t be able to see the food or, when I have to pay someone would have to help me, or where do I sit. Somebody would have to cook for me because if I do it I could burn myself. If someone knocked on the door of my house, I wouldn’t know who it is.

 

In conclusion, I think it would be hard to be blind because I would always need somebody’s help for most of the thing that, seeing, I can do on my own. I would be able to hear more than the rest of the people. I think I would get used to walk around in familiar places because I would recognize the objects that are around me and the place where they are.

 

By: Marta and Henedina

 

 

 

 

8) WHAT IF I WERE BLIND?

(Explaining our experience visiting "DIALOGUE IN THE DARK" in Hamburg)

 

 

 If I were blind, it would be hard at the beginning, but after a lot of training, it would get easier and easier to look around. To understand the Blindness we went to a center where the people work this type of handicap.

First,  we went through a park with plants, water, a lot of grass and the way was out of gravel. We had to get over the water twice so we had to pass over two bridges. The second bridge moved a bit.

 

Then there was a kitchen and the living room with a sofa, some chairs and a table.

There was a TV,  too. In the house it was a bit harder to look around, because there were many chairs. After you found something with the stick, you had to recognise what this object was.

 

After that, we went to the city center.

To get to the market,  we had to cross a street, but when the traffic light was green and we heard the sound.

In the supermarket, we were able to touch and smell some fruits.

When we went out, we needed to go upstairs and on our left we touched a car. Then, the man told us about the ship and we went into it.

We were moving and it seemed that it wasn´t false. They asked us about the ship and we said that we were in the same place all the time.

 

Later, we went to a sofa to listen some relaxing music. Some of us were about to fall asleep.

The last place we visited was a  bar, and if we wanted to, we could buy some drinks or food. For example,  Melina and Laurent bought something, and other people didn't.

Before we went outside, all of us were sitting in the chairs and we were asking questions to the man who guided the tour, but not many people asked him questions.

At the end, we came back slowly to the light.

The experience was amazing, because we learnt a lot of new things and how these people feel and move around in the world.