Seattle Times columnist Kate Riley says she is disturbed by the story of Alex Barton, the Florida kindergartner who was kicked out of his class on a vote of his classmates.

Inclusion is important, not only for Alex and other special-needs kids. Classmates need to see children with disabilities – if a little quirky or needing extra help – are part of our society. These kids like jokes, baseball, princesses, computers, video games and Hannah Montana, too.

.. What do [teacher Wendy] Portillo’s actions say to the other children in class? That it is OK to isolate kids who are different and struggling, to ridicule, to exclude, to reject them. Sounds like a primer for bullies in training – rather than a teachable moment grounded in compassion. District officials are remiss if they do not ensure Portillo’s other students receive bully-prevention training.

Barbara Curtis draws comparisons between Alex Barton and her son Jonny in a column in the Christian Science Monitor. Jonny was the first student with a disability to attend his elementary school in Petaluma, California.

My belief that Jonny had a vital role to play among his peers was confirmed when his teacher, Miss Bessie, wrote me a four-page letter at the end of the school year. She wrote something I’ll never forget: “I am thankful to Jonny for teaching my students and myself unconditional love, sharing, acceptance, humor, and friendship … Jonny has taught the very important ‘life skills’ to his kindergarten friends. Perhaps these will be the most valuable lessons they will learn.”

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm and is filed under attention deficit disorder, autism, commentary, education, inclusion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.