Mainstreaming

I see a lot in the news about special needs children being mistreated in schools.  This is one of the reasons I am not a fan of mainstreaming.  I am of the opinion that if your child is not capable of following the basic rules or doing the work, they should not be mainstreamed.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when I was in public school, we had a Special Education class.  They got the extra help they needed without disrupting anything.  If they only needed help in certain subjects, they attended regular classes for the others.  I had "sped" friends -- one of them is my sister-in-law now.  The system was hardly perfect, but it worked.

Too many children today are being mainstreamed who simply should not be.  I saw a story about an autistic boy being "slammed onto the ground and handcuffed" because he was acting out in class.  More research revealed that the boy was a danger to himself and others.  He was handcuffed for that reason only - and had thrown himself to the ground.

A child who can follow the basic rules and can do the work with a little extra help?  No problem.  Get them a tutor, or a Special Education class, and go for it.  Let a nonverbal child do an oral report as a written one.  The student with leg braces might have to violate the dress code.  Those things I can back. 

Mainstreaming is meant to be a kindness, but it really isn't.  Not for the children with more severe issues or for their classmates.  The classmates are expected to learn in a chaotic environment.  The child is going to go out into the world upon graduation, thinking that they can succeed.  In what field is 60% excellent work?  In what profession is it acceptable to hit yourself or others? 

Proponents of mainstreaming say it's good for the child's self-esteem.  I support that.  But we also have to teach them how the world works.  Build them up within their limitations.  "Yes, you have problems with X, but you are so good at Y."

As for bullying... Bullying isn't going anywhere.  There will always be bullies, everywhere.  At school, at work, at family reunions.  If you take their ammunition, they will find something else.  Example: School uniforms stop bullying about clothes - until they see each other outside of school.  Uniforms do nothing when a student is bullied about weight.  The same logic applies to mainstreaming.  In fact, mainstreaming exposes some children to more bullying.

"No child left behind." Mainstreaming might do that, but at what cost?  We end up with completely unprepared adults, with excellent self-esteem, getting left behind.  Some children should be left behind, out of the main stream.  They become the adults who maintain the tranquility of the shallows.