I wanted to comment on your message about Vygotsky and special education
in the Soviet Union, albeit somewhat indirectly. I was in Cuba this past
summer for a conference on Special Education and was impressed on a number
of levels. The first is that my hosts were all followers of Vygotsky and
in working in the Ministry of Special Education were applying his
theoretical principles to their work in Special Education schools-focuing
very much on a child centered approach were improving the lives of these
children was higher on their agenda then dealing with the causes of the
problem. Unfortunately, and as is the case with much of Cuban society, I
saw first hand that even with a great special education system, those with
disabilities are not integrated into any kind of productive system after
their schooling. Cuba does not have real possibilities from an economic
standpoint for many of its citizens, yet if this changes and I imagine it
would at some point, they might be able to more successfully integrate
their special citizens into society.
Marc Camras