Talking Points #9

"I started to notice that I didn't like the classes I was taking called special education. I had to go through special ed. almost all my life. I wanted to take other classes that interested me. I had never felt so mad, 1 wanted to cry. (Peterson, 1994, p. 6)"

This was a really eye-opening quote. I had never thought that a student with a disability could be told that they HAD to be in a special ed class, and that they couldn't take a class that interested them. It seems really unfair that these students do not have the same opportunities that their other classmates have.

"I don't tend to see Down syndrome as something. If you look at those three kids running around the room, they're incredibly different from each other. They're different in terms of what their bodies are like, how they best communicate, what they're like socially, their interests. And with those three kids in the room it would be hard to say, "This is how you should teach kids with
Down syndrome." They are not at all alike."

This quote is important because it reminds the reader that a disability does not define a child. There is always more to a student, and it is up to the teacher to recognize and unlock the potential in every one of their students. There should be absolutely no exceptions to this.

"Christine's communication skills also improved dramatically. Her teachers suggested that Christine's enhanced speech was a product of the necessity of engaging in conversations and also reflected, interestingly, her participation on the cheerleading squad."

Towards the end of the article, the reader hears a story about Christine, a girl with Down's Syndrome entering high school. She was put into "regular" classes like any other student, and was very successful in them. Her fine and gross motor skills improved, and I think this is a great example of how separating special needs students from their peers can often have the opposite outcome than what was intended.