Talking Points # 8 - Kliewer

Kliewer argues that students with disabilites or considered "special education" should not be seperated from those students without disabilities. When students with disabilities are seperated they are labeled less valued by the rest of the student body, and less valuable by society also. By integrating both students with and without disabilities, it would create a sense of community within the student body which would create a better learning environment for all students, and at the same time, valuing every student equally.

1. "Community requires a willingness to see people as they are -- different perhaps in their minds and bodies, but different in their spirits or in their willingness and ability to contribute to the mosiac of society. It requires the 'helper' to have the humility to listen for what the person says he or she needs. Also, the 'helper' mus see that the interaction helps both ways."

This quote shows that Kliewer argues that a sense of community within the classroom creats a special learning environment where every student is equally important.Every student contributes to each class. Some students help those who need it, and very student plays their part. Everyone wins, and learns more. Their overall willingness to learn and help brings the class together in a small community.

2. "Menocino is what John needed -- it's what he never had in North Hollywood. It's safe -- what he calls a 'safe space.' Like a lot of people in Mendocino, he's accepted for what he is, not what he isn't. And he can concentrate on what he can do, instead of being shown or being told what he can't do."

An accepting environment, which would be created by having both integrating disabled students into the classroom, enables those with disabilities rather than holding them back. Disabled students can realize their potential and maximize their learning abilities when being embraced by society. With help from others, they can be as productive, if not more, than those around them without disabilities. In short, when given the chance, students with disabilities are part of everyday society when not threatened by feeling different.

3. "John's dramatic shift in persona is an example of altered social place -- from a location of hopelessness to one filled with possibility. Both his social network and role within the web of relationships from which community is formed were fundamentally transformed on his move to Mendocino. He left behind his community status of disconnected alien for a location of value and community membership. His experience demonstrates the power of context in recognition of individual uniqueness and, in turn, how such recognition further recontextualizes one's social place."

I want to address another quote about John because the story about his move is the perfect example of why students with disabilities should not be seperated from mainstream classrooms. When given a role in the community, or for the sake of my arguement, in the classroom, their actions have more meaning. The sense of feeling and belonging exemplifies their abilities rather than focusing on their disabilities. This, in turn, creates a more accepting and productive learning environment for the student body as a whole.