Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome by Kliewer

       Between the article and the video we saw in class, it has opened my eyes to people who have down syndrome. Of course, like everything else, there are different levels of down syndrome's effects, however people with this chromosome defect are still just like everyone else. When I first heard the idea of integrating a classroom with down syndrome students and those without it made me a little uncomfortable. I did not understand how a teacher would be able to teach a large amount of students with such a vast spread of learning techniques and levels. However, after reading the article and watching the video, I realized it wouldn't be any more difficult than teaching to all of the different levels and techniques as any non-integrated classroom. These students are silenced a lot of the times because not a lot of people are educated enough to understand their capabilities are just as much as anyone else's. In my high school, we would have students from special education classrooms join our elective classes such as music or gym, but it was rare to have a special education student to be in a core classroom such as math or science. If they were in this class, they sat in a separate corner of the room with their mentor and worked on things until class was over. I resent this because although I went to the same middle school and high school, I never knew these kids names or even what grade they were in. I saw these kids every day but these kids even had separate lunches from everyone else. These kids with down syndrome do have a voice and need to be heard and should have a say in the way they learn and they way they are taught instead of being secluded and limited. I wish I realized this before when I was in high school.