Reconceptuliazing Downs Syndrome

I enjoyed reading this piece since I have spent a large portion of my life around people with disabilities similiar to and including Downs syndrome.

Years ago, in Rhode Island there was an institution called the Ladd School that many people from Rhode Island have heard about either from their parents or from the eery ghost stories that surround the spooky grounds where the now decrepit buildings lay. In the Ladd School, children and adults that in our modern times would be in special education classes were put into the institution, showered in groups with a spray hose and with chemical cleaners, had their teeth yanked with no anesthesia, among other horrible things.

The school, though now generally associated with evil, was not founded on this. Originally, the school was a farm house, where developmentally disabled residents of all ages worked on the farm and in the kitchen. With them being taught simple tasks and accomplishing them with astounding results. Soon however, the school became overcrowded and it went from a school house, to an institution that was truly a terror to many of those living there.

In my VIPs tutoring class, which is a special education class. I hear a lot of stories of the misbehaviors of the students from the teacher and just from the students talking. I can't help but wonder if years ago, these kids would have been sent to Ladd.

Basically, how this relates in my opinion to the article is that I agree that integration is very important. In my job, some of the smartest disabled people I work with are that way because they went to regular schools and were around people that didn't have developmental disbailities. It seems like it helps everything from learning to social behaviors. You really get to see things a different way when you are around other people. You get to see a genuine reaction to what you are doing or saying from a peer instead of an authority figure. So I think integration is important.

http://www.laddfilm.com/ladd/best.htmL

Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route

This article tackles a pretty controversial topic, the idea of tracking and segregating groups of students based on ability. I don't think this a good idea and I do not agree with it. The fact that students that need more time to learn get less is to say the least, disappointing. The article also discusses the importance of an important environment.

The article claims that in the "less abled" classrooms teachers tend to be less encouraging and more punitive. I don't think punishment, or excessive punishment is what those students need. Sure, maybe some of them need some firm discipline but I think we've learned in this class that it is important to accompany discipline with some kind of positive reinforcement afterwards. This is true in any job.

I liked the line the "rich get richer and poor get poorer". In this interpretation, the smart kids get smarter and the slower learners get slower. This has to stop since it's more of the same, and the same thing over and over again often isn't good and in this case certainly isn't, it's not giving everyone the same chance.

I think it is important to track the alternative choices and figure out a abetter way so that everyone has a chance to come out the same.

MacLaren

I felt the MacLaren reading was alright. The part I specifically was interested in was when he suggested that Black students need to adopt "white" stereotypes. The stereotypes white people have were categorized as arriving on time, doing well in school and other positive things. These are predominately good stereotypes, why do they have to be classified as White? I don't think it does anything good for any party involved. If you're black, it makes it seem like you have to drop your whole culture to change, or that you simply can't change because of the color of your skin, and if your white, it seems like you are the bad guy because you may or may not possess those qualities, though it is assumed you do.

I believe that working hard, arriving on time, and those other positive qualities that MacLaren mentioned should not be seen as stereotypes of white people, rather as stereotypes of a good worker, so instead of aspiring to be White, a Black student or Black person can aspire to be a good person, I don't think it has to be a race issue, though it is one.

A Particularily Cheap White Wine

First off, I like the title of this reading. I think it plays well off of the fact that the people he writes about in the article are white, whining and cheap (wanting people to give them a scholarship).

I thought the article was good, the facts surprised me. The fact that less than four percent of scholarships awarded in the US are based on race really threw me here. I thought for sure it was around fifty percent, but that's obviously not the case. It never really bugged me since I once applied for an Italian American scholarship, so I would be someone thrown under the bus by these "White winers".

I have to admit that I am sometimes angered when people of different races than I use their race as an excuse. There was an African American girl that I worked with that was not a good worker and was disrespectful to her superiors and co-workers. Whenever she would do something wrong and get reprimanded for it, she would say they are singling her out because "I'm black". That really bugged me because it was like an excuse. But what I got from this article is that all people of all races are not like this, they aren't using their race to get scholarships or jobs all the time. They are just trying to get by like everyone else.

In The Service of What?

The article is about how service learning can be a great experience for anyone participating in it. It's good for both the community and the student themselves to participate in a service learning program. In the article, some are specifically mentioned, such as looking at life in swamps or an oral history of their community. I think it's important for any student or person that is able to participate in a service learning project do so, specifically if it affect the elderly or the disabled. There is a lot you can learn from working with the disabled. You learn how to accept people and put yourself in the shoes of some one that you could never imagine being.

The article also states that the increase of self esteem is important as well. Self esteem is essential in life, it doesn't matter if you go into business, or education or any job. You have to be able to assert yourself and know what your talking about. To get experience in a service learning program would boost anyone's self esteem.

Cartoons

I thought the article on the media and how cartoons and other forms of the media influence youth. I was a big fan of the Looney Tunes when I was younger. One day I watched a video on youtube that was released during a time of war in the United States. Bugs Bunny was constantly calling a chinese man “Charlie” and harrasing him. While it was probably humurous at the time, and make the citizens of the US feel some pride for their country against the “evil” orient, nowadays this is completely unnacceptable. A lovable cartoon character commenting on race? It apparently happens way more than we think, and I learned that from this article.

Why Can't She Remember That?

This week's article deals with the complications that can arise in response to language boundaries. I thought the article was well written. It was interesting to see how the kids comprehend things differently. It was also interesting to me when I thought about people who spoke other languages. One of the first things I would ask when I was younger was "do you think in Spanish?" or whatever language they were speaking. It seemed to me to be that the reason "She can't remember that" is because she may remember differently in her own language.