Mainstreaming

Mainstreaming has been a popular topic in terms of today’s education system.  Mainstreaming is the process of educating children with special needs in regular classes.  Some believe in mainstreaming, saying that allowing children with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers will help create tolerance and understanding among the students.  Others feel that children with special needs benefit from having their own individual classrooms to get the attention and help that they need. 

Mainstreaming does offer a lot to children with special needs. It has shown to be effective in increasing student’s academic skills and therefore increases the abilities applied by students in a general education setting.  Mainstreaming also can provide special needs children with high self- esteem.  By being permitted to learn alongside non-disabled children, they will become more confident, and believe that they should not be treated any differently. 

However, there are major disadvantages of practicing mainstreaming in schools.  A mainstreamed student may very possibly require more attention from the teacher than a non-disabled student, leading to a potentially disastrous situation.  Time would be taken away from the rest of the class, and everyone would fall behind.  Mainstreaming could also lead to social issues among students, which could lead to bullying.  Some students with disabilities may feel more comfortable in an environment where most students are working at the same level.

We can see an example of the bad side of mainstreaming in 'Mainstreaming' Trend Tests Classroom Goals. However, we can see the positive side too in the following video,  Hold Fast to Dreams: Helping All Students Succeed.