Title and Author:
Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome- Christopher Kliewer

Argument:
Kliewer argues that children with down syndrome should not be "segragated from the opportunities afforded [to] nondisabled peers." That everyone in your community should be included and feel well represented, seen for who they are, instead of not involving them. This web of community can not happen if people aren't open and accepting of others.

Quotes:
"How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability or who are unwillingly providing us with support or who don't listen to the voices we have."
This quote popped out to me because 1- it explains, first hand, how a child with disabilities really feels, and 2- it makes all of those people who have unwillingly provided their support and judged them realize that these children do know whats fake and whats not and what is going on around them. Having a disability does not mean you don't/ can't comprehend what is taking place around you. These children still have emotions and opinions. I will admit that when I was younger I would joke about children with disabilities to my friends. I figured if they were doing it I should too. I was so wrong.....doing what I did not only made me feel like a jerk, but proved that who I hung out with was not the people I wanted to be friends with anymore. How could I judge or make fun of someone when I had no idea what they were going through...what their day-to-day stuggles were when I had not one.This was a turning point for me because I knew from way back that I wanted to teach children with disabilities, so what kind of teacher would I be, really, if I made fun of my peers with them? Durning middle school one of my close friends had Down Syndrome and she did not need people unwillingly helping her. She was one of the smartest people I have ever met in my life. I now look up to people with disabilities because they are some of the strongest people you will ever meet.

"'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.'"
This quote really amazed me. Not only did it send a good message, but this teacher is speaking from her heart. She understands what she has to do in her classroom to ensure that everyone is learning and will not have people tell her otherwise. This quote reminds me of my service learning because the teacher I am with had a classroom that had what she called "typicals" mixed with children with disabilities. She had told me that it was her best class in a long time. She had said that the autistic children who had begun the year with few words were ending the year reading stories to her and this was because the "typicals" would help them as well. She told me that the autistic children would mimic what the others were doing, which helped with their fine motor skills as well as their language. This year, her classroom is not separated and it is harder for the children to latch on to what she is doing because there are no examples. I believe all children have the ability to learn and teachers should not be put down or told that what they are attempting is far out of reach. Anything is possible. Children are children no matter what they can and can not do.


"Along with recognizing an individual's ability to think, Bogdan and Tatlor (1989) suggest that respect and citizenship require a realization of the person's indviduality. This is as true in school relationships asit is in our community relationships."

"School citizenship requires that students not be categorized and separated based on presumed defect. The phenomenon of categorization at the expense of individual value has been described as a "disibility 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 disibility. They are expressed in predictable ways. For example, 'All people with Down Syndrome are happy." (Van Der Klift & Kunc, 1994,p. 398.)"
It is soooo common to have stereotypes such as the one in the quote. People don't understand that whether it is a nice stereotype or a mean stereotype it's still a stereotype and it may not be true at all. This quote got me fired up, so I researched some stereotypes:
MYTH: A person with a disability is sick, or has something wrong with them.

FACT: Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it is not the same as being sick. Individuals with disabilities have varying degrees of need, and are sometimes sick, just as non-disabled are sometimes sick. Mistaking a disability for sickness not only fails to sometimes sick. Mistaking a disability for sickness not only fails to respond to a person's needs, it perpetuates a negative stereotype and an assumption that the person can and should be cured.

MYTH: People with disabilities have a poor quality of life.

FACT: This is one of the most common and damaging stereotypes, because it discourages social interactions and the development of mature relationships. People with disabilities have needs just like those who are non-disabled, and they strive for a high degree of quality of life as other individuals. Society handicaps individuals by building inaccessible schools, theaters, homes, buses, etc. The attitude that disability is a bad thing and that disability means a poor quality of life is often viewed as more disabling than the disability itself.

MYTH: People with disabilities are inspirational, brave, and courageous for living successfully with their disability.

FACT: A person with a disability a simply carrying out normal activities of living when they drive to work, go shopping, pay their bills, or compete in athletic events. Access to community based, long term service such as attendant care, access to buildings, public transportation, sidewalks, etc, access to quality health care, and necessary equipment enables them to carry on the same as non-disabled necessary equipment enables them to carry on the same as non-disabled people.

MYTH: People with disability always need expensive and high-tech assistive devices or services.

FACT: Simple inexpensive devices are often the most critical in helping people with a disability live independently. Assistive devices can be as affordable as an eating utensil or Velcro strap.

MYTH: People with severe disabilities need to live in nursing home or rehabilitation hospitals or under constant supervision so that they do not hurt themselves.

FACT: Unfortunately, this myth has created a system of long term care in our nation that relies on institutions such as nursing homes and other facilities. Even those with the most severe disabilities could live in their own home given adequate community based service, and at the very least, they should be given that choice.
(The Access Center)

Others say Autism coincides with being a genius.

This is something I found really interesting from the http://whatsortsofpeople.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/saturday-night-live-snl-parody-of-lennon-sisters-mocking-disabled-people/ website. Check it out.
Saturday Night Live (SNL) parody of Lennon sisters mocking disabled people
October 15, 2008 — stremain
A discussion on the Disability Studies in the Humanities listserv has centred around a skit recently performed on this American-produced late-night variety show. While SNL prides itself on being an alternative to mainstream television which pushes the limits of conventional cultural attitudes and mores, the skit serves to bolster deeply-entrenched biases, stereotypes, and ideas about disabled people (and disabled women in particular) as revolting, sexually disqualified, and so on. Check it out at the link below (uncaptioned of course):

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/the-lawrence-welk-show/727501/



Questions, Comments:

I'vesaid way too much already, for me to talk here would be babbling. =]