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Driving ambition Determination, VESID help quadriplegic enter the classroom
May 11, 2006 John Meurs in his South Colonie classroom. After a car accident at the age of 16 left John Meurs a quadriplegic, it would have been easy for him to give up. But a determination to succeed, peppered with stubbornness, helped Meurs achieve his dreams. "It was eight days into my 11th grade year of high school," recalled Meurs. "I was riding in the back seat and not wearing a seat belt. I never really gave it a second thought." A reckless accident left Meurs without the use of his hands and legs. After the crash, Meurs had to finish the rest of the school year in the hospital. "I was 16, paralyzed and very angry, but failure wasn't an option for my parents," said Meurs, who now teaches eighth-grade social studies at Lisha Kill Middle School in Colonie. He finished his senior year and — with help from the State Education Department's Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities —Meurs enrolled at the State University of New York at Albany. "VESID kept me on track throughout college and also assisted me financially," Meurs said. New York State United Teachers and VESID have been in partnership for more than a decade, encouraging people with disabilities to consider education as a career. "With well over half a million members, NYSUT has a very visible role in the schools," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "Our members with disabilities serve as role models for students and the community." After a few setbacks, Meurs graduated with honors. But getting a full-time teaching position proved more difficult. "It was a nightmare," said Meurs. "I interviewed at a couple of places and didn't get the job for a number of reasons." When his hunt for a teaching position hit a dead end, Meurs found a job in the private sector working for a brain and spinal cord injury prevention program — but he was never too far from the classroom. "We traveled to school health classes all over and talked to about 10,000 students a year," he said. Meurs was also substitute-teaching to earn classroom experience for his certification. "Finally, I decided I wanted to use my teaching degree," Meurs said. He quit all of his jobs and found a one-year replacement position at the same school where he had completed his student-teaching seven years earlier. In 2000, he was hired to a full-time teaching position at Lisha Kill in the Albany suburb of Colonie. "I love what I do every single day. It's an outstanding profession," said Meurs, who is a member of the South Colonie Teachers Association, led by Joe Botta. Meurs runs his classes — where students regularly have open discussions about politics and history — with the four D's: dialogue, discourse, debate and discussion. "For eighth-graders, their biggest sentence is: 'That's not fair.' It's a question of perspective," said the man who became paralyzed when he was only a few years older than his current students. "I'm very realistic with them. I want them to know and seek the truth for themselves." Every situation can be a learning experience, he noted. "I've made huge mistakes. I'm paralyzed because I made a bad choice," Meurs said. "Let's get beyond the bad choice, learn from the mistake, and not make excuses. I have a great life, and there are many incredible people who have helped me attain this, including the VESID program." — Clarisse Butler Banks |
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