A Little Socialism is Good for You, as Long as I get What I Want

I happened across a href=”http://pjmedia.com/2007/12/mainstreaming_special_needs_ki.php”a snippy little column /aover at Pajamas Media by Robert Rummel-Hudson today on why his special-ed kid needs special treatment:br /br /blockquoteYes, special education is expensive. Good education of any kind is, for that matter. But no matter what your politics, nor how extreme your position within those beliefs, a little socialism isn’t going to hurt you, and it’s going to help Schuyler and millions like her.br /br /This is my opinion, but one in which I believe so strongly that as far as I’m concerned, it is a Big-F Fact: a society that doesn’t take care of its own least fortunate, whether that’s the poor or the disabled or whoever, is a society that does not deserve to survive. If we as a civilization can’t do better than “Public schools should be reserved for the ‘neurotypical’”, then we deserve nothing less than to implode on our own selfish appetites and our own primping narcissism. I’ll be the first one at the barricades when the revolution begins./blockquotebr /br /While I have no real problem with special education students getting an education in public schools, I am not a big fan of mainstreaming. But I have to chuckle at this guy’s sense of entitlement when it comes to his own daughter who deserves special treatment at the cost of tax payers. br /br /I wonder how he would respond to the predicament of gifted students. Many of them, my daughter included, are gifted but have no resources at schools for kids who are “special” in this way. The Talented and Gifted classes (TAG) were done away with “for budget reasons” in our county and many gifted students sit in classes that are taught for the average and below students. I wonder if this guy would be as concerned about the gifted kids who get no services as he is about those who are in need of special education for their deficits? If not, he really has no room to talk.br /br /Apparently, some children’s education is more important than others to this guy. Because here is a Big-F fact for you: we also need people whose talents are nurtured in the sciences, math and other areas. They are the future scientists, doctors, teachers and potential inventors that might help kids like your daughter in the future. Perhaps if Rummel-Hudson showed less of his own “primping narcissm” when stating his opinion, people might listen more to what he has to say.