Citizenship in School: Conceptual Down syndrome

Citizenship in School: Conceptual Down syndrome

By Christopher Kliewer

“Success in life requires an ability to form relationships with others who make up the web of community,” (Kliewer) page 73. I think this is the main statement found in this article because, to be successful you always need to have bonds with people to succeed your goals. It doesn’t matter, whether your goal is to be a Mayor, a government, or to graduate from college, you need to work with others to get through your obstacles and accomplish your goals. 

In Kliewer’s quote, “...schools must serve as the sites in which children develop both a sense of commitment to one another and a sense of self-direction leading to 'the deepest and the best guarantee of the larger society which is worthy, lovely, and harmonious,” page 74. Kliewer’s quote helps to discover the meaning of schools and teachers because a school is a place for companionship and not a place with hatred or racism. Thinking of labeling students, this article relates to the article, “Becoming Something Different: Learning from Esme” by Collen M. Fairbanks and Penny Mason Crooks. Their similarity was that they labeled students based on what they are or what they have instead of looking at the child as a student who’s a leaner. Another quote that support the previous quote says, “It's not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label. We're all her - kids, teachers, parents, whoever - it's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is, Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail” (page 75). It’s sad that many kids are labeled just because of their differences but the truth is that we all are humans and as humans we all are equal. 

I agree that “Acknowledging students with Down syndrome as thoughtful, creative and interested learners with personal identities that distinguish them from all other people suggests an individual value that enhances any context containing the child,” stated by Kliewer. As a student candidate, I can only see students as learners during my tutoring session in Mary Fogarty Elementary school. I dislike how some teachers only see students with Down syndrome as a child with learning problem, and are slow but they can learn and they are growing. They don’t deserve to be labeled and treated differently from other kids. I can relate to the quote “She needs an education. Just because she is handicapped doesn't mean she can't learn,” (Kliewer). It’s sad when you think about the students who go through emotional anxiety because of their condition and what people labeled them. If I was in their shoe I wouldn’t want to be labeled because for the rest of my life I would represent what people had labeled me.  

 Here is a lovely video that tells the life of many Down syndrome children:

Here is a website where you can support and read many stories about/written by Down syndrome people:

http://www.ndss.org/My-Great-Story/