Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome -Christopher Kliewer

• Segregated
• Argument
• Denied
• Development
• Skills
• Judgement
• Disabilities
• Control

Christopher Kliewer argues that students with disabilities should be educated with all students of different learning abilities. They should be given the chance to learn in a mainstream learning environment because here every student would be able to grow, develop, and learn from one another; in a different way from the students who are on the same level.

1. “Society itself is hurt when schools act as cultural sorting machines—locations that justify a competitive ethic that marginalizes certain students or groups of students…"
2. “The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities."
3. "Success in life requires an ability to form relationships with others who make up the web of community."

I think it is really interesting that Kliewer raises such points. Before reading this article I felt as if children with special needs should be placed in a different learning environment. Not to segregate these children, but to be able to nurture them and give them additional attention or teach these students in a different way that they need to be taught. I always believed their was a specific teaching method for educating students with disabilities. Schooling Children With Down Syndrome reminded me of Jeannie Oakes piece on tracking. Both authors are suggesting mainstream classrooms should be mixed with different students including different learning abilities and mentality levels. By doing this, each student will benefit from one another allowing all levels to learn something new.