Democracy1 Essay Example For Students

Democracy1 Essay Democracy by sheer definition is synonymous with equality. Therefore, the concept of mainstreaming fits perfectly in this scenario. Democracy comes from the Latin word demos meaning the the people, not just one type of people, but all people. Mainstreaming children with disabilities into general classes should not be a privilege, but a common thing. Doing this in turn would instill a sense of acceptance and tolerance in the students, thereby reducing the amount of discrimination that a special educational student might be exposed to in future years. Democracy is alive and working well in the public school system. It is called mainstreaming. The public school system has a duty to provide equal opportunities to all students. By the same token, mainstreaming allows that privilege to be extended to the children with disabilities. Mainstreaming is an extension of the idea of democracy in schools. Mainstreaming is the practice that allows handicapped children the most appropriate and effective educational experiences, which will enable them to become self-reliant adults. By exposing students to children with disabilities, other children see that no one is different or should be treated differently due to superficial circumstances. Thusly, allowing for disabled children to get treated equally and fairly. This would instill a feeling of self-worth and boost self-confidence. Mainstreaming reinforces the values of patience, tolerance, and discourages discrimination. Also, by mainstreaming, a signal is sent out saying that all people are worthy of the same education and chances regardless of color, creed, or capability. It is estimated that approximately 3% or 6.5 million individuals in the U.S. has mental retardation and Drew et al., 1996 feels that the institutions should be closed out to the people with retardation being returned to the community and home environments. Initially mainstreaming was intended for students with mild disabilities. A more current movement seeks to provide children with moderate to severe disabilities with similar opportunitie s. Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was enacted and marked the beginning of a new era for learners of special needs. In 1990 this was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and included the disabled between the ages of 3 and 21 (Gollinick, 178-179). This law offers states financial support to make a free and appropriate public education available to every child with disabilities at no cost to the parent. The professionals role is not to tell the families what decisions to make, but to advise them on how best to make it-to give counsel, information, and support where they are needed (Meisel, 8). The local education authority (LEA) do the best they can to meet the special education needs (SENs) of children within the limits of their understanding of those needs and the budget available. Politicians make the SEN policy, however, the LEA can not make recommendations that will ultimately cost money they can not afford (Hall, 227). The law is clear that the LEA must serve a copy of the proposed statement within two weeks of the date on which the assessment of the SEN student was accomplished. This should be understandable and clear to the parent. An example of how the LEA gets around this as to cost is as follows (Hall, 247):Actual needTammy has the need for constant one-to-onesupport for all activities throughout the school day because without this nothing canStated provision:Flexible staffing levels to meet her needs at anyIn reality, Tammy spent between 50-60 per cent of her day waiting for somebody to do something for or with her because she had no means of communication and no voluntary movement and was totally blind. Without a dedicated support worker, much of her day was wasted just waiting. It is, therefore, clear that the LEA appears to be making provisions-which may never materialize. This leaves the SEN student and parents frustrated and angry. Parents have a right to appeal against the decision of their LEA to an independent Tribunal. If a student is not getting the help she/he needs, mainstreaming will be more difficult. The IDEA was passed by Congress to assure that all children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education, which emphasizes special education, and related services designed to meet their unique needs. At the present time, schools nationwide serve about 6% of students who are mentally retarded in primarily regular classrooms. An additional 20% are receiving services from a resource classroom (where the student spends time learning in a regular classroom and then to a separate special classroom). 72% of mentally retarded children are currently taught in restrictive settings. A large portion of these students are taught in separate classrooms while 10% still receive education in separate schools (http://www.thearc.org/). Successful mainstreaming is especially dependent on positive attitudes by regular classroom teachers (RCTs). Levels of acceptance of handicapped children by RCTs have been discouraging. A survey of 200 teachers revealed that only 38% supported the concept of mainstreaming. Of that percent only 40.5% were willing to accept the mildly handicapped individual in their classrooms (Meisel, 119). It is when handicapped students are liked, accepted, and chosen as friends that mainstreaming becomes a positive influence on the lives of both handicapped and non handicapped students. Also providing handicapped students with access to and constructive interaction with non handicapped peers. Mainstreaming is not something to do for a few students, but, rather, something to do for all students. This may or may not work out. If non-handicapped students reject the handicapped, there may be increased prejudice (Reynolds, 26). Only a very few children need to be educated in something other than the regular school environment: Boys and girls whose life/health situations is so fragile that moving them from residence to another place for schooling would endanger their lives. Mainstreaming has to do with educating children for all or part of the school day in the regular classroom with the regular curriculum, with students who have not been labeled handicapped.Some feel that mainstreaming means putting children back into regular classrooms, however, the main concept is not putting children back; but rather not removing children in the first place (Reynolds, 54). I plan to teach elementary school and take a personal view and responsibility in handling this issue of segregation or integration. Is it wiser to segregate