Kliewer- Citizenship in School:Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

I'm sorry I missed Seth and Tinas presentation. I heard it was very good.  Its been a very crazy 3 weeks; Ireland has been sick, babysitter took another vacation last minute forcing me to take several days off and one of my nieces cracked my computer screen.  I hoping to tread water until the holidays so I can catch up.  Thanks for reading. 

I found this poem by Digby Wolfe entitled Kids Who Are Different.
Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids who don't always get A's
The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers,
And noses that go on for days...

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy or dumb,
The kids who don't fit, with the guts and the grit,
Who dance to a different drum...

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievous streak,
For when they have grown, as history's shown,
It's their differences that makes them unique.

   I thought that was a great poem and truly epitomized some of the facts within the article.  I found the article by Kliewer to be very enlightening and disturbing.  One of the points I took issue with are the words used to describe these remarkable children/people.   Defective , Devalued, Abnormal, Uneducable.  I thought since the Americans with Disabilities Act, these archaic and oppressive terms were no longer used.  However I did agree with the connection between child and community.  A feeling of connectedness and self worth.  Why shouldn't every child have the opportunity to have this feeling and become  a part of something.  "Valued participation within the community is really a challenge of recognition posed to those who seek to exclude him".  How can society begin to erase the negative views and stereotypes of people with disabilities?  As long as the Culture of Power exists I'm not sure it can.  Most educated adults know the value of each person and can logically conclude that the majority of people within a society can contribute, one way or another.  "Those who appear to lack the potential to accrue privileges, are systematically devalued as less than full citizens-charged as they are with having the differences that matter"   Why don't we just refer to them as "less than human?  Less than full citizens.  I hope I never come across an individual who would refer to people with this disability as less than full citizens.  All people are capable, if they wish, of adding to society and from reading this article and being introduced to Mia, Shayne's students and John, its clear they have a lot to offer. 

   One of the pieces within the article that I agree with completely is the seven patterns for learning.  I think most teachers know that not all kids learn the same way or at the same speed.  Gardner suggests there are seven and possibly eight different forms of learning that exist and that students with this disability may fall into one of the categories.  " He has transformed the school notion of  intellect from a rigid, intrinsic commodity to a cultural construction widely shared by individuals traditionally devalued in the educational arena.  Hence he has made it that much harder for segregationists to support their logic of banishment when a child struggles in a rigid curriculum".  We as teachers have know for years that students possess many different forms of intelligence, now if society would catch on and learn to appreciate these different forms and acknowledge that just being book smart does not a great society make then we can begin the process of equality and move away form the thinking and acting that there are "defective" citizens.

   What struck me while reading this article is how the students were treated.  They were essentially being denied an education.  Mia was denied the classes she wanted and was forced to take special education classes that made her want to cry.  And Anne, who had been left out of her high school transition planning conference and was told her committee had decided that Anne would become a preschool aide.  Decided for her?  Sounds like a communist form of doing things. What struck me as ironic was that they(transition team) did not think she could function or do well working in the video rental store but they were going to have her become a teachers aide, helping to educate the future.  She can help foster the minds of preschool children but she cannot stock video shelves.  Everyone has dreams and aspirations, some are attainable and some are not, but let the individual choose their path and try it before you condemn them to a life of frustration and incompleteness. 

   A sense of belonging and feelings of contribution are a reoccurring theme with the author.  There needs to be feelings and actions of connectedness to your surroundings for one, especially one with a disability as mentioned in the article to feel like he or she belongs and has meaning.  Take that away and they will become less than full citzens.