All of us Together
The Story of Inclusion at the Kinzie School
by Jeri Banks, 1994 Drastically declining student enrollment at the Kinzie School in Chicago left many classrooms empty and the school in danger of closing. The deaf program at Marquette School, also in Chicago, was extremely overcrowded. Children with little hearing had no hope of discriminating sound in the confusing cacophany. In 1982, 135 children from Marquette School, along with their teachers, moved into the Kinzie School. At first, the two groups were separate. But in the very first year, James P. Franklin, then principle of Kinzie School, began organizing the neighborhood counsil on behalf of the deaf students. Over the course of a decade, the deaf and mainstream program intermngled. Some deaf students were mainstreamed. Hearing students learned some sign. Extracurricular activities grew inclusive. The academic performance of hearing and deaf students improved, and so did their tolerance and understanding.
Jeri Banks moved to the Kinzie school in 1982 with the deaf students, as a speech and auditory training teacher. Although she tells her story as an advocate of the deaf, she always retains a view that the deaf are disabled. She never comes across to the view she reports on, that the natural language of the deaf is sign. The story of change at the Kinzie school is an interesting one. However, Banks spends too much time on the politics of the school system. Her bias spills out, unrestrained, over accounts of administrative fights. However, very little is told with an understanding of where Banks is, and what she is doing, during these fights. While the book's story spans almost a decade, very little mention is made of time. The passage of time is the most confusing element of this story.
As a student of disabilities, there were some questions I really wanted to ask of the text. The disparity in teacher's signing abilities and in the signs they did use is an issue barely acknowledged by Banks. Since Signed Exact English and ASL were both used, Banks should have noted which was being used in each instance. Instead, she refers to all sign as "sign". What kind of communication occurred between deaf and hearing staff? Since Banks reports only a few signed communications, how much sign did Banks know? If she knew little sign, that would have affected both her views on sign and on the interactions of students.
Question: When is mainstreaming a good idea?
Happy reading.
