Very long article in today's NYT on inclusion, focusing on including a child with severe physical disabilities. To be honest, I read the first few paragraphs and stopped, b/c I was getting too irritated by the writer's obvious ignorance of disability issues. I've read articles by this woman before: she's the one who apparently interviewed her college roommates and then wrote an article on postfeminist career women dropping out of the fast track to be soccer moms. Why on earth didn't they give it to Diane Schemo, who's been doing a nice job covering special education issues for the Times?

The other thing that gives me a problem with the article is that it's comparatively easy to understand and sympathize with the notion of including children with physical disabilities. Invisible ones, though: that's different. My child might force someone else's child to be left behind: my child may "hold back" or "drag down" the typical children. Note the monster imagery. Not that I begrudge the parents in the article the attention they're getting for their child's issues, and from what I glanced over in the article, the father has a sense of urgency about preparing a model program that other schools can emulate. I can completely understand his frustration with the institutional inertia and narrowness.

And perhaps I shouldn't criticize until I've finished reading. Nah, why waste a good rant?

[no segue] Speaking of soccer moms, I had this bad idea today to do a photo essay on being a soccer mom, b/c we were watching Secundo at his first game and I was noticing that it's like a whole subculture, with the folding chairs and the water bottles and the whole bit. So I felt like photographing the parents instead of the kids, and maybe taking pictures of parents at PTA meetings or Girl Scout troop meetings--what we actually do.

Also, sweet God, but soccer uses up a lot of time: both kids had practice this week, and games, and then I took Prima to a soccer clinic held on this enormous series of soccer fields. It was in the 80's today, and she ran up and down, up and down, practicing dribbling and some sort of balancing maneuver on the ball.

I felt instantly hostile to the other parents. I always do; I'm not a nice person, and am probably going to hell for this post. Next time I will bring a math book and do problems in it, so I can ignore them more effectively.