End of an elementary era

R. completes elementary school in 7 1/2 days. This has been a watershed year...not the best teacher (well, he had a GREAT student teacher for the first half of the year), but a strict, routine-based teacher, which works well for R. As long as the teacher keeps chaos at bay, that's a good thing for R. We have visited the new middle school, and I hope, hope, hope all will go well there. The good news is that R. has not had any physical altercations this year, which we see as progress and development on his part. I think he is finally able to control that impulse, both at home and at school. He is also writing more and even wrote a comic book with his friends on his own time! He's finally making the connection between writing and fun...I'm so relieved. He is a little sponge...I can't tell you how many facts he knows about the US states (which one has the southernmost capital besides Hawaii? Which one has the fewest people per square foot?) and about the weather (specifically tornadoes). I am hoping that this skill will be useful to him in middle school.

So, we celebrate what he has accomplished over the past 5 years at his school, and look with guarded, hopeful eyes to the future. One day at a time...I never realized what that actually meant until R. came into my life. He is a wonder and a puzzle and my sweet boy.

Honor Roll!

R. made the A/B honor roll this term...whoo-hoo! He brought up all of his grades...every single one of them. We are so proud!

Oh, and he made it into the middle school we wanted for him. It has an emphasis on Global Awareness and is a partner with our local zoo (it is located right next to the zoo, in fact). I think it will be a good fit for him...I am getting excited about this new school and this new challenge for him.

Principal for the Day!

In what could be termed an amazing bit of irony, R. has been named "Principal for the Day" at his school this week! After all the trouble we've had with this principal over the years...sigh. Anyway, the good news is that he earned this by his good behavior at school, so I'm so thrilled and proud. Of course, R's first suggestion when he told me about this was that he should use his powers to cancel school that day! Cute kid...

He has been doing so well lately...no issues with outbursts at school in such a long time. He has finally made the connection between doing his homework as soon as he gets home and having free time to play video games, etc. He is maturing and it is so good to see that happening. We're now crossing our fingers in hopes that he gets into the middle school that we applied for in the lottery. We should know something on Feb. 16 when they do the drawing. And as soon as we know something, we will start meeting with the teachers, counselors, and principal there to discuss best strategies for him next year.

But, for now...we are happy that he is Principal for the Day!

What Inclusion Means

Here is a great article...I'm going to see if i can cut and paste it in.

Benefiting from Inclusion

by Mara Sapon-Shevin

John, a quiet 12-year-old 6th grader at your local middle school, goes through the cafeteria lunch line at noon. After he pays for his food and drink, he starts to put his tray on a table already occupied by other students. One of the boys at the table says, "Go away." John leaves the table and approaches the students at another table. There he is told, "Get out of here." John walks away and puts his tray down at a third table, realizes he's forgotten his straw, and goes back to the lunch line to get one. When he returns to the table where he left his lunch, he finds his tray gone.

Is there a problem here? If so, whose problem is it? What should the school do about this situation? Should John be removed from the school because others don't want to sit with him? How would you feel if John were your son?

Perhaps you'd think that the social climate in the school is highly problematic and that something should be done to build community and develop more appropriate social skills among the students.

What if I told you that John is a student with a wonderful sense of humor, a love of mystery books, an impressive golf swing, and also, by the way, Down syndrome? Would your reaction change? Would you now see the situation differently? Would you say, "Oh, he's special ed!"?

Or, would you ask yourself, "If the students treat John this way, how do they respond to the girl who is overweight, the boy with severe acne, the student who has two lesbian mothers, or the girl who just arrived from Cambodia with limited English skills?" Maybe you'd also think about all the other kinds of differences students bring to school, differences in race, class, language, sexual orientation, gender, or ethnicity, wondering how the school addresses all kinds of kids and their families. No doubt you would find the other students' behavior inappropriate, unacceptable for future citizens of a global community.

This true story helps us think about the ways in which schools both mirror the broader society and create it? How might we use the story of John's mistreatment to think about how we want schools to be and what lessons we want our children to learn?

Inclusion is not about disability, nor is it only about schools. Inclusion is about creating schools -- and a society -- in which all children and their families feel welcomed and valued. Inclusion demands that we ask, "What kind of a world do we want to create and how should we educate students for that world?" "What kinds of skills and commitments do people need to thrive in a diverse society?"

Inclusion benefits all children by helping them to understand and appreciate that the world is big, that people are different, and that we can work together to find solutions that work for everyone. We live in an increasingly diverse world, and all people need to be comfortable and knowledgeable with people who vary in terms of a host of characteristics. It's important to speak more than one language, to understand how to help others who are having trouble and to accept help yourself, to resolve conflicts, to work together to challenge injustice.

