Bogdan Thesis

Everyone is going through a battle that we may not be able to see; however, “American society [is often] unaware or indifferent to the plight of people with disabilities” (Davis, 2013, p. 486). Ableism is one of the most ignored areas of social justice in America. Through my own experiences, I learned that the educational system in particular is not a very knowledgeable, or flexible environment in giving accommodations for students with disabilities. Those who are able-bodied, and do not have invisible disabilities, easily fit the paradigm of an able student in society, i.e., being able to walk to every building, climb stairs to get to class, complete assignments in the allotted time, etc. Our society has socially constructed disability

In recent years, legislative mandates, like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), have required students to participate in the same assessments that general education students are taking. Although these new, controversial mandates resonated with a lot of people, critics argue that they cause more harm than good. According to Inclusion: The Pros and Cons—A Critical Review, Carl Savich states that the federal legislation on inclusion took the attention away from the general and advanced students with “a concomitant lowering of standards” (Savich 1). However, supporters of these new mandates state that the pros vastly outweigh the cons. According to Assessment and Accommodations, Stephen Luke states that inclusion

In elementary school, my classroom had students with and without disabilities, and we all shared the same space while working towards a common goal, but over time this diverse community diminished. This phenomenon of tracking and hierarchy of opportunity in education that I notice today is also responsible for creating an environment in which secondary special education is often a segregated locale, physically and socially removed from mainstream public schooling. I've witnessed Syracuse University push against this norm and challenge these boundaries time and time again, and I feel that before entering my own my classroom I want to address these issues of homogeneity and continue to build my tool box of inclusionary practices that extend past my current

This law addresses the needs of the people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination during hiring, process the work place environment, performance, wages, benefits and other privileges that comes with employment, a person with disabilities cannot be discriminated at public or privately owned facilities such as hotels, stadium, movie theaters, and etc. and another point that I bring about ADA is that people with disabilities cannot be disqualified in any programs or activities that will be given to any individual from state or local government. To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability; or any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life

Education is a very complex and evolving process. Today, teaching entails educating a diverse population according to their unique individual needs. Schools are comprised of individuals with different races, beliefs, cultures, values, languages, social statues, etc. While considering both the historical and preset-day issues, I am able to see many parallels between racial integration in schools and integration of students with disabilities.

“Using the data from the Current Population surveys for 1988-97 the authors find that the ADA had no effect on wages of disabled workers, which are still approximately 40 percent below those of the non-disabled” (Picker). This is kind of upsetting to many people because that can lead to results of the disabled that could live alone won’t be able to, because they don’t have enough money to afford a house due to lower wages. But there were also good outcomes as well; throughout the Great Depression and through till today the disabled have made many advances the disabled have engaged in many levels of activism as they campaign for greater recognition and opportunities (McNeese). The outcomes of the Americans with Disabilities act so far are astonishing and people with disabilities have gained many more rights since the start of the act, even though they have much farther to go having already achieved this much people with disabilities should be proud with the outcome of this act so

The Americans with Disabilities Act was executed in 1990. It stated that the act is a civil right that forbids the discrimination towards anyone with a disability. Basically, no discrimination in school, work, etc. Disabilities such as a disability of vision, learning, mental health, or movement. Places of work used to not accommodate people, but now they must. People with disabilities were gainful from the ADA act. After the act was executed, people with disabilities, places of work were now required to do so. A lot people profited from the ADA it was helpful in many ways. The American Deaf community was a group who benefited from the ADA act. The issue with that is the Deaf community do not label themselves as disabled, but a culture. The

The “disabled” cause is the LGBT cause, the black cause, and in general the human rights cause. It’s really important for people to recognize the connection. This is something that Mooney didn’t necessarily get into. However, I am sure he agrees with me. Overall, the lecture was inspiring and definitely relevant to my life as a person of so called “disability.” As I have stated, though, the underlying message of human rights is relevant to everyone. Jonathan Mooney was merely one testimony to the perseverance of marginalized groups.

One important aspect of the presentation is that, the video is letter people know what individuals with disabilities do and not like. This video can be viewed as the voice of individuals who can not speak or even the courage to speak up for themselves. This video shows the effect of the amount of negative and positive exposure to prejudices. This video is a great article for a wide

Dan’s statement related to me as I began to reflect on my past of students with IDD. While Cheryl’s statement also brought up the idea of segregation and integration of students with and without disabilities. The two statements are related as they both consider the idea of if individuals with IDD are considered the same or different as individuals without IDD. I drew a comparison to when society is considering segregation in the classroom; they are suggesting that individuals with IDD should be in a different group and are different than individuals without IDD. However when discussing inclusion, it is as if individuals with IDD are equal and are capable of what everyone else is. By putting everyone in the same class, it presents the idea that

Before taking this class I had very little knowledge and experience, and through that I did not know how to perceive people with disabilities other than what I saw with my eyes, which was their disability first. The truth is children and people with disabilities are everyday heroes. They have every day struggles and challenges that most of us do not have, they have to push and fight to do every day tasks that we can do without struggling and having to push ourselves, and they see the world differently in ways that we are not capable of doing so. They can love more, and are fighters in everyday life. We can learn so much from them if we choose to look and see past their disability because truth is, that is not what defines them as a person. I have learned so much from lectures and discussions in class, the documentaries shown, my textbook, visuals, and presentations. Here are a few things that stood out to me while taking this course.

    The Americans With Disabilities Act is there to help the disabled and protect them, yet the numbers for those are unbelieveable. “The Autism Research Institute calls on governments, corporations, and community agencies to help people with autism thrive and feel accepted as part of society, rather than be subjected to blanket discrimination and exclusion stemming from widespread ignorance” (Research Institute). People who are disabled are looked

The article, “Making Inclusive Education Work” was an eye-opening read. I was under the impression that all classrooms were inclusive. However, the article states that in Hawaii in 2003 only 18% of students with disabilities were in a general education classroom for 80 percent of the day even though IDEA was reauthorized in 1997. Vermont had the highest percentage of inclusive classrooms with 80 percent. The article went on to examine why some schools can successfully implement inclusive classrooms for all students who have a disability, but never explains why there is such a discrepancy for inclusivity throughout the country.

Today we look at including the learning disabled in a similar way, just as in racial desegregation we believe that it is important to bring those students whom have been typically separated from their peers back into the mainstream and develop “ways of fostering social and academic interactions” (Thompkins & Deloney, 1995, p.xx). Reasoning’s behind such a move are again similar in some ways to those based around the racial desegregation in a need to be ethical. One such logical reason “suggests that special education integration, parallel to racial desegregation, should incorporate the notion that classrooms reflect naturally occurring percentages of those with disabilities (approximately 10 percent) in relation to those without disabilities.” (Sailor, 1989, p53). This touches upon the notion that “inclusive education is central to the development of [a] more inclusive [society]”.

Before the comparison, it is important to have a general understanding and purpose of this exercise. The ADA is quite controversial in some aspects and deserves some scrutiny and scholastic attention. The purpose of the ADA according to its governing body, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proclaimed that " physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person's right to fully participate in all aspects of society, yet many people with physical or mental disabilities have been precluded from doing so because of discrimination; others who have a record of a disability or are regarded as having a disability also have been subjected to discrimination."