For much of my childhood, my mother worked in the field of human services as a job

coach for people with developmental and physical disabilities. Some of the clients she
worked with were as ordinary as anybody, and some were very exceptional people
indeed. They were all, however, capable of learning and of performing their jobs. They
are valuable and contributing members of society. But, alas, this was not always the case
in our human history.
When I was a child, we would often drive through a large group of large buildings
known as the Norwich State Hospital, in Norwich CT. I remember once I asked my
mother, "What is this place, anyway?" She told me that it used to be a mental hospital. It
was an institution for crazy people, but they also used to lock up people with mental
disabilities whose families did not want to care for them.
For a while, my mother had a client *Sandy, who had spent her entire childhood and a
portion of her adult life at Norwich. She was only autistic, really, and with a fairly low
IQ, but her parents had dumped her off at the hospital (a perfectly acceptable thing to do
in their day) when she was a child. She had become "institutionalized." Really it was
amazing to compare interactions with her to interactions with other people of a similar
level of cognitive functioning. Others who had been raised in loving homes and given
opportunities and education in their lives were far more capable adults than *Sandy could
ever hope to be.
In 1975, Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act,
though he still had some concern about its practicality (Ford, 1975). This was a major
step in the progress of our education system, and for the rights of Handicapped persons.
Since then, opportunities for the handicapped population have improved drastically.
Where people were once shipped off to institutions, where they lived in overcrowded,
understaffed, and altogether abhorrent conditions, people with mental, physical or both
types of handicap now have vast opportunities to become valuable and valued members
of society. Furthermore, with the expectation that handicapped people will have the same
opportunities in the classroom comes the understanding that teachers will be capable of
understanding and educating students with special needs.
The issue is not entirely off the table, mind you. Despite the strides we have made
toward equality for those with special needs, much work remains. There has been much
debate over the idea of inclusion. I have to add in here, “In Vermont, 83% of
schoolchildren with disabilities are educated in "regular" classrooms, as opposed to just
36% nationwide (Thousand, 1995).”
Whatever your views on the idea and practice of inclusion, the matter is up for debate,
suggesting that we have not found empirical evidence on whether or not it offers the
better learning opportunity for those involved.
Learning about the strides we have made recently, and those still to come, toward
improving educational opportunities for the handicapped has given me a much greater
appreciation for the struggle that is our education system, and for those willing to face
that struggle that all students might have a fair opportunity to learn. It has also given me a
greater understanding of the fact that we still have debates, and that we do still have a
long road ahead of us before we will all be on equal footing when it comes to education.
Lastly, though my aim is not to enter into the field of special education, this week’s work
has reminded me of my conviction that every teacher should be as prepared as possible to
teach his or her students, no matter what their needs.
Ford, G. R. (1975). Statement on Signing the Education for All Handicapped Children
Act of 1975. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750707.htm

Henniger, M. L. & Rose-Duckworth, R. (2007). The Teaching Experience: An

Introduction to Reflective Practice (Second). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom
Publishing.

Thousand, Jacqueline S., and Richard A. Villa. “Inclusion: Alive and Well in the Green
Mountain State.” Phi Delta Kappan 7.n4 (Dec 1995): 288(4). Academic OneFile.
Gale. Hartness Library system. Feb. 2009.
<http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=AONE>