Kliewer: "Citizenship in School:Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" Connections

 I found this article to be very similar to the last one we read about tracking. Kliewer writes in his article about making students with down syndrome or other disabilities feel like they are just as equal as the other nondisabled students in the school. He mentions that students with disabilities should be able to be in the same classroom as nondisabled students and not in special education classes. He says this because he thinks that students in special education classes are denied certain classes and activities that a student with down syndrome might want to take because they are considered disabled and put into a special education class it limits what they can and cannot do even if they are capable of certain things they might be denied. This is similar to tracking because the school is seperating children into different classrooms due to their ability in school. For instance, students who are really smart are put into a different classroom than students who might have more difficulty learning than others. Just like the students with down syndrome are put into special education classes instead of a class with nondisabled students. I think that if we all want everyone to feel equal or all have a fair opportunity in school then no matter what abilities or disabilities you have in school you should be able to participate in certain activities in school. I think children in special needs classrooms sometimes are missing out on things in school when they could be experiencing school to the fullest if they are capable of doing so.

I also think this article is similar to the article by Dennis Carlson called, "Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community." This article is about treating people the same and not using a persons sexuality or race against them in an Educational setting. Just like Kliewers article this article is another way of sterotyping people because of the way they look or what they choose to like or dislike. Many nondisability students end up making fun of or sterotyping students with disabilities because they are limited in certain areas of learning or do different acts because of their disabliltiy that they might not be able to control. The truth about all of this I think is that no one knows what its like to be gay, a person of a different raise, or have a disability until they walk in that persons shoes. Just as Kliewer says, "How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability..." This is true for not just people with disabilitys but also people of different raises and also homosexuals. The connection between these two articles is that there are so many stereotypes today in the world and we are trying to find ways to get rid of the sterotypeing and have more acceptance and support for people of all kinds.

In class I hope to discuss more about chilren with disabilities and what it might like to be like them because like Kliewer says some of us do not know what it really is like because we do not have disabilities. I also hope to discuss ways that we can help to try to get rid of sterotyping.