Look what ARCH found in Children Now.
"The point is that society will only be inclusive if everyone is offered a choice in their education. We argue, not against a disabled child choosing to be educated in a mainstream school, but against the relentless pursuit of the idea that school is the ideal place for all children to be together.
The natural and most powerful environment for young people to become friends, develop an acceptance and understanding of diversity, and to dissolve prejudice is a leisure setting. Leisure is not just a place where young people can be together - it is the best, the most natural, and most effective context for fostering friendship, awareness of diversity and acceptance".
They go on to say:
ReplyDelete"Let disabled young people choose the school that suits them best. But let us also focus on providing play and youth schemes and other leisure opportunities where every young person can be involved. It is in the leisure setting that young people will learn to be inclusive and where successive generations will change the attitudes and structure of society"
It's good to see something questioning the inevitability of school as the only good place to socialise, but they don't question the fact that some sort of external, organised place is required for interaction and socialisation
D