David M Perry

Freelance Journalist and History Professor

United States of America

Disability Rights, TV/Movies, Higher Education, Food, Parenting, and more.

Bylines include: CNN.com, Al Jazeera America, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Nation, Vice.com, Salon, Pacific Standard Magazine, and USA Today.

Portfolio
CNN
Opinion: How sex stereotypes harm girls - CNN.com

When the rocket scientist Yvonne Brill died in March, The New York Times celebrated her as the maker of a "mean beef stroganoff" and "the world's best mother." When my 4-year-old daughter, Ellie, a wildly creative and interesting girl, finished a year of preschool last week, her teachers gave her an award for being the best dressed.

Aljazeera
08/15/2014
OPINION: Ferguson and the cult of compliance

The protests in Ferguson, Missouri, set off by a policeman's shooting of an unarmed black teen last week, appear to be spinning out of control - not because crowds are rioting nightly but because law enforcement is operating as though they are in a war zone.

Medium
12/17/2015
When Teachers Abuse Disabled Children - Pacific Standard

by David M Perry Every morning, I watch my son fail to comply with the rules. He's a nine-year-old boy with Down syndrome and he rarely conforms to expectations. He's not great at standing in line, so he either charges ahead to be first onto the bus (then lingers once inside, blocking everyone), or else waits until everyone else has boarded, and then has to be urged up the stairs.

The Chronicle of Higher Education
03/17/2014
Faculty Members Are Not Cashiers

Advice Why the 'customer service' lingo in academe is bad for students This month Texas A&M University at Kingsville posted a new job ad for a faculty member in early-modern/Renaissance literature. The first line of the "job summary" reads, in all capital letters: "PROVIDE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE."

Yahoo
03/17/2015
'Daddy, What's Down Syndrome?' Explaining My Son's Diagnosis to His Sister

Nico (who has Down syndrome) with his little sister Ellie. A few weeks ago, though, Ellie asked me the one question I've been preparing for since before she was born, but was still not ready to answer: "Daddy, what is Down syndrome?" Ellie's 8-year-old brother Nico has Down syndrome.

Motherlode Blog
01/12/2015
Harsh Critics in Public Spaces, Judging Only What They See

The last time it happened was in the grocery store. A scowling woman closed in on me and my son, Nico, in the produce section. Glaring, she waved at my son's face and said, "His nose!" And then she mimed wiping with furious gestures. I sighed and pulled a tissue from my pocket.

The Atlantic
07/11/2013
Destabilizing the Jenny McCarthy Public-Health Industrial Complex

Giving the anti-vaccine advocate a platform is dangerous. Please consider disabling it for our site, or supporting our work in one of these ways Subscribe Now > Last week, the state Supreme Court of Wisconsin upheld the reckless homicide convictions of Dale and Leilani Neumann. Their daughter, Madeline, had diabetes, a 99.8 percent treatable condition.

Washington Post
06/11/2015
What our kids are learning when adults aren't inclusive

"Nico will get to participate as an audience member." With those words, the teacher explained why my son, a second-grader with Down syndrome, wouldn't be part of the end of the year performances. These were just little informal plays that emerged from reading groups, groups in which my son was supposed to be included.