CitizenShip in School : Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

1. "Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have full, rich life. The challenging is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities."

You know when we talk about the American Society, Johnson summed it up with why can't we all get along. We are suppose to be the most capable species yet we can't along with each other. Again this ties in to another reading like this one because once again we don't respect one another. It's truly sad to read a story like this and learn about how people with disabilities are so easily down graded. And the unfortunate part is it's so true!! Think about it, have you ever thought that a person with disabilities was as intelligent as a person without disabilities at first sight? I know that answer is no. People are so bias it's not even funny. This huge challenge that lies ahead of us can be overcome but our mindset needs to change in a hurry or it's just going to get worse. We need to finally realize that everyone is equal no matter what shape, size, or disability they have. Students with disabilities need to be let to take regular classes if they please and not be segregated unless it's asked for. Change is a necessity.

2. "To value another is to recognize diversity as the norm. It establishes the equal worth of all school children, a sense that we all benefit from each other, and the fundamental right of every student to belong."

This quote above, might be one of the best quotes I've read all year. It's so true when it states that to value another is to recognize diversity as the norm. When we value another human being instead of nit-picking at whats different about every specific one then we have finally accepted diversity. Unfortunately I don't see this happening anytime soon in our society. People always have something bad to say about one another especially on a racial level. The fundamentals of acceptance begin at the elementary level and that's where good habits need to be enforced and developed. Like the quote states, every student has a right to belong. America is a free country and instead of making people change their culture for us, we should adapt to theirs. That's when we become better people and a better country. Diversity has been a huge issue for a long time and it's time to end it.

3." We will not recognize the diverse contributions of those who wear obscuring labels until we move our focus from the disability and look for the complexity and individually we take for granted in ourselves."

This excerpt is crucial for the mind set we need to have as humans. Instead of judging people at first sight or putting labels on people we need to see who they really are. Equality is the key for acceptance in society, but hey that's just my opinion. I feel that this article really presents a huge issue in educational settings because students don't really accept others with disabilities without mocking them. It's sad to witness, but it happens everywhere. It comes back to not segregating students in classroom either because the more they work with one another they more comfortable they will get. With this their acceptance level will go up and it'll be a good starting point in their lives on accepting all kinds of people. Who knows maybe this change will influence the stubborn adults that refuse too.

Overall, this article was really interesting and it brought up a new side to diversity. Diversity isn't just an ethnic war its a disability one as well. When you first read the story at the beginning of the story it's really an eye opener. I don't think some people realize how crude they are until they look back on it. I agree 100% that we should start to slowly integrate students with disabilities into a regular classroom, especially when they want too. Normality is the key comfortability and acceptance by others. If certain people are treated differently than others than that raises eyebrows that they are different or weird. This was a very good read and I look forward to influence a normal classroom with lots of diversity as an up and coming educator. Fight for equality!!