Valuable Tools for the Classroom

The various Civil Rights Acts that have been passed within the recent history of this country have all been to help guarantee equal rights to certain minorities and groups of people that had been previously overlooked or misrepresented. Such laws as ADA, IDEA and The Assistive Technology Act have helped to ensure that equal educational opportunities are available to the disabled children within the public school systems. With the arrival of the technological age of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many new technological advances have been made to aid people with disabilities, allowing for them to have even better chances at educational success within the schools. Although all of the new tools are incredible resources there are some that are significantly important and realistically attainable when considering a school’s budget. For the visually impaired there are screen readers, a tool that reads out the text to the student. There are magnifiers and Braille displays or embossers. For the hearing impaired there are voice recognition soft wares available and even animated signing characters, which uses animated avatars to act out the words in sign language to students who may be completely without hearing. For mobility impairments there are onscreen keyboards and alternate keyboards that can be connected to the computers that can aid in any individual that has limited use of their hands or fingers. For learning and language disabilities there are screen readers, speech synthesizers and even word prediction programs. All these programs seem incredibly significant due to their seemingly easy attainability and incorporation within a classroom setting. It would not take a great deal of effort or stress in order to include any of these programs or devices into the classroom, yet would ensure that any child that had any one of these disabilities would have the right tools to help them succeed educationally.

Sarah Coker

Importance of Inclusion

One thing that is distinctly unique about America is the idea of the “American Dream” and one of the main factors incorporated into this equation of the American Dream is the right and freedom of all Americans to equal and fair education. Yet, this American dream of equal public education has not always been fairly offered to all of America’s citizens, and has only gradually been changing over the past sixty years or so. With such constitutionally passed laws as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 (IDEA), The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989 (ADA), and The Assistive Technology Act of 1998, this country is ensuring that all people, no matter their physical and/or mental conditions, are given equal access to public education. Inclusion of special needs students within public room classrooms is of vital importance. Special needs kids are entitled to the same educational influences as the rest of Americas’ citizens; it is their right as humans to have the opportunities and benefits the public institutions of education have to offer. Furthermore, the “culture” of the class will benefit by embracing the ideals of equality and freedom of all the individuals. It will help remove psychological borders that many non-handicapped kids may have been instilled with. By having such an integrated classroom all the students will be encouraged to accept individuals no matter their conditions, and truly participate in the diversity this country has to offer. Often non-handicapped children are taught that they are inherently superior than those born with disabilities. Having equal inclusion would help to dissolve such flawed ideologies. By having such equal inclusion, students will be encouraged to adopt more fair and equal ideals within their own lives, and realize that all people are entitled to the same opportunities no matter their physical or mental condition.

Sarah Coker

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