Individuals Rights to Education

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome by Christopher Kliewer

Argument:
Kliewer argues that children with disabilities, specifically with Down Syndrome, should be included in classroom activities.

Quotes:

• "(Douglas Bilken) and fellow educators have substantiated this vision with detailed accounts of actual educational arenas where all students are welcomed, no voice is silenced, and children come to realize their own self-worth through unconditional acceptance of one another."

This quote means that schools should be viewed as a community, where everyone is connected and welcomed. No one should be judged. The children who are labeled with disabilities should not be silenced, which means including them in group work, lunchtime, and recess. They are children, after all, they should be interacting with children.

• "Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail."

Shayne, a teacher mentioned in this article, believes that children do not come to school to be labeled. School is about working and learning together. She values human reciprocity, where individuals are given an opportunity to participate in the community/school. Shayne wants a classroom where no child fails, whether it be a child with or without a disability.

• "So what...if you don't fit exactly what you're supposed to? You know, it's not like I fit many people's idea of what a teacher's supposed to be like."

Shayne analyzes a student who will not conform to society's expectations. Society believes that this child is "defective". Shayne is trying to show that nonconformity is a child's right to being human. Not everyone is going to fit every one's expectations--it is impossible!

Comments:

Students who are labeled with a behavioral or emotional disorder are generally placed in a self-contained classroom. They are hidden from their peers without these labels. I think every student should be able to play with other students. Self contained classrooms avoid socialization, which is one of the main reasons to be in school. I do believe in resource for students because every student deserves individual attention for academic purposes. But, with only 6 or so hours in the school day, that is impossible to achieve. Not every student will receive an IEP.

I think that teachers should accept each student as they are. Maybe at the beginning of the school year, the teacher could meet with the parent and the student outside of the classroom. This way each student will learn the best way they know how. :)