A Place of their Own
...struction for children with physical, mental, emotional, or learning disabilities or gifted programs for students who need special education services in order to achieve at their ability level,” (Sadker & Sadker 569). Special education students require constant supervision, smaller class sizes, and a level of teaching parallel to their individual abilities. It is easy to recognize that these students need to have the sense of normalcy found in regular classrooms. It is important to realize, however, that normalcy can occur in special education classes. Special education classrooms are as diverse as regular classrooms. In each special education class, there are students with a variety of disabilities, each requiring individualized and specialized attention. Students with Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD, hearing problems, or child prodigies, for example, can be found in special Ed classes. It is beneficial for learning disabled students to be placed in a setting where they can learn at their own pace instead of the pressures these students face to accomplish tasks in an otherwise normal class setting. While it is true that exceptional education students have fought for the right to attend a regular school setting, these students should not seek to join a regular classroom simply because they will not receive the attention necessary for their success. Students who are not special education material generally move at the same pace as the teacher (107). If teachers concentrate all their efforts on keeping the gifted students challenged and the otherwise disabled students on task, the regular students will be neglected and vice versa. It is therefore crucial for exceptional education students to be a part of a program that will either enhance their individual skills and talents or aid in overcoming disabilities in an environment that would better suit their needs. Today’s educators face more than just the task of transmitting knowledge to our youth. Teachers must deal with endless streams of paperwork, student assemblies, and faculty meetings, to only name a few. Whether it is collecting money for a worthy cause or simply settling accounts with students and their parents, teachers have several odd tasks that demand just as much attention as a class. In addition to these random responsibilities, teachers must deal with off-task students, individual student problems such as missing supplies, and overall classroom management. Keeping students like Alison and Alex in a regular class impedes the productive direction of the class. While Mrs. Davis focuses on reprimanding Alison for drawing and attempts to gain Alex’s attention, the rest of the classroom lags behind awaiting further instruction. There is simply not enough time to accommodate these students as well as the rest of the class with proper specialized attention. The amount of time spent tending to the special needs of exceptional education students could be spent productively on the regular students that are on the same page, so to speak, as the teacher. A smaller class size would also better accommodate special Ed students. Research has shown that smaller class sizes are associated with increased student learning (197). Imagine the rewards special Ed students would enjoy learning in a classroom that is close-knit and affable environment. Teachers would be able to give these students their undivided attention when they are not over-burdened with an excess of students. In a small class, many goals can be accomplished; students can learn at their own pace while teachers can experiment with several different ways of teaching. With smaller classes and better-specialized teachers, special education students can get past their disabilities or at least learn how to deal with their particular situations on a day-to-day basis. Helen Keller, for instance, was able to overcome her blindness and deafness only after being tutored on a one-on-one basis with Anne Sullivan. If special education students were placed in regular classrooms they would not be given the same quality attention they would receive in a less populated setting. They would also be lacking teachers certified to handle students with disabilities for the reason that regular teachers are not required by state regulations to be proficient in educating the disabled or talented. Gifted students can also, regrettably, be victims of mainstreaming. These otherwise bright students succumb to the environment in a regular classroom by having to follow the pace of the class dictated by the instructor despite being ahead of the rest of their classmates. Gif...