The article “People with disabilities face significant barriers in the education system: Commission”
Dear Editor,
In your article on the National Post titled “People with disabilities face significant barriers in the education system: Commission” that was published on 29th August 2018, the author brought forward some interesting and insightful issues which attracted my attention. The article was a call to action for the Ontario education system to modernize its approach when it comes to supporting students who are disabled. It also states that the system should do more to eliminate the persistent barriers that such students face within a school (McQuigge. 2018). Ontario’s current model for special education begins from a premise of exceptionality or the idea that such students with disabilities are viewed as the exception to other normal students within the education system. There is a need to start from the beginning encouraging inclusivity as opposed to relying on one-off accommodations to deal with the diverse needs which the students have.
Even though it is plausible to state that disabled students face significant barriers within the education system, it is far-fetched to indicate that the federal and provincial governments have not put in place policies that seek to alleviate these barriers. The article states that disabled students encounter obstacles to education from primary school through to their post-secondary education. It also clarifies that the bulk of all these issues which have been taken to the commission are related to discrimination that is based on their disability (McQuigge. 2018). Such forms of discrimination led to the coining of the term ableism, which are attitudes akin to racism that limit or devalue the potential that lies within people with disabilities. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Even though the Canadian policymakers have formulated a lot of policies to protect persons with disabilities within the education system and society as a whole, I believe that they should move away from the rigidity of basing their policies on medical diagnoses. Case laws both within the Canadian system and other progressive countries abroad have moved towards the social as well as a rights-based understanding of the concept of disability. Current legal definitions of disability have grown to include people that have intellectual disabilities or mental health conditions. Expanding the definition of disabilities would have a positive effect on the wider society since it would allow more people to be protected by the disability policies together with the benefits that come with them. It would thus go a long way towards alleviating the suffering of those who are living with disability.
The article informed me about the issue of medical disclosure, an aspect that I had not taken into consideration. I realized that there is often some kind of confusion when it comes to the information which families believe they are supposed to disclose. Before reading this article, I was not aware that one is not obligated to provide diagnosis information. However, a person requires information from a medical professional that would allow the education provider to better understand the kind of needs that one has how to accommodate the same. Overall, the article provided critical insights into the policy, regulatory and legal environments that persons with disabilities have to contend with in their quest for quality educational opportunities.
References
McQuigge. M., (2018). People with disabilities face significant barriers in education system:
commission. Published on 29th August 2018 Retrieved 4 February 2020, from
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/people-with-disabilities-face
significant-barriers-in-education-systemcommission