The Debate Over the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

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The Debate Over the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities Malala Yousafzai (n.d.), the youngest person to be nominated for a Noble Peace Prize and education activist stated that: I speak not for myself but for those without voice... those who have fought for their rights... their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated. Yousafzai is a young education activist who has been striving for equal education rights for women and girls in Pakistan (Malala Yousafzai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2014). Yousafzai came to the world attention as a blogger for BBC and by surviving an assassination attempt by a Taliban member in October 2012(Malala Yousafzai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2014). Yousafzai struggles for equality are the type of struggles that come to minds of many when they think of the modern struggle for educational equality. She is a subject of an oppressive foreign government risking her life for what she believes in. Therefore, many feel that the struggle for educational equality is taking place in the far flung corners of the earth. When others think of the deistic struggle for equal education, they may think back to the 1950’s, 1960’s, or 1970’s. These decades are well known as the height of the American Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation movement. While great strides were made in these decades, many would agree that the struggle for educational equality continue to this day. This statement is partially true when applied to the struggles of students with disabilities. The main obstacle faced by students with disabilities in the attempt to achieve educational equality is the continuing debate over the In... ... middle of paper ... ...r to determine what is best for each student. And while increased funding may be the solution to reconciling these differences, the ultimate solution may lie in increased public awareness of the struggles faced by students with disabilities. Because it is only through an increase in awareness that access to this much needed funding will be made available. Therefore, this awareness will eventually allow students with disabilities to have access to educational equality. However, if this is not achieved then these students will continue to suffer the ill effects of being denied access to education. While, luckily, the majority of American student do not have to fear assassins, their futures are still deepened on “their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated” (Yousafzai, n.d.).

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