College for people with Down Syndrome

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/education&id=9507747#&cmp=fb-kgo-article-9507747

So there is now a four-year college that accepts people with Down Syndrome into their regular curriculum programs. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I already have a hard time with the idea that college is the unquestioned "next step" for almost all high school grads today. I feel that it's watering down the standards and turning the idea of "college" into a for-profit industry with inflated tuition rates. Let's face it, not everyone is college material - and that's okay. There are other options.

Now granted, I'm sure there are some high functioning people with DS out there, but the average IQ is 50, or that of an 8 or 9 year old (per Wikipedia). It looks like this program is teaching them skills for basic customer service jobs, not careers that require any particular specialized training. Are people with DS able to complete courses in English literature or college algebra? And these are just a couple of basics most college programs require before advancing to major courses.

I'm gonna say it - I wonder if programs like this aren't meant to make the parents of kids with DS and other cognitive disabilities feel like they're not missing out on the "sending the kids off to college" experience. I think giving them skills and job training is great; there's certainly nothing wrong with helping people gain independence if they are able. But calling it "college" if it's actually just a basic job skills and socialization program - I just don't know.

There are a lot of places that call themselves colleges. They offer degrees but you see the fine print that their credits are unlikely to transfer anywhere.

If the local community college wants to offer "degrees" for those DSers to learn life skills, I don't have an issue with it. I have more of an issue with entities calling themselves college if the classes don't transfer.

Sounds like another way to pillage a breeder wallet, IMO. They can say their kid went to college and the college makes an ass ton of money.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

Quote
Ketchup
Are people with DS able to complete courses in English literature or college algebra?

The very select few "high-fuctioning" ones? Maybe. The vast majority? No.

There was a guy in my first high-school with DS. He was a kind-hearted person - always trying to help out other people when he could, able to carry on a decent conversation, he was taught appropriate social behavior pretty damn well (better than most of the non-DS kyds actually), and he could function pretty damn well. He was also a 6th-year senior (he was 19) and in sped classes, except for art. I'm not sure, even as high-functioning as he was, how well he would cope with a literature class. I doubt he'd get past the first college English class.

I agree that it's probably a way for the breeders to say that Dudley is in college, and pay all the associated cost that come with that. I also agree with you that the "college is EVERYTHING" notion is frustrating and maddening. Not everyone is cut out for college. That's okay. We NEED people with specialized knowledge that you just don't get in one. Plumbers (who I just paid $400 today to), electricians (another $500 is earmarked for them in the coming weeks too), mechanics, HVAC people (especially in the South), contractors, tilers (can you tell what's on my brain?), all sorts of things that you can get certifications for, but don't need a degree. And hell, I throw in what I have - computer networkers, if someone wants an office job. Cisco doesn't offer a bachelor's. The world needs plenty of people without university degrees and while I'm back in school to complete my math degree - that's something I want to do, not something that I'm doing for a job prospect.

While I'm not too annoyed at places offering certifications calling themselves a college (university is beyond the pale, but I'll accept community college), I am *really* annoyed by these places calling crap like that a degree. Don't compare my hard-earned, 10 years and 120-credit-hours of hell, stress, tears, insanity and busting my ass to some life-skilz crap. I won't even compare the insanity and hard-graft that was Cisco classes to my math degree.

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde