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Originally Posted by Manorfire
On the other hand, it is claimed that including disabled children in mainstream schools provides them with a better education for life because it integrates them into the real world, a world where disabled and non-disabled people mix together. Such schools are more local, too. There is no need to take a disabled child and transport them miles away from their family and friends. And the inclusive approach is often more cost-effective. Finally, the idea of integration "chimes with the times". It makes up part of the disability rights agenda, and many parents want to see their disabled children go to the same school as their brothers and sisters.
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In many of these supposedly "integrated" school the disabled kids just happen to be in the same building. They're in separate classrooms, with separate teachers, and never really have contact with the rest of the students except maybe lunch time. If that's how you're gonna do it, then it doesn't really matter if you get a separate building or not - do whatever the economics dictate.
If you truly integrate them - have the mentally retarded kids in the same classroom and being taught by the same teacher as the "normal" kids, then you're doing a severe disservice to the "normal" kids. The teacher has to devote a lot of time to special ed, which means not enough time to the rest of the classroom.
I think kids should be grouped by ability, and that's not just talking about the lower end of the spectrum. Gifted kids should not be forced to sit in the same classroom as the regular kids. Not only are we not giving them the learning they really want, but we're boring them by forcing them to plod along with the average kids. It's no coincidence that many kids who are very bright end up being little bastards in the classroom - -they're bored as hell and want something to do.