pupils of different levels of ability or to integrate them? A major argument in favor of segregated placement is that the handicapped students are more positive and have greater self-esteem when placed with other handicapped students. On the other hand, integration provides the handicapped child an opportunity to model non-handicapped peers and be motivated to imitate the behavior of these higher performing peers.I strongly agree that the schools should take a more active role in structuring their classrooms to accommodate the special education needs of students. These students should not be labeled and segregated, they should be integrated and have the same opportunities for learning and becoming a part of the mainstream. In essence, all schools should be committed to valuing students of all kinds and include them in all aspects of school life regardless of the labels placed on them. A teachers job is to help students set realistic goals and identify which curriculum and instruction should be geared to meet those goals. Mainstreaming certainly comes with its benefits but the best place to help these children set meaningful goals and learn meaningful skills to function successfully, as future adults would be the community as a whole. Including special education students in regular classrooms keeps them in the mainstream of education. Their assignments can be limited and they can receive supplemental instruction for material they have difficulty comprehending. In terms of democracy-they have the opportunity to receive the same education as all other students and by not removing them from regular education, they are not being treated differently. Some people see pull out a detrimental to these kids and others see it as a special treatment for them. Special ed kids offers a lot to regular classrooms. It is believed by some that kids need to learn of differences and tolerance early. In terms of students with learning disabilities-just because they have difficulty reading the textbook, doesnt mean they will not learn the material through lecture, projects, etc. Usually, if the student is confident enough, they can keep up with the rest of the class with modifications made to reading material, assignments and tests. By including them in the regular ed classes there is equity in their education and diversity in the population of the classroom. During the summer of 1998, I worked as a camp counselor at the Kendall Boys and Girls Club. This camp accepts all children whether they are white, black, Hispanic, or have a disability. Through the months at camp, I became attached to a little boy named Marty. Marty was one of the so-called special kids because he was deaf. Throughout the weeks, Marty and I became close and I got a chance to meet his family. I would talk to them about his condition and ask them what they do about his schooling. I just assumed that Marty went to a special school, but that was not the case. Marty is being mainstreamed into a normal school. I asked his mother how well he was doing and if there were any problems. She said, he is doing ok in school, struggles a little bit, but then what kid doesnt. She told me at the beginning that Marty was having social problems with the other children. He wasnt fitting in and the kids were a little cruel to him. After a couple of weeks, the teacher decided to do a special lesson on special students. This helped the students understand Martys way of living and what he was going through. Examining The Xerox Corporation Fraud Case EssayDemocracy by sheer definition is synonymous with equality. Therefore, the concept of mainstreaming fits perfectly in this scenario. Democracy comes from the Latin word demos meaning the the people, not just one type of people, but all people. Mainstreaming children with disabilities into general classes should not be a privilege, but a common thing. Doing this in turn would instill a sense of acceptance and tolerance in the students, thereby reducing the amount of discrimination that a special educational student might be exposed to in future years. Democracy is alive and working well in the public school system. It is called mainstreaming. The public school system has a duty to provide equal opportunities to all students. By the same token, mainstreaming allows that privilege to be extended to the children with disabilities. Mainstreaming is an extension of the idea of democracy in schools. Mainstreaming is the practice that allows handicapped children the most appropriate and effective educational experiences, which will enable them to become self-reliant adults. By exposing students to children with disabilities, other children see that no one is different or should be treated differently due to superficial circumstances. Thusly, allowing for disabled children to get treated equally and fairly. This would instill a feeling of self-worth and boost self-confidence. Mainstreaming reinforces the values of patience, tolerance, and discourages discrimination. Also, by mainstreaming, a signal is sent out saying that all people are worthy of the same education and chances regardless of color, creed, or capability. It is estimated that approximately 3% or 6.5 million individuals in the U.S. has mental retardation and Drew et al., 1996 feels that the institutions should be closed out to the people with retardation being returned to the community and home environments. Initially mainstreaming was intended for students with mild disabilities. A more current movement seeks to provide children with moderate to severe disabilities with similar opportunitie s. Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was enacted and marked the beginning of a new era for learners of special needs. In 1990 this was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and included the disabled between the ages of 3 and 21 (Gollinick, 178-179). This law offers states financial support to make a free and appropriate public education available to every child with disabilities at no cost to the parent. The professionals role is not to tell the families what decisions to make, but to advise them on how best to make it-to give counsel, information, and support where they are needed (Meisel, 8). The local education authority (LEA) do the best they can to meet the special education needs (SENs) of children within the limits of their understanding of those needs and the budget available. Politicians make the SEN policy, however, the LEA can not make recommendations that will ultimately cost money they can not afford (Hall, 227). The law is clear that the LEA must serve a copy of the proposed statement within two weeks of the