Friday, November 21, 2014

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

I do not believe that students with disabilities should be secluded from their peers in the classroom. Not only does it promote prejudice and discrimination towards those with the disability, but it does not allow for social growth. This makes the isolation detrimental to everyone, where the children in isolation do not get the ability to be social with their peers and work with them on a one-to-one level, and those not in isolation may become intolerant and mean to their classmates because they are not aware of who they are past their disability. I remember when I was in high school and worked in a school where one classroom was specifically for kids with Autism. The severity of these kids ranged from mild to very severe, but they were with the same group every day all day for three years. This was because the school did not have more than one special education classroom, but also did not support inclusion. Yes, some of the kids in this class would not have done well in an inclusion classroom, but the kids that were very mild in severity would have done just as well as their peers. In that classroom there was no ability to socialize or make friends with kids outside the classroom. The students were not allowed to leave at all and if they could it was in a group when classes were not changing and other kids were not in the hallway. It did not help that these kids were already in the basement of the school, but the fact that they were held in the room all day and could not see anyone that was not staff outside the staff angered me. They even had their lunch brought to them because to avoid having the kids go to the cafeteria. While I was in the situation I did not think anything of it, but 3 years later it infuriates me. I wish those kids could have some time socializing with other kids their age and make friends outside the classroom. I also wish their teachers had faith in them to do so.

This topic was another one that struck me: viewing the person past their disability. I feel that tolerance has grown dramatically with time, but there are some that still see the disability and not the person. This is the whole reason we now say "a person with disabilities" rather than "a disabled person." A person with disabilities is so much more than their disability and can sometimes accomplish things able-bodied people cannot do. This is mostly why I believe it is important to have inclusion classrooms, because as the teachers in the article explained, these students added so much more to the class. They allowed for more creativity and excitement during lessons and one even stated that their class would not be where they were at that time without the child with disabilities. The students saw them as a their friend rather than anything else and knew that they were fully capable to anything they wanted.

Yes, it can be difficult for some, but this is why some teachers are specialized in special education and are informed on the multiple ways in which students with disabilities can be included within each lesson without feeling like they are not good enough or an outcast. For example in the article, the teacher who focused on Where the Wild Things Are allowed the students to act out things and become creative during the lesson. This included her student who could not contain their excitement and began acting out the story in the middle of reading it. This way, they did not feel like they were different than their peers. Another example could be giving the class pencil grips at the beginning of the year because there is one student who is unable to have a firm grip because of their disability. This way, the entire class has the pencil grip and sees it as a gift from the teacher rather than a necessity to use. Looking back on my own class in elementary school, I had no idea that any of them had a disability at the time, but now I can tell the signs of which ones did. This is very similar to my service learning classroom, where I can tell which kids have a disability of some sort, but their peers have no idea. I like the idea of including children with disabilities into the classroom, because it leads to positive growth all around.


While I was reading this text, I could not help but think about this documentary I watched on Netflix called Monica and David. It tells the story of two adults with Down Syndrome and their pursuit to live a normal life together. The documentary highlights the struggles that they have, but it also shows their determination and passion for living a life that is not concerned with their disability but revolves around their love for each other. I absolutely loved it and thought that it was worth watching for anyone that is interested in documentaries, but also anyone who is looking into the field of Special Education. Here is the trailer.



4 comments:

  1. I agree with you that a person is so much more than their labeled disability.

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  2. i do have to agree that people's tolerance have grown with time

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  3. Not only are self-contained classrooms ineffective they are also against the law. I think integrating students of all levels of intellectual functioning together fosters social as well as academic growth. Love the image you used !

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  4. I really agree with this quote, "This makes the isolation detrimental to everyone, where the children in isolation do not get the ability to be social with their peers and work with them on a one-to-one level, and those not in isolation may become intolerant and mean to their classmates because they are not aware of who they are past their disability". I had a similar experience in high school with the students with disabilities being so severely segregated. The world would be so much better all around if more people were able to look past disabilities and see people for who they really are.

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