Lesson 3

Earlier this week, we discussed the role of Brown v. Board of Education in establishing that separate was not equal. Segregated schools and communities were not equivalent. I've only ever considered the significance of this ruling with regards to Civil Rights. In thinking about it with regards to students with disabilities, the ruling took on new meaning. Coupling that with the videos about Serbia, I was struck with the frightening reality of what happens when society separates those that are different. It was horrific to see the conditions that the disabled people of Serbia lived in, that society had chosen to ignore and forget. When you label someone as other, it's easier to let them be placed aside and irrelevant. It's easier to think they are better with all the others, separated from society. I am learning that it is more important than I realized before to be inclusive and see everyone, no matter their differences as an equal person. 

In the classroom setting, this can be challenging as a teacher tries to meet the individual needs of a classroom full of students. There is power in inclusion, but there is also the need to help each student reach their potential. Educators have the difficult decision to decide what methods will best help a child with disabilities to do so. My role as a future educator is to be informed and understanding to the needs of exceptional students that will be in my classes. I hope that I can give students their best chance in a traditional classroom setting so they do not need to be segregated and created into an other. The needs and rights of the student must come first, but appropriate scaffolding can assist them in succeeding in the classroom setting.