date on which the assessment of the SEN student was accomplished. This should be understandable and clear to the parent. An example of how the LEA gets around this as to cost is as follows (Hall, 247):Actual needTammy has the need for constant one-to-onesupport for all activities throughout the school day because without this nothing canStated provision:Flexible staffing levels to meet her needs at anyIn reality, Tammy spent between 50-60 per cent of her day waiting for somebody to do something for or with her because she had no means of communication and no voluntary movement and was totally blind. Without a dedicated support worker, much of her day was wasted just waiting. It is, therefore, clear that the LEA appears to be making provisions-which may never materialize. This leaves the SEN student and parents frustrated and angry. Parents have a right to appeal against the decision of their LEA to an independent Tribunal. If a student is not getting the help she/he needs, mainstreaming will be more difficult. The IDEA was passed by Congress to assure that all children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education, which emphasizes special education, and related services designed to meet their unique needs. At the present time, schools nationwide serve about 6% of students who are mentally retarded in primarily regular classrooms. An additional 20% are receiving services from a resource classroom (where the student spends time learning in a regular classroom and then to a separate special classroom). 72% of mentally retarded children are currently taught in restrictive settings. A large portion of these students are taught in separate classrooms while 10% still receive education in separate schools (http://www.thearc.org/). Successful mainstreaming is especially dependent on positive attitudes by regular classroom teachers (RCTs). Levels of acceptance of handicapped children by RCTs have been discouraging. A survey of 200 teachers revealed that only 38% supported the concept of mainstreaming. Of that percent only 40.5% were willing to accept the mildly handicapped individual in their classrooms (Meisel, 119). It is when handicapped students are liked, accepted, and chosen as friends that mainstreaming becomes a positive influence on the lives of both handicapped and non handicapped students. Also providing handicapped students with access to and constructive interaction with non handicapped peers. Mainstreaming is not something to do for a few students, but, rather, something to do for all students. This may or may not work out. If non-handicapped students reject the handicapped, there may be increased prejudice (Reynolds, 26). Only a very few children need to be educated in something other than the regular school environment: Boys and girls whose life/health situations is so fragile that moving them from residence to another place for schooling would endanger their lives. Mainstreaming has to do with educating children for all or part of the school day in the regular classroom with the regular curriculum, with students who have not been labeled handicapped.Some feel that mainstreaming means putting children back into regular classrooms, however, the main concept is not putting children back; but rather not removing children in the first place (Reynolds, 54). I plan to teach elementary school and take a personal view and responsibility in handling this issue of segregation or integration. Is it wiser to segregate pupils of different levels of ability or to integrate them? A major argument in favor of segregated placement is that the handicapped students are more positive and have greater self-esteem when placed with other handicapped students. On the other hand, integration provides the handicapped child an opportunity to model non-handicapped peers and be motivated to imitate the behavior of these higher performing peers.I strongly agree that the schools should take a more active role in structuring their classrooms to accommodate the special education needs of students. These students should not be labeled and segregated, they should be integrated and have the same opportunities for learning and becoming a part of the mainstream. In essence, all schools should be committed to valuing students of all kinds and include them in all aspects of school life regardless of the labels placed on them. A teachers job is to help students set realistic goals and identify which curriculum and instruction should be geared to meet those goals. Mainstreaming certainly comes with its benefits but the best place to help these children set meaningful goals and learn meaningful skills to function successfully, as future adults would be the community as a whole. Including special education students in regular classrooms keeps them in the mainstream of education. Their assignments can be limited and they can receive supplemental instruction for material they have difficulty comprehending. In terms of democracy-they have the opportunity to receive the same education as all other students and by not removing them from regular education, they are not being treated differently. Some people see pull out a detrimental to these kids and others see it as a special treatment for them. Special ed kids offers a lot to regular classrooms. It is believed by some that kids need to learn of differences and tolerance early. In terms of students with learning disabilities-just because they have difficulty reading the textbook, doesnt mean they will not learn the material through lecture, projects, etc. Usually, if the student is confident enough, they can keep up with the rest of the class with modifications made to reading material, assignments and tests. By including them in the regular ed classes there is equity in their education and diversity in the population of the classroom. During the summer of 1998, I worked as a camp counselor at the Kendall Boys and Girls Club. This camp accepts all children whether they are white, black, Hispanic, or have a disability. Through the months at camp, I became attached to a little boy named Marty. Marty was one of the so-called special kids because he was deaf. Throughout the weeks, Marty and I became close and I got a chance to meet his family. I would talk to them about his condition and ask them what they do about his schooling. I just assumed that Marty went to a special school, but that was not the case. Marty is being mainstreamed into a normal school. I asked his mother how well he was doing and if there were any problems. She said, he is doing ok in school, struggles a little bit, but then what kid doesnt. She told me at the beginninBibliography: