Just for a bit of balance when I was trying to get out of special ‘schooling’ in the 1980s none of the local public schools in Campbelltown NSW would take me. Only a local Marist school was accessible & made the effort #schools #education
The principal of one public school looked at me, snorted and said ‘well what are we going to do with this little problem hey?’
The second public school said I’d have to skip maths & science classes and do them in a corridor or the library
Another had a 45 degree Ramp that ended in a wall ‘we’ll enrol ‘this’ but we won’t take responsibility for what happens. He should stay in special ed really
The Brother at the Marist school said ‘we will do everything we can to accommodate this young man cause he deserves a go’. They were a poor new school with challenges but they made it work. Juggled timetables around me, made access mods & went to no end of trouble
I wasn’t a catholic & my family didn’t have money but they waved the fees & accepted me because they said ‘it’s wrong that this child isn’t getting a proper education in a (public) special school’
The public system offered ‘special schools’ and units where I didn’t get maths or science until year nine. We filled in the time doing arts and craft
I spent years cramming at night to try to make up the difference when I got into the mainstream system. I consider that the poor inclusion from public ed ruined my education & severely set back my life chances
I still hear stories like this today & I still see public special schools so as a disabled person don’t complacently ablesplain to me how inclusive your public schools are & they should get every dollar. Prove it
