Should handicap people being in school?

Question

hello people , i wanted peoples opinions on weather handicap people need to still be in school i have this confrence tomorow and i want other peoples point of view on the subject, i don't just want yes they should but also if you think they don't need to please feel free to express why will help me alot to prepare.

Thank you very much in advance :)

Answer 1

definitely. i live in a rural area and we are the town that gets most of the mentally handicapped students. generally they are in our school system from elementary school with the same kids around them. this lets them develop somewhat of friendships with other students near their developmental speed. also, having to deal with other students helps their social skills. also, even if they do not learn what other students learn, they can work at lower levels and then spend another part of the day learning basic survival skills such as cooking (for those that can) and cleaning, along with learning how to cope with things that come up in relationships and society (they sometimes think of school as a little town because there are so many social dynamics and wouldn't be exposed to it if they weren't in school). Also, it gives them a sense of normalcy because they are able to at least learn in the same building as other students.

i think that saying that these kind of people shouldn't learn means that they aren't a part of society and don't need to learn anything. of course there are extreme cases but as long as they are somewhat able to learn and interact i think learning is worth at least a shot.

Answer 2

Hi Gerald -

If you are doing a debate and need pros and cons, here are some suggestsions:

Pro -

Handicapped individuals benefit just as much if not more than non disabled kids from attending school

1) the educational benefits - learning useful skills and info

2) the social benefits  - having a chance to interact with others

and be accepted as part of the community

Handicapped individuals are just as entitiled to free public education as any other taxpaying citizens are, both legally and morally.

Handicapped students attending school with non-disabled students give the non-disabled students a chance to interact with those who are different, and to learn from them.

Cons -

Some could argue that providing services to special needs kids is far more expensive than to non-disabled kids and is an unfair drain on the city or state taxes.

Some could argue that mainstreaming handicapped kids with non handicapped kids makes like for more difficult for the handicapped kids, both emotionally and physically, than attending a school especially for disabled kids would be.

There is also that argument that teachers and staff spending more time and energy with disabled kids could impact the quality of education for non-disabled kids, or take away from the amount of attention they receive.

By the way, these same arguments were applied back during the civil rights days (1950's-1960's) regarding the integration of black and white kids in public schools.

Answer 3

Absolutely, they should attend school.  School is the best place to develop social skills.  I'm scared to ask what they alternative would be? Having them stay at home and do nothing would be insane.

Answer 4

You must be kidding.

My brother is autistic and he learns very much from school. He needs school even more than a typical kid. If you are talking about kids who are tecnically brain dead (literally) and are in hospital on life support etc, then I don't know.

With rare exception YES! they should be in school. They should not be pushed into areas they cannot cope with. My brother is 11 and thinks like a 2nd grader in some areas, 4th grader in others and preschool in language. School has helped him come further than doctors told us he ever would.

Yes they should be in school AND awareness should be taught to the kids they go to school with so the kids are not fodder for bullies.

Handicapped people need school more than those of us who are not handicapped. They need all the help they can get and at least seeing my brother, they want to learn. It is just hard for them.