A Futuristic View of the REI: A Response to Jenkins, Pious, and Jewell

A Futuristic View of the REI: A Response to Jenkins, Pious, and Jewell In the April 1990 issue of Exceptional Children, Jenkins, Pious, and Jewell identified five assumptions underlying the regular education initiative (REI) and argue for the need for a consensus on a definition of the REI. They invited others to continue the dialogue regarding the REI by responding to their article and their perceptions. We commend Jenkins, Pious, and Jewell on their thoughtful analysis of the issues, sensitivity to the needs of the students and teachers, and recognition of the potential abuse of the spirit and intention of the REI. Our objectives in this responses are to challenge the assumption that the role of the teacher is to deliver a curriculum. We offer alternative assumptions to the author's four assumptions, which place the classroom teacher in the Herculean position of being the one person primarily responsible for educating, making instructional decisions, managing instruction, and coordinating support services for a heterogeneous group of students. Further, we take exception to the conclusion that there justification for drawing an imaginary dividing line that excludes from the regular classroom students with severe disabilities. In this article, we focus the REI debate on the future--how education might meet the diverse needs of all children. IS THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER TO DELIVER NORMAL DEVELOPMENTAL CURRICULA? Jenkins, Pious and Jewell (1990) infer that the REI, as currently conceptualized, charges the classroom teacher with delivering (and adapting for individual learners) curricula in the basic skills areas [that] are designed to bring students to a level of adult competence (p.482). This statement implies that the sequences, materials, and tasks that publishers have prepared in reading, mathematics, writing, science, social studies and other curriculum areas do, in fact, prepare our children for their future life in the 21st century. Curriculum for the 21st Century Professional futurists concerned with school improvement have made recommendations regarding the curriculum for schools to prepare students for 21st life. Benjamin (1989), in an analysis of futurist literature, and Wiggins (1989), in a prescription for a curriculum have forecasted an adult life and an accompanying set of adult competencies for our graduates who will be entering 21st society. These authors have described interdependent, international societal trends, which will make it difficult for the traditional normal curriculum to keep pace with the exponential growth of information and new technological discoveries. The world's store of knowledge has doubled and doubled again during the 20th century (Cornish, 1986, p.14); and the amount of knowledge will continue to increase geometrically in the next century, so that no one will be able to keep pace with it (Kirschenbaum & Simon, 1974, p. 267). Because of the short half-life (Alley, 1985) of knowledge, the conventional wisdom of what is considered a developmental curriculum must also change. In the futurist's eye, a curriculum would include the development of habits of mind (Wiggins, 1989, p. 48), such as the ability to suspend disbelief, knowing how to listen to someone who knows something new, questioning to clarify an idea's meaning or value, openness to new and strange ideas as worthy of attention, and the inclination to question confusing or pat statements (Wiggins). modern curriculum would focus on students' developing a community service ethic through real-life service experiences (e.g., serving as a peer advocate, peer buddy, or peer tutor for a student with intensive challenges). Students will need the skills to cope and communicate with the diverse people of their global community (Benjamin, 1989). …