Real Talk Program Creates Discussion Around Serious Topics
November 3, 2025
In October, Middle School students gathered in The Schiff Center to listen to the first Real Talk topic of the 2025-26 school year: Visible and Invisible Challenges.
One by one, panelists comprised of faculty, Upper School students, and Middle School students, shared their experiences living with visible and invisible challenges.
“We chose ‘Visible and Invisible Challenges’ because it represents an essential, yet often overlooked, part of diversity.” Middle School science teacher and Real Talk co-creator Kristin Suer said. “By opening up this conversation, we hoped to break the silence around disability, promote empathy, and strengthen our commitment to the Middle School CARES principles of caring for ourselves, others, and our community.”
Prior to Real Talk, students had specially curated lessons during advisory to help them understand different ways a disability, allergy, or illness may materialize and impact someone’s life.
These lessons included:
- Watching “Hidden Disabilities,” which discussed how many disabilities are not visible to the naked eye.
- The “Can You Hear Me Now” exercise, where students listened to a computer simulation of what hearing loss might sound like.
- Asking students to brainstorm how a person in a wheelchair would navigate the Hillsdale Campus.
- Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discrimination based on disability is prohibited. The law requires that newly built or renovated public spaces provide accessible parking, elevators, and web content for individuals with hearing or visual impairments.
- The “Read My Lips” exercise, where students had to read lips and try to guess what their partner was saying.
- The “Food Allergy” exercise, where students sorted popular party snacks to determine if they were safe or unsafe to eat.
“Everyone has strengths and challenges — some visible, others not — but all are part of the diversity that strengthens our community. Disabilities are incredibly diverse and can appear in many ways,” Middle School world language teacher and Real Talk co-creator Jacky Kalubi said.
Kalubi said that while some are physical and easy to notice, others are invisible and harder to recognize.
“Even when a challenge isn’t seen, it can still make daily life more difficult,” Kalubi said. “No matter our abilities, we all belong to an inclusive school community that helps us better understand ourselves and one another.”
