School Inclusion: Good or Bad??
I don't know how I managed to find this article today - considering it was written over 6 months ago - but I did.
School inclusion 'can be abuse'
Up to a point, I have to say that I agree with that statement. I know that when Syrina was in a "mainstream" school, she didn't get nearly the amount of attention she needed, let alone everything else. I tried to explain to the Lemont school district in Illinois that she needed to be in a specialized school - or at the very least, a specialized class - but they didn't listen to me. They insisted on putting her into a mainstream class, and of course there were disruptions.
And even some "special" schools aren't appropriate for all children. At the JFK Early Education School in Joliet that Syrina was in wasn't anywhere near appropriate for her. I knew they dealt with special needs children, as an acquaintance's daughter had been at that school as well. But that little girl had been a lot more "able" than Syrina was. And a few months after she started at that school, Daddy arrived to pick her up early for something and found that she'd been tied to a chair. TIED TO A CHAIR.
I think it all depends on the particular special needs of the particular child. Lexi has a friend, Anna. Anna has Down's Syndrome, and is in Lexi's class at school. I've often wondered why her parents don't insist that she goes to a specialized school, such as Sunningdale.
I've heard the staff at Lexi's school ask Anna's parents NOT to bring her in because they're doing something special that day and simply can't be bothered with dealing with a special needs child. And this girl is horribly bullied at school. Lexi's tried to stick up for her, but 11 year old boy bullies don't listen to a 6 year old girl. But she tries. And she gets really frustrated when they don't listen to her. But what Lexi doesn't understand is that she has an understanding about special needs children that most children just don't have. Having grown up with a disabled older sister has given her an experience that most kids never have. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't as understanding at her age as she was. I had a friend whose older sister was "retarded" (that's what it was called at the time). I'm ashamed to admit it, but I said some very not nice things to this girl when I was Lexi's age. (Sometimes I wonder if that's WHY I ended up with a daughter like Syrina, but that's a whole different post.)
But if this Anna was at a school like Sunningdale, there wouldn't be any problem with bullying. Because she wouldn't be different. ALL the kids at Sunningdale are different. She would be "normal" there, because different IS normal at a school like that!
I definitely think that inclusion can work for some special needs children, but not all. It's not a "one size fits all" solution. It has to be evaluated on the child's individual needs; we can't just say that all children should be in the same school.
I can't even put into words the number of times I've wanted to go up to Anna's parents - whom I speak to when I see them - and ask them why they don't put her in a different school. I can speak from experience and tell them that Sunningdale is a wonderful school for children like their Anna to be in. She would greatly benefit from being in a school like that. But I don't want them to feel like I'm trying to stick my nose in, so I keep quiet.
I'm just glad that Lexi is Anna's friend. I've told her several times that it doesn't matter if the bullies at school don't listen to her when she tries to tell them to leave Anna alone. What matters is that she's TRYING to stick up for Anna. THAT'S what Anna's going to remember. Not whether or not it actually worked, but that Lexi cared about her enough to TRY to protect her.
School inclusion 'can be abuse'
Up to a point, I have to say that I agree with that statement. I know that when Syrina was in a "mainstream" school, she didn't get nearly the amount of attention she needed, let alone everything else. I tried to explain to the Lemont school district in Illinois that she needed to be in a specialized school - or at the very least, a specialized class - but they didn't listen to me. They insisted on putting her into a mainstream class, and of course there were disruptions.
And even some "special" schools aren't appropriate for all children. At the JFK Early Education School in Joliet that Syrina was in wasn't anywhere near appropriate for her. I knew they dealt with special needs children, as an acquaintance's daughter had been at that school as well. But that little girl had been a lot more "able" than Syrina was. And a few months after she started at that school, Daddy arrived to pick her up early for something and found that she'd been tied to a chair. TIED TO A CHAIR.
I think it all depends on the particular special needs of the particular child. Lexi has a friend, Anna. Anna has Down's Syndrome, and is in Lexi's class at school. I've often wondered why her parents don't insist that she goes to a specialized school, such as Sunningdale.
I've heard the staff at Lexi's school ask Anna's parents NOT to bring her in because they're doing something special that day and simply can't be bothered with dealing with a special needs child. And this girl is horribly bullied at school. Lexi's tried to stick up for her, but 11 year old boy bullies don't listen to a 6 year old girl. But she tries. And she gets really frustrated when they don't listen to her. But what Lexi doesn't understand is that she has an understanding about special needs children that most children just don't have. Having grown up with a disabled older sister has given her an experience that most kids never have. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't as understanding at her age as she was. I had a friend whose older sister was "retarded" (that's what it was called at the time). I'm ashamed to admit it, but I said some very not nice things to this girl when I was Lexi's age. (Sometimes I wonder if that's WHY I ended up with a daughter like Syrina, but that's a whole different post.)
But if this Anna was at a school like Sunningdale, there wouldn't be any problem with bullying. Because she wouldn't be different. ALL the kids at Sunningdale are different. She would be "normal" there, because different IS normal at a school like that!
I definitely think that inclusion can work for some special needs children, but not all. It's not a "one size fits all" solution. It has to be evaluated on the child's individual needs; we can't just say that all children should be in the same school.
I can't even put into words the number of times I've wanted to go up to Anna's parents - whom I speak to when I see them - and ask them why they don't put her in a different school. I can speak from experience and tell them that Sunningdale is a wonderful school for children like their Anna to be in. She would greatly benefit from being in a school like that. But I don't want them to feel like I'm trying to stick my nose in, so I keep quiet.
I'm just glad that Lexi is Anna's friend. I've told her several times that it doesn't matter if the bullies at school don't listen to her when she tries to tell them to leave Anna alone. What matters is that she's TRYING to stick up for Anna. THAT'S what Anna's going to remember. Not whether or not it actually worked, but that Lexi cared about her enough to TRY to protect her.
Labels: inclusion, schools, special needs
posted by nukkingphutz at 2:46 pm
1 Comments:
They had her tied to a chair? I hope you guys calleld social services and the school board!! No matter what Syrina did, that is child abuse! I am glad Syrina has a good school out there that can help her develope as much as possible rather than focus on keeping her out of the way of the "normal" kids.
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