Including Samuel – Including Everyone . . .

If someone would have asked be before watching the film Including Samuel whether or not full inclusion should be allowed in schools, my answer, without a doubt, would have been no. I would have argued that children with certain disabilities learn differently, therefore they need to be in separate classrooms to learn at their pace, to the best of their ability. However, using this same argument, there should be a classroom just for kids with ADD, autism, depression, anxiety, or any other mental illnesses, but to my knowledge there isn’t. Every child learns a little differently, but limiting kids’ capabilities in schools due to physical disabilities is unfair. And yes, separating kids due to physical disabilities is limiting their capabilities; this world isn’t segregated anymore. Denying the sharing of learning space reduces the quality of the lives of children with disabilities and those without. 

Including Samuel: Lillian Hsu

Including Samuel really got me thinking about equality movements.  Before, I had always thought that equality for homosexuals would be the last big hurrah, but I was wrong.  Who knows who even else is still out there waiting for the same opportunities that we already have?  Including Samuel was pretty controversial for me, because I don't know if I truly believe that inclusion is the best way for individuals with disabilities to be integrated into society with the best possible chances of being a contributing and happy member of the community.  It just seems odd that teachers with no formal/informal training on teaching kids with disabilities are all of a sudden thrown into this really difficult situation.  I can't believe that this is truly the most efficient way for the classroom as a whole to function.  On the other hand, however, I do think it's important for the students with and without disabilities to get to know one another so that this topic becomes less and less of a tabu, and so that both parties can learn from one another.  Including Samuel is a touching story, and I hope it continues to impact the lives of others and force people to think about what might be the uncomfortable, but also the important.

Including Samuel: Rebecca Simpson

Our government is moving towards complete inclusion, but is this really the best choice? The benefit of including disabled children in normal classes is that the “normal” kids are introduced to kids with disabilities. These kids will be more accepting of people with disabilities when they become adults. Being around “normal” kids will also (usually) help the disabled child learn how to interact socially.

However, the disabled child almost always needs extra help, either physically, emotionally, or mentally. Often, the disabled child will need a personal aide, or the teacher must devote extra time to a single child. Most teachers, however, have not been trained in special education. How can a teacher be expected to know how to work with every type of disability she encounters in an integrated classroom?

Including Samuel did not show just the positive side of every person with disabilities, which I appreciated. For example, when the cameraman shot a scene of an integrated classroom, a disabled girl was staring out the window, completely uninvolved in the lesson and ignoring all attempts from her aide to make her pay attention. I really enjoyed the range of disabilities presented in this movie and the way Samuel’s father presented the benefits and drawbacks of integrated classrooms.   

Including Samuel Reaction: Lindsay

This week, our Mayfield watched the movie "Including Samuel".  I originally watched this movie in my Special Education class last year, but I got to watch the movie this time with some of the members of the Mayfield.  I was glad we got to watch the movie together because we had a really nice discussion after the movie.  I really enjoyed this movie, and I think it does a good job of presenting the issues of inclusion in public schools and showing that people who have disabilities are still people.  The disabilities they have are conditions, but they are first and foremost people.  The group I watched the movie with had a really good discussion about special education programs in schools and funding problems, and it was very interesting to get to discuss these things with my housemates who come from different places and have different experiences related to these subjects.  Overall, we had a great discussion about these issues and I think we all enjoyed the movie.

Including Samuel: Domenique Edwards

After watching Including Samuel I realized how ignorant I was to the struggles in children with disabilities’ lives. I often think of the homosexual movement as the last civil rights movement; however, after watching the movie I feel otherwise. The movie also made me think hard about inclusion. I’m still not personally sure if inclusion is what’s best for children with disabilities at all levels of education. It doesn’t seem like an effective way to teach all varieties of older children. It seems like that children with disabilities may get neglected while the other children may get uninterested if total inclusion goes on to high education such as high school. I am totally for inclusion at younger ages and definitely within families. I’m glad I watched the movie and am more educated as I have never really learned about these issues previously.

Including Samuel Response: Erin Lee

So we watched Including Samuel on Saturday and I was (pleasantly) surprised by how much I enjoyed the film. I was expecting it to focus on Samuel's battle with cerebral palsy, but it also including stories of other people with disabilities. I particularly liked the stories of the black man who has limited use of his hands/arms (I don't remember his name) and of the man whose speech was shown. I thought that both men were very articulate and they definitely changed my perception of people with disabilities. I was a bit put off by the comment that people assume that he was disabled due to being shot, even though I honestly had the same thought at first.

I think my favorite story in the movie was that of the woman with schizophrenia. I expected the movie to focus on people with physical disabilities and I thought that the inclusion of her story was both effective and fascinating. Overall, I thought that Including Samuel was thought-provoking and we had a good discussion after watching it.