Talking Points #8

Citizenship in School:
Reconceptualizing Down syndrome
Christopher Kliewer


Kliewer argues that educators, parents and all citizens of the community’s stereotypes and misconceptions that people with disabilities are unable to learn, function, and communicate in the community are creating segregated schools for these children leaving them as an invisible, and unimportant contribution to society. Kliewer argues that students with disabilities are not all alike, every student is different in his or her own way and that by sorting students by ability and behavior, students of higher academic ability are privileged.

1) 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.

I believe that through this quote, Kliewer is trying to open readers minds to understand the judgments they are making. People make judgments by appearance or abilities without knowing anything about the person. We are denying their voices and abilities. The truth is that students with disabilities can learn, there a normal student just like any other student they may do better in one subject or another or have different interests. We know nothing about their disability, if we’ve never experienced one how can we know how they truly feel. We don’t know anything about who they truly are.

2) Those who appear not to make use of these conditions or who appear to lack the potential to accrue privileges are systematically devalued as less than full citizens and charged as they are with having differences that matter.

As educators we must understand that all children are different. Each child has different needs whether it’s between visual learning and active learning. They each have different abilities. However Kliewer argues that students with disabilities differences aren’t viewed as normal differences that can be dealt with in a “normal” ability classroom. They automatically “charged” with differences that matter he says. I agree with Kliewer I feel as if many people blame students, leave them out of the group, there differences seem to be troubling to teachers and they try to find ways to deal with them. They have low expectations of these students and are setting them up to fail by not guiding them, pushing them to do better, and instead of attempting or letting them do what they can. Educators are showing these students what they can’t do. For example, communicate or be in a classroom with the other students, they are separated and put apart. They cannot take other classes that interest them such as Mia Peterson described they need to be in special education because there “differences” matter so much that they cannot be mixed with the dominant society. These students are not the same; they are all different every student needs different attention and instruction. These ideas are far but true. Kliewer sets out to address these beliefs and erase them.

3) School Citizenship requires that students not be categorized and separated based on presumed defect [..] School citizenship rejects the idea of a gap between normality and Down syndrome.

The idea of school citizenship is the idea that Kliewer supports and is trying to suggest for schools. Kliewer believes that for students to be successful they need to be considered a part of society and not “others.” They need to be able to make connections and be able to function around others and build language skills. Unfortunately in many school systems students of disabilities are separated because of there differences. Many educators believe they need the attention, they cannot live up to the expectations and work on the same level as other students but the truth is have they ever been given the chance? Are they just being set up to fail in the world? They cannot live in this bubble their whole lives.

I thought this article was very easy to read. It was easy for me to make notes in the margins. I agreed with Kliewer I had not read much about students with disabilities or special education. The article actually inspired me to become a special education teacher. I am not completely sure but it definitely made me consider it. I have always looked at special education as a more difficult task something I was not sure that I was ready for. It hasn’t been something I had wanted to do. I think I have just been drilled with the fact that it’s more difficult to teach students with disabilities then students who are not. It’s not that I believe that students with disabilities cannot learn, however I believe that they are all different and I do think that some students disability or not need special attention. Some students need to have the guidance and if there are twenty to thirty students in the classroom the students will not be getting the individual attention that they need. I do not believe in isolating the students from others but maybe bringing another teacher into the classroom so the student and the other teacher can have some assistance?

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Talking Points #7

"One More River to Cross"
Charles Lawerence

1."Segregation violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment not because there is no rational relationship between the classification and the purpose-it is a supremely rational system-but because its purpose is illegitimate."

2."Once it is understood that the injury results from the existence of the label of inferiority, it becomes clear that the cure must involve the removal of that label. The mere placement of black and white children in the same school does not remove the brand imprinted by years of segregation."

3."Perhaps the most detrimental effect of the court's refusal to acknowledge the true nature and scope of the institution of segregation has been the resulting failure of the judiciary, and ultimately the public at large, to recognize a constitutional right to the affirmative destruction of that institution."

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Talking Points #6

Jeannie Oakes
Tracking: Why Schools need to take another route

Oakes argues that by continuing to implement tracking in schools educators are not following in the right direction. The direction educators take must be altered to fit all students from all abilities. Through tracking education are creating uneven opportunities for students. Oakes states that tracking creates instructional advantages for high-ability students with better teachers, more expectations, and more resources and leaving the “unspecial” students low-ability and average students behind. Oakes suggests that higher ability students do equally well in mixed groups and that this might be the first way of changing or thinking about tracking. What’s actually working and what’s not? Oakes concludes her document by letting the readers know that unless teachers take the time to discuss, modify, change and develop alternatives to tracking will continue to be implemented in school system and will continue to create uneven opportunities and widen the gap between students.


1. “Students who need more time to learn appear to get less; those who have the most difficulty learning seem to have fewer of the best teachers.”

In this quote Oakes highlights that all students do learn differently and those who are of lower ability or average are getting deprived of resources and the same or better educators. The teachers of lower ability students have fewer expectations and continue to go over materials leaving it so that these children can never catch up or end up in the high ability group if they wanted to.


2. "Moreover, the nature of these differences suggests that students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences than other students.”
I believe that this was one of Oakes main arguments, she states that higher ability groups are getting the better teachers, resources, more expectations and are being challenged. It’s not just the idea behind tracking that Oakes is stating it’s the instructional advantages that come along with classes that are made up of high-ability students.

3. “But unless teachers have the time and the autonomy to deliberate about, develop, and experiment with fundamental changes in school organization and classroom practices, alternatives to tracking are unlikely to be intelligently conceived, enthusiastically endorsed, or successfully implemented."

Oakes ends her argument with this quote, she explains that tracking will continue to exist and be implemented unless teachers are willing to take the time to change it. That since these ideas have been implemented for so long they are more likely to continue unless they are conversed about and modified into alternatives for students of all abilities.

I thought this article was very easy to read and follow. The article left me contemplating and thinking about the alternatives to tracking. Do any exist? Have they been implemented or suggested? Why aren't teachers and administrators taking the time to address this? I believe that just eliminating tracking won't neccesarily change the instructional advantages of higher ability students over others. In my old high school they eliminated higher level classes that were ranked by X,A,B,C all together and just made them college prep or standard. I don't believe this was the right strategy taken. It didn't change it I believe it actually made it worse for those that were in the high honor X classes. In some instances in high school there are some students who just want to pass and don't want to do any work and there are some who are high achieving who want to do the best they can to be on the top of the list in high school who worry about their grades and their gpa's. I feel as if low ability students sometimes do make an impact in high ability students achivements. Maybe in elementary and middle school this isn't the same aspect. At the same time I believe that those students who are low ability are capable of higher achiveing work. They do need more resources, better teachers who will push them to be higher achieving and have more expectation of them. They can do well they just need more time, and resources, not less.

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