Schooling Children With Down Syndrome Toward An...

Full Citizenship In order to fully serve all students within a classroom setting, it is helpful to consider the membership of each individual class member. The criteria used to consider a student’s membership or citizenship within a classroom community comes from the book, Schooling Children with Down Syndrome: Toward an Understanding of Possibility, written by Christopher Kliewer in 1998. â€Å"The four elements of citizenship (are): 1) a belief in one’s ability to think, 2) a belief in one’s individuality, 3) a belief in the reciprocity of the relationship, and 4) a shared social place.† (Rapp, p.129, 2012) The ultimate goal for each student is to achieve full citizenship where the contributions of each member are considered by others and the academic needs of each member are also being met. Rapp further explains Kliewer’s elements to possess a â€Å"belief that everyone is capable of thinking-thinking deeply, thinking creatively, thinking fo r themselves† (Rapp, p.129, 2012), â€Å"the belief that each person has unique characteristics all his or her own† (Rapp, p.130, 2012), â€Å"you believe that everyone has something to give and everyone has something to receive; everyone is a teacher and a learner† (Rapp, p.129, 2012), and â€Å"it is a place where each individual belongs and where he or she is valued and can take risks without fear or failure or persecution.† (Rapp, p.129, 2012) The common theme of Kliewer’s elements revolves around ideas of being open minded and believing that