Quote:
Originally Posted by Lateralus
I'm not saying that children need to be all lumped into the same category, but I'm also not saying that they should be segregated. I've worked with a lot of children with developmental delays, mostly autism, and when placed in a special needs setting they don't do nearly as well as when they are integrated into the classroom. Yes, it benefits them to have an integration aide, but not all day every day and not in a way that separates them from the rest of the class. At the moment I have a class with 2 ASD kids and 2 kids with other social disorders. They do not have aides or special programs, and the lessons that I and my mentor teacher plan incorporate them into the classroom and allow them to perform to their best ability. The fact that they get to do the same work as everybody else makes them feel included and confident.
Classroom teachers should be able to plan lessons that cater for different developmental stages. Assistance for those children who need it and more challenging work for those who are 'accelerated.'
What kind of message do you think it sends children to be separated in different groups according to ability? That's not what it's like in the 'real world,' if we're arguing that the primary goal of education is to prepare children for life...
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That
is the real world. Not everybody is created equal. I would say across a democratic society (basically anywhere in the Western world), everybody has the same opportunity, but not necessarily the same talents to achieve those ambitions.
The sad reality is that most of those children will never see the fruits of a functional career. It is a school's responsibility to provide those children with the skills they'll need following their departure from school. That's not saying that all "special needs" children should be treated the same way, but pretending they're the same as everybody else won't help them in the long run.