Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

Quotes:

"She's really doing well. People come to her for advice on what movies to get, on what's good, what's current. She knows it all. She's doing really well." Beginning with the simple act of listening, Shayne created not only a valued community role for Anne but one that the young woman relished."

I think Shayne did such an amazing job with the situation with Anne. People often forget that even though a person has down syndrome they still have aspiring dreams just like you and me. She took the time to get to know Anne as a person looking past her disability and helped find a job that would make Anne happy. Like Shayne said, it might not be Hollywood but its a lot closer to something she enjoys.

"To value another is to recognize diversity as the norm. It establishes the equal worth of all school children, a sense that we all benefit from each other, and the fundamental right of every student to belong."

Van der Klift and Klunc hit it right on the nose with this quote. If you are going to be a teacher or any decent human being you have to realize that diversity is what makes us special. Being different is what makes learning and living fun. Once you accept that, the possibilities to learn and to teach will be endless.

"Lee is, in a sense, in a way he's branded. People see him. They see Down syndrome. They see mental challenge, retardation, whatever you want to call it. That's what they see, but they wouldn't be seeing him. Do you know what I mean? Because Lee is Lee, and anybody who knows Lee knows, and this includes all the kids, they know he's gifted-in how he solves problems, cares about others, reads, loves math. So I guess what I'm arguing is that if you did pick Lee out, you wouldn't be seeing Lee. It's not Lee you're picking out. It's your stereotype, your mind-set. It's you, and it has nothing to do with Lee. But if that's how you choose to see him, I don't know that anything I could do, we could do, I don't think there's anything Lee could do to change your mind."

Reading this part made me think of the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". Yes on the outside Lee would be very easy to pick out in a crowd and he might not do everything the same as other "normal" children but he is smart. He learns and speaks and tells stories in his own way and if you try to get to know him or any child with a disability you will find their strengths. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and some may be be easier to point out but that will never take away what they do know. People should focus on the good, not the bad. 


I loved reading this article. The way students with disabilities are treated is one of the many reasons why I want to work with kids with disabilities. I want to be a teacher like Shayne and Colleen and help others find the good in all children. I want to figure out which ways of teaching works for the children so they can become the best they can, without being judged. I will probably definitely hold on to this article for future reference to look back on.

 What is Down Syndrome ?

The National Advocate for People with Down Syndrome Since 1979

Promising Practices

Entering the Promising Practices conference I was unsure what to expect. I was wondering if I would be dressed up enough, if I were going to be able to understand what the context was and hoping that I wouldn’t be sitting with a bunch of strangers. The moment I walked in I was greeted with smiles from our FNED 346 class and I felt better. I also had always more than two classmates in both of my sessions that made it fun and easy going. It was so early that it was hard for me to concentrate on the opening speeches, but some of the things they talked about were interesting.

            The first session that I went to was called “ If your safe and you know it clap your hands” It was directed by Gerri August and she mentioned some key points from her book Safe Spaces- Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth. We talked about what a safe space meant which is a place that provides physical, social and psychological freedom from all youth. We also mentioned how children need a sense of belonging and a settled confidence. After we broke up into groups and discussed positive and negative social statuses that would make it easier or harder for children who were LGBT.  I was in a group with Vanessa, Alex W. and Genesis and the first thing that came to mind was S.W.A.A.M.P. We dissected it for our peers and it tied into what we talk in our class. Two new words that I learned were Mirrors and Windows.  I learned that Mirror meant that you have something in your curriculum that relates to your students of the LGBT community. Maybe a book with two moms or two dads, etc. Windows are giving examples of doing certain things all different ways. One interesting fact that caught my eye was how many states have so many anti-bullying campaigns but refuse to accept the LGBT community in that. How can you promote anti-bullying if you are subtly bullying a whole community of people? I believe when you become a staff or faculty member of a school your main job is to make a comfortable learning space for each and every child. I found the session tied in a lot with what we talked about during our discussion on LGBT so it was more of a review but I still learned some new techniques and information.

