Mentally retarded children should be taught in regular classrooms, yes or no.?

Question

There are many opinions about this. Both for and against. There is also a great deal of research for and against.
The law supports inclusion and least restrictive settings for children.
What do you think?

Answer 1

"mentally retarded" is such a huge category that there is no one correct answer. Yes, those children who can, through good accomodations, benefit and learn in a regular classroom should have that opportunity. For those who have such severe impairments that even with accomodations cannot benefit then they need a different kind of environment. Or possibly a blending of environments.
Least restrictive doesn't automatically mean regular classrooms. It's a term that has to be measured individually.
Just my two cents...

Answer 2

I can see the arguments for both. Mentally retarded children should be afforded the same opportunities as other children and be socialized with the rest of society. However, mentally retarded children often require special needs and extra attention that a teacher in a regular class cannot afford them. I think local schools should have classrooms for mentally retarded children for their educational needs, but also be integrated with regular classrooms for other instruction such as art and music classes.

Answer 3

No, they should have their own classes so that they can get more individual attention. A regular classroom with children who are not impeded would make them fall farther behind, or if the teached took the time from her class for the special student, the soon-to-be bored children would begin acting up so as to keep busy. For all involved, separate classrooms are best.

Answer 4

They need extra help, so having partial classes by themselves is a good idea. But they also need to be around other kids. Having different people around them, helps stimulate them. In high school I helped out in these types of classes. The kids needed a lot of extra attention that they could not get in a regular class setting, but when they were put into a regular setting, they excelled in other areas, because they learned a different level of confidence. Unless you have worked in this type of setting it is hard to understand what is better for the child.

Answer 5

These kind of children respond better when they are included with so called "normal" children and are taught in "normal" environments. I have seen kids regress when they've been pulled from a regular setting and then they start acting even more "retarded" as if they don't feel like they're good enough, so they just give up and act how they think society expects them to act.

Answer 6

NO I would think that being retarded they would not be able to follow the curriculum, which would led to frustration on their part and decrease the ability for other students to advance. I think(like some schools already have) numerous curriculum's to follow. So no matter what level of learning is the child can find classes that will fit his/her learning needs (discretely) and still be opened to all the student body. Therefore pretty much eliminating "labels" and therefore giving all childred confidence and respect

Answer 7

Yes. My son is not mentally retarded but he has autism. He is mainstreamed and I honestly think it's the best thing for him because he will have to deal with the real world someday, with people who have no disabilities and not only does HE have to get used to the way real life is, other people need to be more educated and tolerant of those different from them.

I was mainstreamed, being severely to profoundly deaf and excelled and went on to college. My daughter is deaf too and will be mainstreamed as well.

Answer 8

Yes and no. I think they should be involved in some of the activites such as gym class, lunch, class parties, etc. But when it comes to learning, I think they should be removed from the class because they need extra attention. Also, I think they would be a distraction to the other children (especially the younger children).

Answer 9

I think it depends... my oldest brother has autism and mental retardation, and graduated high school at age 21... there's no way he could have functioned well in a mainstream classroom.

Yet, other kids might have the ability if given the chance... I think it just depends on the case.

Answer 10

I think it depends on there mental ability to learn at the same pace as a "normal" kid would...there would be no reason to put "them" into a class room where they would be teased more, fail more and let down more...its hard enough just being you without the added stress...If they are totally capable go for it! More power to them....