Talking Points #8 (Kliewer)

Citzenship in School:Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

Christopher Kliewer



Kliewer argues that community should represent real life and therefore encompass all aspects of a community, including children with Down Syndrome. The community "web" needs to include all types of people and exclusion of any people, for whatever reason, is wrong and injust. Also, Kliewer discusses the difficult path that lie in the path of social acceptance and that any and all modicatiosn necessary to create that social acceptance should be taken.



" '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 down the abarries for people with disabilities.' "

Even though this was not the author's own words, I still wanted to include it. I read it a few times and I don't know if I just couldn't shake the original thought from my head but I got a negative vibe from this quote. It mainly lies within the first sentence. When I read this, I get the feeling of discrimination, a type of "racism." To me, this sensentece sounds like the revelation of a white Southerner after the Civil Rights movmement. 'Oh, I guess African Americans aren't bad or unequal people.' To me, it sounds like this is the type of realization this sentence brings. I just personally don't like the wording of this sentence and it gives me a negative view of the subject.

" 'It's not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label. We're all here--kids, teachers, parents, whoever--it's about all of us working together, playinmg together, being together, and that's what learning is. Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail.' "

Once again, I know this quote is not Kliewer's own words, but it just stuck out to me so much, I had to include it. I really like this quote. I love the wording and how it is phrased. Disabilitiy aside, this is a great atmosphere to want to be in. However, when the disability aspect is added on, I know it makes me (as a future educator) thrilled that there are people in the worl who think this way. We are taught from the earliest of ages to "not judge a book by its cover" but yet we learn by demonstration. Therefore, when our teacher segregates and therefore labels a students in a classroom, it is merely natural for the students to follow because they do not know any better. It is the like the acitivty we did in class in regards to the Oakes article. We all did the worksheet and responded in manners that we have become accustomed to from our teachers over the past 13 years of pre secondary ed. Therefore hearing this teacher discuss the irrelevnace of any type of label and the collaboration of all involved in that child's life sort of "puts the hope" back in a teaching system that many have lost hope in. Also, I liked the last part with the "setting kids up to fail." More often than not, if someone labels you, especially with a disability, if you do not have a good support sysmte and good slef esteem, you can fall victim to becoming that label, which is the worst. I feel like this woman would strongly advocate for those who would fall into this label black whole and help students not fall in and get lost.

"School citizenship requires that students not be categorized and separated based on presumed defect. The phenomenon of categorization at the expense of indvidual value has been described as a "disability spread" in which we 'extrapolate the characteristics we associate with the notion of disability to the particular individuals we meet. These perceptions are often based on stereotypes and what we think we know about a particular disability. They are expressed in predictable way. For example, 'All people with Down Syndrome are happy.' ' "

I feel like part of this explains my VIPS experiance. There are two children who "have ADD" in the classroom and are therefore separated. I understand that children with attention disabilities are sometimes better suited to be sitting alone but one of the students is literally in the front corner and has to read the board or projector screen on an angle. That doesn't make sense! Regardless, it is wrong to stereotype someone or a group of people. I mean, I fight to not get considered a "typical college teen" because I don't consider myself in that category. And I think its horrible that because of a group of people others who may or may not consider themselves in that group get placed in it as well. But I mean, thats nothing in terms of being stereotyping with disability. Thats just wrong, professionally and as an individual.



Generally speaking, this article was interesting but lengthy, which presents problems in keeping my attention. I liked it however because my concentration is Special Education so this article brought up some thoughts from my Sped 300 class. I tryied to incoporate those ideas in my quotes and felt like I read this article differently because of my background in this course and in my sped course. I feel like if I read this article a few months ago, I might have had a differnet mindset and not have been so in tune with some of the ideas presented.