Disability by Amalyn and Adon
In my opinion, I think that it is essential for children with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream education system. Some people think that children with disabilities should be excluded because they are not able to keep up with the normal curriculum. With special schools, teachers would be able to focus on them and help them when they are in need. However, is this really necessary?
By integrating special needs students into the mainstream education system, other students would be affected as well. With the addition of these students that are most likely slower in their thinking as compared to others, teachers would have to cater their time to help them to make sure that those students can cope , if not they would end up not knowing what to do. However, because of this, the other students will not be able to get the best studying environment, as the entire lesson is slowed down just to make sure everyone is as the same pace. In fact, is it right to expect a student that can learn faster to go at the same pace as those that cannot cope as well? In fact, over time, if this is the case, they might really end up having a lower standard of understanding then they should have. Some of these special needs students are also disruptive during lessons and they might disturb their classmates which would mean that they cannot pay attention in class and their learning is affected. This might result in the displeasure from other parents who might complain to the school of their ineffectiveness in teaching their kids, and the dislike towards special needs students might increase as parents, or even students find them a burden to their studies. This is why there are schools that are specially set up for these students in Singapore, such as Delta Senior School, where there are specially trained teachers that can teach and guide these students wholeheartedly without having to worry that other students will be affected by a slower pace of learning. In fact, these schools also teach students different types of skills which are useful for the service industry, if the students are really not suited for academics.
Even so, we should consider their feelings and not exclude them from the 'normal' society. Imagine being a child who is disabled. Now not only do you look different, you are catogerised with others that are like you. You would feel very left out and unwanted. Excluding them from the mainstream education system means that you are preventing them from interacting with other people of their age. You are depriving them of the opportunities that mainstream education system provides. Does this mean that when they enter the workforce, they will also be excluded? That would not be possible. When disabled people enter the workforce, they are expected to be able to do the same amount of workload as the others. If this is so, why separate them from the normal education curriculum? There are around 3,000 teachers in MOE that are specially trained to help children with disabilities. They should be situated in each school, this way if the children with disabilities need special help, they can go to these teachers and get guidance.