Disability by Royston and George

  In many workplaces nowadays, disabled people are not given the same opportunities as compared to someone who is more fortunate and blessed. At times, when they work, their employers, or customers disapprove of the way they carry out their tasks, thus lesser and lesser of them would actually be employed. For example, a person with autism would not be aware of his/her surroundings and may ignore social cues. Even if the customer does want it, they may still do it anyway, much to their frustration. Yet, I find that they should be integrated into our society, starting with mainstream education since young. 

They are misunderstood, and just like what the president of Society for the Physically Disabled, Ms Chia said "A disability is not caused by a medical condition per se . A person is disabled because there are external and internal barriers that impede his development and participation in the community, " We should embrace them, and seek to empathize and accept them, and we can all start by integrating them into our Mainstream Education. Just because of the fact that they are disabled does not mean that they are not as good as the other "normal" students. In fact, based on many news reports, the disabled seem to be more passionate and determined to study and excel in their various areas, be it work or play. That itself is enough. If the students are willing to learn and have an insatiable hunger for knowledge, it is up to the teacher to "feed" them. Everybody should be given an equal chance and opportunity in education, and whether they succeed is up to themselves. So I strongly believe and agree that disabled people should be integrated into our mainstream education, as we are all equal, and they definitely should be treated as so. 

Disability by Jayme and Rong Yan

Many argue that children with disability should be intergrated into our mainstream education system so that they would be taught together with students without disability and would not be left out. Although they have some disability, they do not have to be left out and should be taught in the same environment as the other students. For example, Ansel, who was

diagnosed with duchenne muscular dystrophy at seven, also has mild autism and dyspraxia — a developmental coordination disorder. He studied at Montfort Secondary School and has a allied educator for learning and behavioral support. He was still integrated into our mainstream education system although he had a disability. However, it may also be better if children with disabilities are not integrated into the mainstream education systems, as their individual progress will be closely supervised by teachers. Students with disabilities will definitely understand concepts and lessons slower and the rate of their productivity will be lower. With closer supervision from teachers, the students would be able to learn more efficiently, as the teacher will guide the students along the way and give them feedback  according to their individual performance in class. As mentioned in the article, teachers in mainstream school try to help the students, but they do not understand their condition and would blame them, saying that they do not pay attention. However, in specialized schools, the teachers are trained to understand and emphasize with the children and will be able to provide them with maximum care and help, in terms in studies and also mentally.

Disability by Hongyi & Matthew

I agree that it is essential for students with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream education system. Some might argue that by doing so, students with no learning disabilities are learning together with students without disabilities, and they are forced to learn at the same pace as them, and this might affect their learning. There could be smarter students that wish to learn at a faster rate, but this is hindered by the students with learning disabilities. By segregating disabled children from the rest of their counterparts in schools, it would inevitably cause them to feel that they are different and 'abnormal' from their peers, and in worse cases feel that they are of less importance to the society. Severe emotional distress is brought unto the disabled children, and ought not to feel this way. Integrating them into our mainstream education system would no doubt rectify their already traumatized emotions, with the help of their peers in school. Knowing that they can be learning alongside with other children would be a great emotional aid and support to the disabled children.

Disability by Xin Yan & Mei Xuan

T2W8 Read the 3 articles & write 1 para (counterargument & rebuttal) to address this Qn: It is essential for children with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream education system. DYA?

Stand: Agree

Some people may argue that these children with special needs and disabilities are not as developed in their abilities, making it harder for them to learn in a normal setting such as in our mainstream education system. If they were to be in our mainstream education system, they would not be able to catch up or understand at the same pace as the other students. This would then affect them in the long run. Thus, it is essential for them to be placed in a school specially suited for them, with trained personnel who know the best way to stretch their learning. Furthermore, with them socialising with people of about the same ability as them, they would not feel any discrimination as compared to if they were to be in the mainstr an education system. A 45-year-old homemaker, who wished to be known as Ms Hui, spoke of the challenges she had faced since her son, now 14, was diagnosed with dyslexia seven years ago. He was labelled as “slow and stupid” by classmates and teachers, she said. This shows that if children with special needs are integrated into our mainstream education system, they would be criticised by other children, thus it is better for them to be in a education system that would suit them more.

However, I believe that this may not be a problem as most of them are hardworking students. Even though they may study at a slower pace, maybe due to their disabilities, they are not mentally weak. As long as they have the right attitude to study, they can pay attention during lesson and be detailed in their work, which will allow them to catch up with the other students and become part of their whole. They will not be shunned and this could change their lives forever, when they realize that they have the ability to learn like any other child. Not only that, other students who are faster than them can aim to help them out with their work, pushing them forward to greater success. In fact, aesthetics products distributor Dione International director Clara Chng said that based on her own experience, she enjoys working with foreign workers because of their focus, loyalty and can-do attitude. This shows that despite their differences, people can still get along well, and also their appearance do not matter as long as they have the moral values and motivation to strive for a better future. It is the power of their own to control the future they have, no matter the school they go to. As long as they are hardworking, they can always catch up to their studies. Hence, I agree that it is essential for children with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream education system.