Inclusion teaches us to think about "We" rather than "I." Not "Will there be anything for me to eat?" but "How can we make sure there's a snack for everyone?" Not "Will I have friends?" but "How can I be aware of the children here who don't have anyone to play with?" When people who are different from us surround us, we are forced to ask questions that go beyond the individual and address the community and its diversity.

When we have friends who use wheelchairs, we notice that there are steep stairs and no ramps. When we have friends who wear hearing aids, we listen differently to comments like, "What are you, deaf or something?" When we have friends of with different skin colors, we become more alert to racist and exclusionary comments. When we have friends from different religious backgrounds, we are more aware that the decorations in the mall are about only one religion, the songs on the radio affirming only one way of being in the world.

It's very hard to learn to be comfortable with difference in the absence of diversity. Every parent I have met wants his or her child to grow up to be able to move through the world with confidence and skill, and much of that will depend on the kind of education they have received.

Inclusion is not a "favor" for students with disabilities. Inclusion is a gift we give ourselves, the gift of understanding, the gift of knowing that we are all members of the human race, and that true joy comes in building genuine relationships with a wide range of other people. Inclusion also means that we pay careful attention to issues of social justice and diversity. How do children talk to one another? Do they help one another? Is there teasing or exclusion going on?

Teachers spend considerable energy helping students understand their own and others' differences and children are encouraged to ask respectful questions and to learn about one another. Helping is considered essential in the classroom, and time is spent teaching students to support one another through peer mentoring, collaborative learning, and other forms of peer support. In inclusive classrooms, it matters how people treat one another.

Learning to live together in a democratic society is one of the most important goals and outcomes of inclusive classrooms. How could any of us want anything else for our children?

Mara Sapon-Shevin, professor of education at Syracuse University, is the author of Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms, Beacon Press: 2007. ISBN: 978-8070-3280-0. $14. Her website,www.marasapon-shevin.org, is an excellent resource for curricula and other materials for disability-related instruction and social justice issues.

So far, so good

R. has survived his re-entry back to school, and seems to be doing well. His resource teacher even told me that he is not spending that much time in her class because he is doing his work in his regular classroom...YAY! I cannot tell you what a great relief this is; I just hope it continues. I turned in his application for the magnet lottery this past week, so I'm in hopes that we'll get our first choice when it comes to middle school for him next year.

Movie update: isn't it tragic news about Heath Ledger? I loved him in Brokeback Mountain, and I'm so sad that he won't be around to see his little girl grow up. He will be missed.

D. and I saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly last weekend...go see it! An amazing film in terms of cinematography, but also a unique character study. You are required to be present in this film like no other film I've ever seen.

Happy 2008

First, an R. update: He was back at school last week after the holidays for only one day when he came down with an awful cold. He was out the rest of last week and yesterday (Monday), too. So, he's back today, and I've just got my fingers crossed that he will survive the day. It's always tough for him making the transition from the holidays to his school routine, but it's even made worse by the fact that he's been out sick for so long. He goes to OT on Thursday and his psychologist on Friday, so I'm hoping that he will get back into the swing of things here shortly.

Movie update: Over the holidays, saw "Atonement," "Juno," and "Margot at the Wedding." Loved "Atonement" and "Juno," and I'm still on the fence about "Margot." Is it just me or does Nicole Kidman seem so *over* as an actress? The best part about that movie was Jack Black and his ironic mustache. As for the recent Golden Globes, I was so happy to see that Julie Christie won for "Away from Her"...an amazing film that everyone must go see now! You will probably only want to see it once, but you must see it at least once...such a sad and true and beautiful love story.

Many good days later...

R. is doing so well in school right now...I am so proud of him and his teachers. It gives me hope for next year when he is in middle school (yes, middle school starts in 5th grade in Metro schools). He has his routine down, and is even doing more writing. He copies down his homework each night into his agenda, and is working so hard on his homework. I have my fingers crossed that the rest of this year will continue on this path.

Here is a quote I found online that I want to share:

"Autists are described by others - and by themselves - as aliens among humans. But there's an irony to this, for precisely the opposite is true. They are us, and to understand them is to begin to understand what it means to be human. Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. But autism is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an overexpression of the very traits that make our species unique. Other animals are social, but only humans are capable of abstract logic. The autistic outhuman the humans, and we can scarcely recognize the result." --Paul Collins