Argumentive essay on self-contained classrooms?

Question

I am writing an essay for my class on the pros and cons of self-contained classrooms. I have looked online but there isn't much information that I can find to use in my essay. I have three pro paragraphs and one con paragraph. If you could tell me anything you know that would be AMAZING! THANKS!

Answer 1

You could interview spec. ed teachers and there are many books and articles in magazines (education) on self-contained.

My daughter taught a self-contained class in Calif and now in Washington she teaches her spec ed kids who are all 100% mainstreamed.   It is a disaster!    There are many regular ed teachers who are refusing to take any more spec ed kids because they are just too much work and they have behavior problems and the other kids make fun of them and on and on...   In addition, my daughter now travels from room to room to find her kids and they are all over the school and she gets very little time with each one so has a hard time teaching a "real" lesson.

Most spec ed kids need a lot of socilization and trying to do it in front of the regular ed students is embarrassing and quite frankly, the reg. ed teachers tend to use it against the spec ed kids after my daughter is gone.

There are some spec ed kids of course who can take mainstreaming 100% but for the most part it should be done on a case by case basis and isnt done that way.  What a shame.   Special ed is "special" and just isn't being done.  

IEP's aren't being followed and I suspect that someday, if the feds find out about this, there will be some heads rolling - this isn't special education at all, but a few minutes of counseling each day but doesn't help the education of these children at all.

Special ed kids can be corrected in front of other special ed kids and it works for everyone - they grow as a group until such time as they are able to be placed in regular classrooms - a little at a time - it is an adjustment.   Some spec ed kids should never be in a regular ed classroom, unless their education just isn't important.

I'm an advocate of self-contained classrooms.   I have a master's degree in special education with a certificate for gifted.   Even gifted don't cope well sometimes with mainstreaming - they are as nutty as ADHD etc. and usually are ADHD or some other problem anyway in addition to their giftedness.  

But, I'm sure you are approaching this about downs syndrome children, autistic, or just low IQ's.   How can an autistic child who is severe be expected to survive in a mainstreamed classroom - it is cruel.

Hope this helps you.   Become an advocate for the needs of spec. ed.   There aren't many of us left.   Main streaming has to be done gradually and individually, but not as a flat rule that "one size fits all" - these kids are drowning, but I guess no one in the upper eschelons where these decisions are made cares much.