The effective use of “special” education for all children can eliminate the need for students or educational professionals to “swim against the mainstream” in order to find success in the education system, Mr. Thomas maintains.
THE SEPARATE field of special education needs to continue its evolution. No longer a completely distinct entity, special education should complete its dissolution and begin a total merger into what is now termed general education. Pete Idstein’s December Kappan article, “Swimming Against the Mainstream,” is an example of the systemic weaknesses that reflect the need to combine both general and special education into a more substantial system of education for all. Idstein’s examples of mismanagement and unequal use of instructional resources serve to point out the divisiveness caused by the artificial separation of the field of education.
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