Christopher Kliewer - "Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome"

1. “As Douglas Bilken (1992) has outlined, society itself is hurt when schools act as cultural sorting machines--locations that ‘justify a competitive ethic that marginalizes certain students of groups of students…’”

Ø  I chose to discuss this quote because it instantly reminded me of Carlson. This author is generalizing Carlson’s idea that schools marginalize gay and lesbian students and faculty, to other facets such as “matters of ability, gender, ethnicity and race…” This quote from Bilken is essential to Kliewer’s article because it sets the stage for his idea that the separation of students based on abilities on specific tests that focus on mathematics and language marginalizes students with disabilities. Thus, their development in the learning community and therefore society at large is substantially reduced.

2. “Vygotsky found that the culture of segregation surround people with disabilities actually teaches underdevelopment of thinking through the isolation of children from socially valued opportunities… altering the culture of disability requires that a child be recognized as an active learner, a thinker, and a problem-solver, but this cannot occur apart from relationships that allow for such engagement.”

Ø  Vygotsky’s idea is fairly simple to understand here; it pretty much boils down to the fact that if we separate students with disabilities from “normal” students, we strip them of opportunities that “normal” students are given, and thus contribute to the developmental impairment of the disability. Essentially, “normal” students are rewarded for being “normal” and students with disabilities are being punished by means of a less enriched education. The opposite would be true if we provide these enrichment opportunities to students with disabilities; the underdevelopment would be reversed.

“John’s dramatic shift in persona is an example of altered social place—from a location of hopelessness to one filled with possibility (Bogdan & Taylor, 1989). Both his social network and role within the web of relationships from which community is formed were fundamentally transformed on his move to Mendocino.”

Ø  I found the stories of Mia, Isaac, John, Christine, April, and Lee to be inspiring. However, this quote struck me the most. This is a real-life example of Vygotsky’s idea in action. In a segregated environment, John was clearly not developing at the rate of others his age. However, moving to a new community where he was given opportunities to succeed promoted his intellectual and social development, to an astounding extent.

This article was slightly more difficult to read compared to the previous articles, because of the more sophisticated language that Kliewer uses. The theories presented by were interesting and they made me analyze my feelings towards special education classes and the segregation that results. I am not convinced that special education classes should be removed; I know at my high school, students with moderate to severe disabilities were ridiculed behind their backs, to some extent. However, we tend to strip specially educated students of their opportunities to take part in enriching activities, and treat them as if their disorders do not allow for higher-order thinking. Clearly, the students in this article were capable of much more than the standard school curricula. What I believe we should do is improve special education classes and reevaluate policies regarding involvement of students with disabilities in critical-thinking activities.