Should My Wordless Kid Go to School with Your Normal Child?
It seems to me most people did not grasp the point of this post. RRH was not talking about the isue of the cost of educating our children with special needs. But let’s talk about the money- American education is in a sad state and it is not simply because of a lack of money. Other countries do better with a lot less. Some parents of special needs kids do abuse the system. Some, not all, probably not even most- and we all know that abuses of any system happen all the time- it is wrong and disturbing- but no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
But that’s not what this post is about- let’s pretend cash was not an issue- what RRH is saying is that there are a lot of parents and educators who do not want their “normal” kids exposed to the handicapped. They act like it taints them. RRH makes a good point about many of us not having exposure to the handicapped as we were growing up- it means many adults are uncomfortable around those who are different -physically or mentally. Hopefully today’s kids will not suffer the same anxiety about interacting with their challenged bretheren. Some handicapped kids will do better in a self contained environment- but most benefit from inclusion. Studies prove this. And the “normal” kids- well, most of them benefit also- they learn kindness. It is a sadly underated virture in our society – as you can see from many of the comments here.
