The debate on whether children with disabilities should be mainstreamed or not has been argued for a multitude of years. To mainstream is the “integration of children with special educational problems, as a physical handicap, into conventional classes and school activities” (dictionary.com). As of right now, parents have a choice for their children on whether they are sent to a separate school to cater to their learning disabilities or to a public, private etc. school of their choice. There are many different opinions on this issue, as would be expected. Whether those opinions are from parents of healthy children, parents of children with learning disabilities, teachers, principals, the list goes on. “It has been more than 30 years since the federal government first declared that children with different abilities shouldn’t be automatically separated from one another in school,” says Shah, in her article about the idea of mainstreaming students. The way society will feel about the idea depends a lot on how you present the argument. People may believe that students should not be mainstreamed just because the disabled children are not good enough to be in classes with all the other students in the school. Some people may have the opinion that pupils with the learning disabilities should be sent to different school and/or classes, simply because there the students would be able to receive the help specifically catered to their disability. In her article, Shah also quotes Whitbread, who says, “Is the child breathing? Then they belong in a regular class. I think that people respond to the civil rights argument, that it’s wrong to separate children. Would you put all the blue-eyed children in one classroom? Of course you wouldn’t,”. Of... ... middle of paper ... ...r is was in a special school for their disability or a regular school, then that student should be able to adapt to the learning and requirements for higher learning. Those disabled students are just as important as every other student and, therefore, should have the same opportunities to pursue a major experience college. Every student who graduates high school has the decision to make on whether they would like to attend college in the following fall. The choice of where, should be a decision made by the families, and that should be the case for every family, a family with disabled or not. The determination of where the student attends college should not be made by the government nor should the college accept or turn away students based on their learning abilities. The student’s qualification should not be based on IDs in the realization that everyone has potential.
Legally, inclusion is defined by Public Law 94-142 from 1975. This law, known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA, does not contain the term “inclusion”, however, it describes the term “Least Restrictive Environment” which means that a handicapped child must be placed in a classroom that can meet their needs but is as close to a regular classroom as possible (Villa p. 4). IDEA states that: " “to the maximum extent appropriate, handicapped children, including those children in public and private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not handicapped, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of handicapped children from regular educational environments occurs only when the nature or severity of the handicap is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. P.L. 94-142, Section 1412 (Villa p. 5).... ...
It is required that the student be placed in the setting most like that of typical peers in which they can succeed when provided with needed supports and services (Friend, 2014). In other words, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily (Yell, 2006).
During the 1920's, separate schools were established for the blind, deaf, and more severely retarded (Reddy, p5). However, students that were considered mildly disabled were educated in regular schools, just thought to be 'slow learners'. Soon educators started to develop separate classes for disabled students. The reasoning for taking them out of the normal classroom (exclusion) has not changed in the last eighty years. People today, who are still in favor of exclusion, have the same justification for their belief. It was thought that students...
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
Done correctly, mainstreaming does not mean simply placing the child into a classroom of regular students and expecting him to succeed on his own. Instead, it takes extra help to integrate autistic children into a mainstreamed environment because the others in the classroom are more socially motivated, whereas the child is more instinctively and structurally motivated (Siegel 226). With the help and constant support of special aids within the classroom, a child with autistic disorders has a better chance of succeeding because they are around children who will encourage proper behavior and social skills.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for children with disabilities in a Least Restrictive Environment to not have their needs met adequately. Some parents think that teachers do not have the proper skills to help their child with disabilities flourish in the classroom. Two concerns/challenges are that typical developing students will imitate inappropriate behaviors made by students with disabilities and students with disabilities could potentially get teased about their disabilities and inappropriate behaviors. As said by Virginia Buysse and Donal B. Baily, Jr. (1993) “… the opportunities for young children with disabilities to interact with peers in integrated settings must be carefully
When the parents found out that those children become to losing hearing. This is an impact to the parent hard to decide, and which is those deaf children can go to school. Most of the parent did not know about how they can communicate with deaf children. The board school will give them to choose to institute for the deaf or mainstream in a hearing school. Which is deaf children should go to deaf school or mainstream.
