I enjoy talking because I feel like part of the world and you feel respected and important." That is the statement made by one of the students at School 21 regarding the way they have been taught to communicate in school. How does his statement reflect the idea of presumed competence, presumed incompetence, and the prevailing paradigm that continues to impact the decisions made in special education today?

Statements made my students like these just come to show how harmful presumed incompetence can be, and how it can truly hurt ones ability to feel like their opinion is valuable. Making children in special education feel like humans is the bare minimum, making them feel they are able to understand, able to make connection, despite if they aren’t, is the bottom line of decency schools should show to students. We are the upcoming generation, how is any student who was always made to feel like unless proven otherwise, their ability to overachieve is impossible? It hurts not only their self-confidence, but the ability to actually be able to grow and feel respected and important.