an interesting perspective on inclusion and segregation

This is an interesting read. It is from a speech Eli Clare made a few years ago, where he tells his experiences with the education system growing up with a disability in the 1960's and talks about his opinions on inclusion.

But what I do know is that the material, social, and emotional conditions of disability and education begin with these questions of segregation and integration. To put it bluntly, who gets in through the front door, who through the freight elevator, and who not at all? Certainly the conversation about integration and segregation in all their possible permutations is a complex one. The former isn’t completely good nor the latter completely bad. What is lost in an integrated, mainstreamed classroom when disability-related needs aren’t being met is huge, and what can be gained in a separate classroom designed to meet specific learning styles, access needs, and peer group dynamics is powerful. Nonetheless, the profound history of exile and segregation disabled people have faced at the hands of educational institutions has far-reaching consequences. Who gets to sit in the classrooms, study in the libraries, work in the labs, paint in the studios of universities and colleges….

This makes me glad that I have the opportunities that I do, so that I can sit in the classrooms and study in the library of my university. Inclusive education is important to me!