Citizenship in school: reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

1. "I started to notice that I didn't like the class I was taking called special education. I had to go through special ed. almost all my life. I wanted to take other classes that interest me. I had never felt so mad. I wanted to cry".

The quote made me feel bad. How can you make a child go to school everyday feeling like he wants to cry. Its like going to a job everyday that you HATE. That student and his teachers could have sat and asked him what he would like and what would make him feel happier in school. I think in this child's case special education did not benefit him. Instead it made his stress.

2. "Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have a full, rich life. The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities".

I liked to read the passages written by the person first hand.I think we have come a long way from when people with disabilities were put into institutions. People used to separate people with disabilities from non disabled people. I think that the words that were once used to describe people with disabilities, are over used by children and adults.Educators should step in when they hear children using the words like retard and dumb. Over the weekend I baptized my first goddaughter and one of the blessing the priest did on each child said "... let the blind see and the dumb speak..." I have never heard that before and was kinda shocked about it.

3. "She did not interpret Isaac's broad and impulsive motions, indecipherable chatter, and tendency to interrupt circle time with loud points of exclamation as manifestations of defectiveness. Instead, Shayne saw these behaviors as reflections of Isaac's joys in the drama of life and his desire to connect to his peers".

This is a teachers who takes the time to learn and get to know the child. She understands that some behaviors are uncontrollable and takes his interest into consideration. She took his favorite reading "Where the Wild Things are" and had the class put on a dramatic play with costumes and props. This activity included everyone in class.

I enjoyed this reading. I like when there are passages from real people, in real situations. Working with young children and people with disabilities. My first encounter with someone with a serious disability was in 4th grade. I was very interested in him and during all my spare time i spent it with him. I would help him with his school work and sit with him at lunch. We were good friends. Everyone wants to be created as an equal. You dont like when you feel left out and out of place, why make another person feel like that.