Look How Far We Have Come

Hello again,

Well aren't you guys lucky.....getting to hear from me twice in the same day. You can thank my tendency toward procrastination. A terrible ailment not matter who has it.

Last year in my creative writing class one of my teachers made a statement that I will never forget and that have often thought on. He said that people often get so caught up in how terrible the world is becoming. The amount of crime that has risen, the devastation and the poverty. The indifference and uncaring nature many people seem to exhibit. He does not see it that way. Instead he looks back on how much progress we have made. That in many countries people rights are protected. The advancements in medicine that saves millions of lives on a daily basis. The knowledge so readily available for thousands. I thought back on that again this week as we read about the progression of the disability laws.

Not that long ago, children with disabilities were not allowed to go to school with the children their age. Any education facility was free to reject whatever child they wanted, be it physical disability such as being confined to a wheel chair or diabetes, they did not have to teach that child. The Civil Rights movement kicked started the change that we now see in our schools today. With Brown vs. Board of Education allowing African American schools, other minorities began to realize it was possible for them to have their rights acknowledged as well.

It took time and for the law to change and take on another form several times, but it eventually evolved into the education system we have today. It is not perfect and will continue to improve in the future. As my teacher said in class this week, sometimes the court cases are pointless and a waste of time and money, and then there are the times when it is the only way to get some much needed changes.

We went more in depth into how special education is now set up, learning about Individual Education Plans and how they are different from from Individualized Family Service Plan.

Well, be back next week with another blog on what I learned, maybe you will hear from me before that.
Sapphire