'Mainstream' hmmm I did think it was time for a name change. 'Mainstream' is one way of indicating that this school is NOT a 'special' school..... yet there you stand with your 'special child' looking for admittance. Surely this term is superfluous by now? I KNOW it isn't a 'special' school, ahem, that IS why I am here smiling sweetly through your patronising elitism!!! The Disability discrimination Act has been in place since 1990 and the Disability Standards in Education since 2005. What is the point of 'mainstream' tag when schools have been places of diversity for years?
Now I understand that this is a fraught issue - but perhaps one of the reasons I can still feel excluded with the 'it's a mainstream school you know' line is the agenda it alludes to. And I use the term 'alludes' to loosely as it isn't very subtle and with 2 new 'special' schools opening up in my area next year, well you get my drift....Why is it that these schools are referred to as 'special' yet other 'specialised' schools such as government selective schools are not?
No I am not in the 'mainstream' I am just in the world. It's my world, I hope it's yours. It's a mixed bag sort of world, a one size fits no-one sort of place. It's somewhere where the learning never stops. It's a hard road, it's a good road. The bad days can be pretty low but ultimately it's a worthwhile road.
I've had 2 interviews at a high school regarding enrolling Hannah and I've spent an evening hearing all about anew special school that will be opening in our area soon. That high school looks good. It's a regular school. It's in our area. Hannah will be learning in her community. There will be a number of students in each year group who know her from primary. It's a place that offers a good chance of duplicating the successes of inclusive primary schooling for her. I have to say I'm even looking forward to it!
The information evening about the special school was interesting. Loads of interest. That says a lot about how well schools are managing inclusion doesn't it? It also reflects upon the way resources are allocated too. There are special schools for gifted students too. I guess there is an awfully large amount of interest in them too. How much of it is for similar reasons I wonder? I worry that the school will struggle to meet Hannah's needs in a satisfactory way (due to expertise and resource issues) and at the same time I worry that I haven't been selective enough in choosing a school for Kit. Will his school have the expertise and resources to challenge him? To assist him in reaching his goals?
I am perhaps spoilt for choice and yet I don't feel as though I truly have much choice at all. I want an inclusive education for both my children and the fact that I am looking at them attending different schools indicates that my choices are not unlimited, and that my children whilst both needing inclusive education experiences, are sufficiently different that I am currently considering separate schools for each.
And so I no longer muse in the mainstream for I am not sure what that is anymore but I am definitely exploring notions of inclusiveness every day.
