To Value Another is to Recognize Diversity is the Norm

            Chapter 4 of Christopher Kliewer’s book “Schooling Children with Down Syndrome” presented an argument that challenged society’s general outlook on students with disabilities in the classroom.  The title of the chapter is “Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome,” which fairly summarizes what Kliewer is attempting to explain in the chapter.  By the end, his evidence suggests he has a good point, although the road to this type of citizenship is going to be a long one, due to the rigidity of society's beliefs on special education students.

Kliewer writes “Communication is built on one’s ability to deeply listen to others (73).”  This quote speaks to an over-looked part of society.  It seems like people in general like to talk more than they like to listen.  Look at Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and all the social networking sites.  People love to hear themselves talk!  Listening skills are an underrated part of society and are especially neglected when dealing with disabled students.

Kliewer points out that, while handicapped students have trouble communicating, if you listen in the correct fashion you will be able to make some sense of their attempts.  It takes patience and I think the point he is trying to make is we, as teachers, need to be aware that some students speak differently and we need to listen to these students differently. 

            This point is shown when Kliewer writes about Shayne, a teacher who has six students with disabilities in a class of 16.  Each student has a unique way at looking the world and Shayne’s teaching reflects this. “Throughout the classroom activities, Shayne maintained a focus on individual goals for each child… She and her co-workers met several times a week before and after school, often until late into the afternoon or evening, discussing each child’s classroom experiences and maintaining general portfolios on demonstrated skills and areas of concern” (77).  I suppose this is example makes a strong case for smaller class sizes in education.  I cannot imagine doing this for my 25-plus classes, yet if I did have a smaller class size I think working with disabled students would be easier.

             My classroom is next to the special education department at my school and I see the students with severe disabilities every day.  When Kliewer writes about students with different types of intelligences and capacities, it reminded me of my mainstream students who help the special education students as part of the “Best Friends” program.  This program allows many students who struggle in the classroom to display other skill sets.  When Kliewer discusses Gardner’s important skills and capacities, I couldn’t help but think of these students who aren’t strong at logical-mathematical or linguistic thinking but have strong interpersonal skills.  I’m always impressed by their sensitivity to the special education students.  It’s like watching a switch go off in their faces when they greet these students.

             Christine, the student Kliewer describes as a person with Down syndrome who was quite successful in the mainstream classrooms, stunned me.  I was surprised that no only was she aware of her disability; she even discusses it in a newspaper article.  She argues against the administration not allowing a student to enroll in the school because the student had cerebral palsy.  This example truly made me think of special education students with a different perspective. 

              The last part that struck me was the example of the handicapped student who moved from North Hollywood to Mendocino, in California.  In North Hollywood, the student wasn’t treated well.  In Mendocino, the student suddenly met people who acted like he was a meaningful part of society.  I was disappointed Kliewer didn’t investigate what factors may have played into this change in attitude toward the student.  

              I did a little research into the demographics of the towns and found that both towns have the same median income for families at $42,000 a year.  There wasn’t a class difference that I could see.  I looked further into the demographics, and the only major difference I could find was that in North Hollywood the Latino population was in the majority (57%) and in Mendocino white people were in the majority (76.5%).  I don’t know if there’s any correlation there, and I’m not trying to suggest Latinos are less tolerant of students with special needs, but I do find this a curious difference.  Are special education students taboo in Latino culture?  I wish Kleiwer had explored it more – the why this may have happened. 

            In conclusion, Kleiwer quotes a teacher, Colleen, who I think puts the whole piece into great perspective.  The dominant discourse on special needs students is pretty narrow-minded, if you really think about it, and we need to adjust as a society and a community in order to improve: “According to Colleen, suggesting that Lee’s intellect precluded his right to belong simply meant that you were describing a child she did not know.  You were proposing the existence of a mythological creature, an illusion constructed in a rigid mind that could not see past the presumption of defect into the smile of a little boy who defiantly demanded a handshake from his teacher at each morning’s ‘greeting time,’ just like all other little boys in his second-grade class… (84)”