Including special-needs children in class: Is it worth it?

Alex Barton's story is tragic. But the blessings are real.

from the June 10, 2008 edition

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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.… As the Bible says, 'Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'; Jonny certainly taught the children and me to look at the heart; for he has a very big heart!... Jonny has taught the very important "life skills" to his kindergarten friends. Perhaps these will be the most valuable lessons they will learn."

It's a sentiment that echoes year after year. Now in Virginia, Jonny has progressed to ninth grade – where at Harmony Intermediate's awards ceremony recently, the principal and teachers said that in all their years of teaching, it was the most compassionate group of students they'd ever seen. Jonny's teacher, Mrs. Beitz, told the assembly: "You look at your peers for what they can do as opposed to what they can't do."

Shepherding a special-needs student through public school can be deeply frustrating for everyone involved. But it can also produce some inspiring results.

Take Lauren Welsh. Her Loudoun Valley High School peers in Purcellville, Va., voted her Homecoming Queen several years ago.

The success and benefits of inclusion for every member of Lauren's class were obvious – and well worth the 12 years of teamwork by the adults behind the scenes. Such effort helped shape a graduating class of compassionate, caring citizens.

By contrast, Alex Barton's teacher may have failed to grasp the opportunity she had to help his fellow students see him in a better light. Instead, by emphasizing his faults, she unwittingly encouraged her class of kindergartners to think in terms of prejudice and exclusion.

Everyone involved in this sad situation will need remedial help.

Meanwhile, I hope every parent can come to see that our efforts to accommodate the differently-abled in public schools is not a burden, but an invitation.

• Barbara Curtis, a mother of 12 and the author of nine books, blogs at www.MommyLife.net.

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