Physical Space and Resources:

​

Accommodations and modifications are necessary if students with disabilities are to successfully integrate into a regular classroom (Tornillo, 1994). However, a lack of funding for special equipment and services ensures that mainstream classrooms remain unadapted and ill-prepared to serve students with exceptionalities (Sklaroff, 1994; Skrtic, 1991; Fox & Ysseldyke, 1997). The services and supports, if available, are usually stretched between students and programs, causing the “services and resources [to] be diluted,” (Tompkins & Deloney, 1995; UK Essays, 2013). The procedures for obtaining supports are restrictive and inequitable (UK Essays, 2013), putting extra stress on teachers, administrators, and parents. Special schools and programs are “much better equipped to deal with each child’s specific disability,”(Moran, 2015).  If one were to pool resources into a centralized location, rather than scattered around schools, that special equipment would be much more easily accessible and available to those who need it.

​

 

Teacher Training:

 

Teachers must have proper training in order to provide high-quality special education (Mader, 2017). However, teachers do not receive enough training in how to teach students with disabilities effectively (Secret Teacher, 2015; Schumm & Vaughn, 1995; Sklaroff, 1994, Tornillo, 1994). Staff need to be knowledgeable and experienced, but pre-service and in-service programs do little in the way of explicitly showing teachers how to support students with different needs (Moran, 2015; Mader, 2017; Rosenzweig, 2009). With limited background, teachers find the demands of teaching exceptional learners taxing (UK Essays, 2013). The necessities of students with disabilities can include a wide spectrum of needs, including those provided by occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, etc.  It is unrealistic to expect a teacher to provide the expertise of all these specialists and to attempt to do so would be incredibly stressful to the teacher and a disservice to all of their students by stretching the teacher too thin.

 

 

The Exceptional Learner:

​

Exceptional students integrated into general education classrooms “are not getting appropriate, specialized attention and care,” (Tornillo, 1994). Mainstream schools are usually not adequately equipped to accommodate disability, leaving some students without the intensive and individualized attention they need to get the education they deserve (Moran, 2015; UK Essays, 2013). Inclusion is not appropriate for all exceptional learners- many would have more success being heterogeneously grouped in an a customized environment (Cohen, 1995; Tompkins & Deloney, 1994).  Exceptional learners may need as much or more specialized attention as students with disabilities.  Providing exceptional learners with lessons and work that are more challenging than their peers’ would allow them to further their learning, but it puts that additional workload on the teacher.  Furthermore, having exceptional learners together in one class would be beneficial from a social standpoint because they would be with other students who are similarly gifted, with whom they share mutual interests, and they would also be less prone to teasing/bullying.  In addition, being immersed with other exceptional students would be mentally stimulating as the students could challenge each other.

​​

​

The "Regular" Learner:

 

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to put the child first, but why only the child with SEN (Special Education Needs)?” (Secret Teacher, 2015). Students with disabilities demand a large amount of time and resources, leaving the education and needs of the other students to be constantly disrupted and overlooked (Sklaroff, 1994; Tornillo, 1994). According to Constantinescu & Samuels (1996) indicate that students who share a classroom with students with disabilities have issues with absenteeism, lower math and reading scores, and struggle with social skills.  Teachers have a limited amount of time to teach to the class and to provide individualized help to students.  When high needs students monopolize the teacher’s time, other students don’t get as much personal attention from the teacher.  By providing students with disabilities and exceptionalities a lower student to teacher ratio, those students, as well as those in the regular classroom, are better able to get the personalized attention they need.

​​

​

Safe Schools:

 

The inclusion of exceptional learners affects the happiness and progress of both students and staff (Secret Teacher, 2015). Students with and without disability tend to display externalizing behaviours (such as arguing, name-calling, fighting, and impulsivity) and internalizing behaviours (such as anxiety, loneliness, sadness, apathy, and feelings of dread about having to go to school) (Constantinescu & Samuels, 1996; Moran, 2015; Secret Teacher, 2015). Integrating exceptional learners may increase negative attitudes in the general student body, making the threat of bullying and embarrassment greater (UK Essays, 2013; Vignes et. al, 2009). Integrated students with challenging behavioural issues may be segregated in the regular classroom because of ‘zero-tolerance’ and other behavioural policies (UK Essays, 2013). Teachers of exceptional students may have feelings of helplessness, leading to burnout (Secret Teacher, 2015). These circumstances may lead some educators to behave inappropriately, and in some cases neglectfully, towards students with special needs (Moran, 2015).  First and foremost, a teacher’s job is to ensure the safety of their students.  When students with particularly difficult or aggressive behaviours require frequent one-on-one attention in order to curb violent or aggressive behaviour, the teacher must spend a lot of their time dealing with that student, taking away from the rest of the class’ instructional time.  In addition, the teacher may also be limited in terms of what activity they can conduct in order to avoid triggers that may provoke outbursts.  Furthermore, for students who act aggressively, the consequences may well be segregation in the form of suspension or expulsion.  Having these students in an environment where these outbursts can be mitigated or where there is adequate staff with the proper expertise to deal with them, would be beneficial to the student.

 

The Alternative:

 

When the public school system fails to provide the resources for students with disabilities to thrive, the alternative sought is often a private school.  (Bouevitch, 2016).  In private schools, students are in smaller classes and specialized staff and equipment can be acquired.  Furthermore, some private schools that cater to students with disabilities (learning disabilities in particular), have such expertise that students are not only able to succeed in their grade level, but are often able to return to the public education system and excel, due to the skills and techniques they have learned in the private school.  (Peters, 2013).  The availability and success of private schools creates an even greater disparity between those who are able to afford private education and those who are not.  The best way to remedy this inequality is by having the public school system offer a similar option to that offered by the private.