DISCUSSING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Donald as an integral part of a 4th grade class.

In this clip we see a class discussing the Presidential Election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Donald (not his real name) is a student with a severe and multiple disability who is fully included in this general eduation classroom. He has no verbal language but appears to comprehend much information.

This clip involves activities that occurred over an hour span of time. Notice particularly the overall tenor of the class, interactions of the students with one another, and the way in which students simply assist Donald in being part of the class. The teacher and paraprofessional helped them learn this but they connect with Donald because they like him.

One day in this class a researcher was asked to engage the class in a discussion about social justice. They had been reading a book as a class regarding a Jewish girl who had escaped to a neighboring country during the holocaust. The class talked about issues of differences and discrimination for almost an hour. Part of this discussion involved numbers of students saying how much they were glad that Donald was a part of their class.

Michael Peterson, 2003

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