Mainstreaming Handicapped Schoolchildren

While Sarah Englelmen fights for the right of her daughter to participate in “mainstream” education, two families in Hawaii are suing so their children will have the benefits of special education.

As an educator, I am frustrated with the single-minded solutions that are pushed on school systems whenever the pendulum swings. The trend now is to mainstream. I support this trend if schools are allowed to prepare for this change and if parents of handicapped children are given an option.

If mainstreaming is our goal and we want to provide quality education for all students, we would be wise to reduce the class size to a sensible 15 students. Mainstreaming might have a chance if we have small classes and prepared teachers. If we mainstream all students with special needs into the system we have now, everyone will lose.

JAN YOUNG

Hawthorne