Disability by Jize and Kian Boon

It would be tough for the Teachers taking care of the students it children with disabilities were to be integrated into our mainstream education system. For example, a primary school teacher who had declined to be named said in a newspaper article: "If there are too many of such children in a class, it is unfair to expect Teachers to be able to cope." In addition, parents have also claimed that their children require more assistance in terms of their learning due to their disabilities. From these two pieces of evidence, it can be clearly seen that children with disabilities should not be integrated into our mainstream education system due to their disabilities. This would only bring disruption to the classroom as the Teachers have to cope with one student with a disability in the class, while still focusing on the other students. In addition, it would be better to send students with disabilities to other schools as the Teachers there are formally trained to look after them, something which is quite redundant for mainstream Teachers to go through due to one or two students that they have to cater to. Thus, streaming them into special schools would help develop their potential to the fullest as well as remove the stress from mainstream schools Teachers as well as the disruption to the class that they would bring.
However, students with disability should still be integrated into mainstream school systems. Yes, children with disabilities should be mainstreamed because improves academically, socially, and improve their self esteem. They will have a fair chance at getting a look into the real world. It helps them become socially active and helps build them for success. Mainstreaming them pushes them harder and drive them success, makes them feel confident. Some special needs are severe- some are not. If the child can even halfway keep up with their typical peers then why should they be denied the opportunity to try? Many cases of special needs improve greatly when they are able to see good examples of behavior and communication modeled by their peers. Students with disabilities should be integrated into the mainstream education system in order for them to learn properly, as well as the general education students. If special needs students are totally segregated from the general education kids, they will not learn how they are supposed to handle real life situations. They would not learn what is proper and improper to do in certain situations.

Zeyu&Shao Min

We agree that it is essential for children with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream Education system.
Some people think that children with disabilities need the guidance of teachers specially trained to help children with special needs.They feel that teachers in mainstream schools will not be able to attend to the needs of these children with disabilities, leading to mire ineffective teaching. Some Teachers that are not aware that a specific student has ADHD might end up punishing him or her for something he did not do on purpose, and is solely the result of his condition.
However, the fact that children with disabilities are treated as normal children could help them adapt to the society and will therefore be more accepted. "The early years offer a special opportunity to foster development gains in children, as 80% of the brains capacity develops before the age of 3. The gains are highest for those with maximum disadvantage," a 2009 policy brief by the UNESCO states. Therefore children with disabilities should be put into mainstream education by the age of 3 so as to ensure their brain develops to their full potential. The fact that they are disabled will cause them to learn slower. However this should not be a reason for them to be removed from mainstream education as they should still be given a chance to learn alongside normal children and be given equal chances when stepping into the society.

Disability by Shaoyi and Jolene

T2W8 Read the 3 articles & write 1 para (counterargument & rebuttal) to address this Qn: It is essential for children with disabilities to be integrated into our mainstream education system. Do you agree? Links : http://goo.gl/IXyL1K http://goo.gl/VRSUJ7 https://goo.gl/rLxnvC  Label: names, disability

I agree that students with disabilities should be integrated into the mainstream education system.
However, the inclusive of students with learning disorders in the mainstream education system will result in teachers being unable to cope with the special coachings these students will require. This is so as there is a lack of manpower in schools that specialise in coaching the disabled students. Although there is at least one teacher that is trained in the field to coach the disabled students in around 40 percent of the secondary schools in Singapore, this amount is insufficient considering that there is a high 2.7 percent of students with learning disorders out of the whole student population in Singapore. Therefore, with a lack of specialised coaches in the mainstream education system, students with learning disorders might not be able to learn to the best of their ability and might have slow down the pace of the class when the teacher pays too much attention to them whilst neglecting the other students. To solve the problem of teachers being unable to cope with the special coachings the special needs students will require, more teachers are being trained to teach special needs students and allied educators are also deployed into schools specially for the special needs students. There are about 3,000 teachers trained to meet special needs, up from fewer than 80 a decade ago. Parents have welcomed the MOE’s initiatives, including having allied educators at schools to provide support for children with special needs. This will solve the problem by having more manpower in schools to help with the mainstream teachers in teaching the special needs students. Parents will also be content as their special needs child will be able to receive the same level of education as the others and be cared for at the same time. Hence, I agree that students with disabilities should be integrated into the mainstream education system.