Patchwork Promises

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sunday, January 9, 2011

This One Is Tricky

My grandson, Jacob, drew this picture several years ago when he was, I'm guessing, about five? It is a portrait of "Tricky", the family dog (was once named "mutt of the year" not only in Lucas County, but in a national poll.)

But here's the thing. When I first saw this drawing, I chuckled because my grandson obviously didn't know how to draw an animal. For example, that thing that looks like a balloon on top of the dog's back is supposed to be Tricky's tail. But after all, what does a preschooler know about "perspective"? Nevertheless, I praised his efforts anyway, and stuck the picture on the refrigerator along with other exhibits in my art gallery.

Then, the other day, I looked at it again. Dang! Talk about perspective. I suddenly realized that maybe I was the one without perspective, and lacking the ability to see what he saw.

Look at it again. Now stop to think that maybe it's a picture of the dog walking away, but stopping to look back at us over her shoulder. In that case, the tail's right where it is supposed to be.

I think there might be a lesson in there somewhere.

Brief History of Special Education in the United States

A Brief History of Special Education in the United States By 1900, "all children" in the United States of America were guaranteed the right to a free, public education. This right, however, did not extend to girls, African-American children, or children with disabilities. Girls and black children gradually gained access to public education, but not necessarily in the same schools or with the same curriculum. (1)
In 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation of black and white children was unconstitutional, children with disabilities were still not permitted by law to attend public school. (2)
When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, making discrimination based on race illegal, public schools could still legally exclude children with disabilities, particularly developmental disabilities.
Not until 1972, as the result of two federal court decisions abrogating discriminatory state laws, did any disabled child in the United States have a legal right to attend public school. (3)

The guarantee of a public school education in an integrated enviornment was not extended to children with disabilities until 1975, with passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. (4)

References

1. A History of Public Education in the United States, Deeptha Thattai http://http//www.servintfree.net/~aidmn-ejournal/publications/2001-11/PublicEducationInTheUnitedStates.html

2. U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education , 1954.

3. U.S. District Court District of Columbia, in Mills v. Board of Education, 1972; Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in PARC v. Pennsylvania 1972.

4. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Pub. Law 94-142), 1975; amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 1990.

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