ABSTRACT
Mr. Kim recently entered his second year of teaching physical education at Piedmont Hills Middle School located near Atlanta, Georgia. He thrives on helping children do the best they can at all times. Mr. Kim has limited experience working with children with disabilities and feels that students with disabilities need to be “watched closely” during class time. Although Mr. Kim has limited experience, he works enthusiastically to encourage each student with a disability to participate fully. One such student is Shanika, an African American seventh-grade girl who was born with cerebral palsy, a physical disability that affects movement and posture. Unfortunately, she has been teased and bullied by schoolmates about her unusual walking gait at school. Mr. Kim attended a scheduled meeting with the individualized educational program team to discuss the purpose and objectives of integrating Shanika in physical activities. At that meeting, Mr. Kim discussed Shanika’s low physical fitness level and overweight status. He firmly believes that Shanika should participate in physical activities as fully as possible with caution and safety at the forefront of everything she does. In this case, the challenges of including a student with physical disability in general physical education classes are highlighted.