I have experienced firsthand some of the positives and negatives. One of the most important aspects of inclusion is the social development gained by students with disabilities. One of the negatives is the danger of a student with a disability not being able to differentiate when they are in real danger of getting hurt. Often students with disabilities appear to be normal among the other students and not given the latitude of having a disability that may impede there judgement. As a special education teacher, I have learned standing in the doorway to prevent a child from leaving the classroom constitutes seclusion. I had to testify in a civil case in 2016 were a child with a disability tried to leave the classroom and the substitute teacher stood in the doorway and tried to prevent her from leaving. Preventing the incident could have transpired if there had been proactive measures taken rather reactive measures. It has become necessary to provide all personal involved within the school system the education needed to support inclusion and children with disabilities. I am a true believer in Least Restrictive Environment. Throughout my teaching career, I have watched a student with an IQ of 51 participate in co-taught or mainstream classes. Now, this particular student’s social skills were better than most people I know. In his freshman year, the doctor diagnosed him with cancer and given one year to live. He never stopped smiling. He pulled through and is currently finishing a program at the Vo-tech, where he maintained his grades and attendance with very few accommodations. He is happy, healthy, and I can see him ending up making more money a year than most people I know. I do understand not all cases will be like this one. However, I am sure that if the parents of this particular student had not stood their ground and refused to allow their child be
By not including these students with disabilities, it is like we are not allowing them to have the same fun experiences other students their ages are doing. In an example David M. Perry mentioned, “Last month the teacher put on Readers Theater (in which kids acted out books) and told us [the parent] in an email that “Nico [their son with disability] would get to participate as an audience member.”” How is this fair for Nico? What if he wanted to act out books with his classmates? This isn’t fair and students with disabilities shouldn’t be excluded like this; it is like we are putting them under discrimination. What some people in the society don’t know is how it truly affects the student with the disability who is being excluded. According to Tom Ledcke, who teaches in special education, “…my students could feel that they were ‘outsiders’.” Outsiders are of someone who does not belong in either a group or society. In this case these students with disabilities feel isolated or alone from everyone, so they feel like they don’t belong. People today are still arguing if we are indeed doing are best to include these students in inside and outside activities. So the question is are
The main obstacle faced by students with disabilities in the attempt to achieve educational equality is the continuing debate over the In...
Pros and Cons of Mainstreaming in Educational Classrooms The common assumption of students with learning disabilities is that they take a longer time to learn material and social skills in a general classroom. The idea of mainstreaming into integrated classrooms is a big issue today in the United States. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) said that the improvement for the academic achievement of students with disabilities is definitely a need and required all schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), including progress with those students possessing learning restraints (J. Sencibaugh and A. Sencibaugh 357).
Teka_1 Colleges Should Do More to Help Students with Disability In the 21st century, education is not an option that should be over looked. Currently, it is almost impossible to find a good paying job without a college degree. That is why for many youngsters enrolling to a college is one milestone which they aspire to achieve during their lifetime. In the contrary, attending college is a distant dream for many high school students with disability.
Inclusion is a basic human right for all students and differences are what make us unique. These differences should be embraced, not shunned. A student with extra educational needs may very well be capable of great things, but only if we, the educators, allow them the chance to be. Inclusion is the way forward
The right to have access to education is a concern for people with disabilities. They were treated poorly and often desegregated from society. The response to the concerns of parents and educators over the exclusion of children with disabilities created the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The public law “guaranteed a free, appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and locality across the country”. In the 1970's children with disabilities entered schools and over the years, the number of students in special education has grown dramatically, from 4.3 million students in 1990 to 6.9 million students in 2003 (The Council of Chief State School Officers , 2007).
To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face. Students with disabilities are far too frequently isolated and separated in the education system (Johnson). They are often provided a diluted, inferior education and denied meaningful opportunities to learn. There are many education rights for children with disabilities to p...