            My second session was so intriguing. The session was about Transgender friendly picture books for young children and Elizabeth Rowell directed it. Her energy and excitement toward the subject really got me pumped up! I had no idea how many transgender books were out there and it saddened me a little that they are not in most schools. We talked about the difference of transgirls and transboys. Transgirls are little boys who feel they are in the wrong body and transboys are little girls that feel they are in the wrong body. Elizabeth gave us a list of books for both and also a couple books for parents that have transgender children. The session was really so informational. Did you know that a child knows if it belongs to its body by at or prior to the age of 6? This is why having a selective amount of transgender books are nice to have so the child feels welcomed. Whether or not you know of a child in your classroom is or isn’t transgender have the book anyways because most stay quiet. It has been recorded that more than or less than 1% of our population are classified transgender but there is the leading factor that not all are out so you can really tell. We also discussed being an advocate for transgender they need to know they have someone who will stick up for them and stand by their side. My favorite saying that was shown to us was “ What we don’t know – we fear! What we fear- we shun! What we shun- we don’t know! “ I think that is a great simple and easy way to remember that before you judge you need to know exactly what your judging and why it matters.  This briefly relates to our class discussions for when you read us the fairytale of the two princes’. 

            Both of my sessions showed great proactive anti- bullying behavior acts for the LGBT community. Both of these sessions reminded me of when of the “white backpack” but instead about color and class it was about gender specifics. There are many for race, and color of the skin but almost all schools look passed the LGBT community. I believe that it should be our generation of teachers’ goal to make it a suitable and comfortable learning experience for all students no matter who or what you are. I have great hope for the years to come when I become a teacher because there are so many resources and tools out there to make it all happen. Equality for all is a very important subject to me and I will most definitely look back at this seminar to help me in the future.To follow up with this, check out this awful song "You've got to be carefully taught..."

            The lunch un-conference was really interesting and something I’ve never been to before. I loved the A.L.L.I.E.D speeches I think it really livened up the room and opened things up for discussion.  Also I thought the closing was pretty cool how people got up and told some stories from there own experiences.

literacy with an attitude

Extended Comments: Vanessa Blog

I chose to center my blog on Vanessa's because I agree with her thoughts on how a teacher should be and act. Most of the teachers I feel like my generation had didn't really enjoy there job. It seemed like they did it because it was easier then or because they got summers off. Students always can sense when a teacher doesn't really want to be there or doesn't like the kids. The main way to get children to pay attention and to learn something from your class is to first understand them as a whole and see what works best for them. Also you need to make sure that the class isn't repetitive or boring because they will lose interest fast. On the link Vanessa put up there were many good points but this section stood out to me the most and explains exactly what Finn was trying to say in his book. 

"Before teachers can address the cultural and literacy needs of their students, they must first become aware of the influence of their own culture. Abt-Perkins and Rosen (2000) suggest that self-knowledge can be gained through "inquiry into cultural consciousness" so that teachers will discover "the assumptions and stereotypes which will create obstacles to culturally responsive teaching" (p. 254). Further, they suggest the need for teachers to "critique their own values pertaining to languages and dialects other than standard English, what counts as good literature, and the role they can play as English/language arts teachers in the success of students from diverse cultures in the schooling process" (p. 254). A teacher's culture, language, social interests, goals, cognitions, and values--especially if different from the students'--could conceivably create a barrier to understanding what is best for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (Orange & Horwitz, 1999). Teachers can break through this barrier by reflecting on their self-knowledge and by learning to acknowledge and respect their students' language, literacy, literature, and cultural ways of knowing."

I agree with this because if you know yourself as a teacher and how you were taught and then what the norms of the students in your classroom are you will have more successful teaching strategies and really inspire the children. 

 Here's a great ice-breaker to get to know your students and for them to get to know you too !