Americans do not agree about the purpose of higher education. Some believe that colleges should be places for building knowledge. There, students should read, and even struggle through, thick books written by the smartest people in history. The end goal of college, they believe, isn’t about producing anything tangible or profitable, but about sharing Plato, deTocqueville, and Shakespeare with a new generation of learners.
Because college is a highly expensive proposition, others believe that the primary purpose of college is to provide skills that will increase the employment propositions for its graduates. Even if college doesn’t provide a concrete skill in accounting or architecture, the degree should open some doors to middle class employment after graduation.
The disability movement has added a new purpose to the college mission. Disability advocates believe that college should be a place that reflects the diversity of the larger world, which includes people with disabilities. A college campus, and even the advanced academic classes, should be a home for everyone regardless of intellectual or developmental disabilities.
I believe that colleges can manage all three missions — excellence, employment, and equity. But let’s focus on employment for the moment.
Read more at The Great Leap, the autism newsletter
Apt. 11d 
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Thank you!
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It’s 85% of those diagnosed or who disclose. Let’s be clear.
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“A college campus, and even the advanced academic classes, should be a home for everyone regardless of intellectual or developmental disabilities.” I agree, and I also believe that a college campus should be a place where everyone has to think through what disabilities are and how we handle them, as individuals and as societies, as part of a broader curriculum on race, gender, etc. The academic DEI initiatives – which may require the reading of difficult books and articles written by smart people in a lot of different disciplines and from different time periods – should build knowledge about this. Creating a home for everyone and making them learn about each other aren’t two separate things; they’re part of the same project.
Happy election day!
af
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