"Citizenship in Schools: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome"

 For this reading, I chose to work from Betsy's blog.

In her blog, Betsy states, Every person’s story is different but equally important... I believe everyone has something to offer.." I think that when we think about students with Down syndrome and other disabilities, this is something that we really need to focus on. By putting these students in Special Education classrooms, we are not giving these children the same opportunities as the students who are not struggling with a learning disability. By separating the kids, we are losing the sense of community and communication that schools and learning should be all about. When we take kids with Down syndrome out of "regular" classes, we are minimizing their journey, or their story. We are not allowing them to experience the same things, which takes away any sense of being a citizen of any community. By not letting these students have a voice in the community, we are not letting them share their story. Although it may be communicated in different ways, EVERYONE has something that they can bring to a situation. Whether it’s a genius idea, a logical plan, or even a smile to brighten the mood. When we pull these students out of the classrooms, we are negating this sense of citizenship and community for those in the Special Education classrooms, and those in the "regular" classrooms. We need to allow ALL students the opportunity to learn and grow as equals, whether the outcome for everyone is the same or not.By minimizing collaboration, we take away a sense of belonging and citizenship, which minimizes someone has a human being. This is one of the most destructive things I see happening in separated classrooms.