Role of Schools in the Society (Essay Sample)

The Role of special Schools in an inclusive society
Name
Institution
When discussing about special education needs, Mary Warnock philosophies and theories alongside Dr Martin Luther King fight for equal rights and opportunities are quite synonymous. They both advocated for equal treatment of people with special needs with Martin Luther campaigning for an inclusive society that will see the people with disabilities treated equally and offered same educational rights and opportunities as those offered to the other people. This paper bases its discussion on Mary Warnock's and Martin Luther's view on disability, special education and an inclusive society to try to answer the question is there а role for sресiаl sсhооls in an inclusive sосiеty? This paper points out various ways through which special schools play a role in an inclusive society.
An inclusive society is that which all members are treated equally. The disabled people have for a long time been treated indifferently and have been receiving poorer quality of education, poorer healthcare and below average public services (Disability rights, 2013). All this can be attested to the quality of education that people with disability receive. Previously, there were no rights for the people with disabilities in the US. Dr King played a major role in promoting issues relating to the civil rights of the American Citizens with disabilities. His efforts lead to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 (AMS Vans, 2011). Dr King advocated for an inclusive society in which each child's right would be recognized. Education is one of the child rights and in an inclusive society; education should be inclusive with the main focus being on its appropriateness, accessibility and effectiveness. Inclusive education should start with the family and the community with the children being include in the general education system without putting in mind their type of disability (IEA, 2013).
Mary Warnock in credited for forming the basis of special needs education in her 1978 Report. Before the formation of the committee, the Education Act of 1944 was of the view that education of children should be based on their age, ability and ability with about eleven categories of disabilities being outlined. Warnock's report concluded that about 20% children in school had special needs in education and about 2% might need more special kind of education than the rest of the students. The report recommended that more specialized type of education be provided to these children (Silas, 2013). This was recommended to ensure that the children are provided with effective and appropriate education that fits their needs. The report brought about the 1981 education act that addressed the issues of identifying and incorporating students with special needs into the education system. Further amendments of the act led to the establishment of the Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) and later in 2001, it was amended to show how the government was committed to its efforts to include SEN children into mainstream schools.
Dr King view for an inclusive education was that which all the children were provided with efficient and effective education but in an inclusive education, the needs of various students vary. The kind of education offered would not be effective and efficient to some students. Warnock argues in her pamphlet published in 2005 that the special needs education and inclusion should be rethought. She calls for a better way of looking into the educational and social needs of pupils with disabilities and this is where the point of special schools comes in (Silas, 2013).
Warnock raises various issues concerning special education needs and inclusion. She is of the point that small specialized schools are necessary so as to meet the goals of inclusion. In addition to that, she is of the view that specialized schools will ensure that the pupils with special needs are not exposed to constant bullying as in mainstream schools. She goes on to argue that inclusion should give the SEN pupils a sense of belonging and that specialized schools with specials equipments and resources would make it possible for pupil with hearing or sight problems to be taught equally. Having students with hearing disability in mainstream classes would not be inclusion according to Warnock (Silas, 2013).
Warnock gives a broader definition of the category of special education need and goes beyond the prescription of the medical view of what is the problem with certain children. She does concur well with the idea that all students with SEN can be thought of being the same. She is of the view that ‘SEN is not one phenomenon, but that is has many traits (Warnock, 2010: 38).  For her, SEN goes beyond being a medical category and she is of the idea that it brings in not only those kids with impairments, but also those from deprived backgrounds who special needs in their educational, in particular concerning communication and conversation' (Warnock, 2010: 38). 
Warnock (2010) also points out that children in care and those that are mathematically and musically gifted also have special needs. She states that these children realize that they are different after growing up and that they cannot fit in the normal society (Warnock, 2010: 37).   She concludes that for these children, ‘the inevitable toughness required for survival in a large busy school is an impossible goal' (Warnock, 2010: 37). She is of the view that children with special needs should be allowed to attend mainstream classes, ‘but only such as could be met within the normal resources of the school and for the most part in the normal classroom' (Warnock, 2010: 40). She is of the idea that disability is inside and within the child and it is therefore important that the special needs of a child is recognized and responded to.
In contrast to the social model of disability, Warnock emphasizes the focus on each child's individual needs in contrast to the social model of disability. She is opposed to the idea that mainstream schools can address the issue of disability but advocates for specialized schools that will not only address the difficulties of SEN students and cater for specific disabilities, but which will also cater for students whose needs come from social disadvantage (Warnock, 2010: 44). She opines that an Inclusive education system should bring on board participation in learning as opposed to getting into to mainstream education. She states that ‘Inclusion is not a matter of where you are geographically, but of where you feel you belong' (Warnock, 2010: 34).   In a recent interview, Warnock emphasizes her point that small and well equipped special schools will play a great role in ensuring that people with special needs get quality education and that they get equally treatment from the society. She argues that the system which incorporates special need children into the mainstream classes brings about various complexities and ends up being ineffective and inefficient due to the wide range of needs of such children (GTCW, 2013). She proposes various options that include putting up specials units within the mainstream schools and co-location of both the mainstream and the special schools. In addition to that, she proposes the specialist specialized schools that will focus on particular types of disabilities.
Mary Warnock ideas bring out the various roles that special schools play in achieving an inclusive society. By providing the people with disabilities the right type of education that fits their needs, they would be able to get the appropriate knowledge and even get to realize their talents and skills. This kind of education has proved successful in recent times with more disabled people qualifying for jobs and even participating in various sporting activities. Though separating the special needs students from the mainstream schools would seem like excluding them from the society, the advantages gained from special schools would outweigh this one point of exclusion. In special schools, the children will be able to easily identify with each other and a feeling of belonging would be created. Additionally, bullying would be minimized and the full attention on the special needs pupils will make it easier to identify their personal needs, abilities and even talents.
The present education system of inclusion posses a variety of challenges to the main stream schools. The diversity of the specials needs has made it necessary for teachers and principals in the mainstream schools to seek assistance from the specialized schools. The special schools thus play a role of offering the mainstream schools advice and assistance on how to handle the situations in their schools. In addition to that, the special schools play an important role in raising the education standard of SEN pupils. The special schools support the mainstream schools through sharing of resources, multi disciplinary working and encouraging teacher to teacher contact. By working together, both the mainstream and special schools would ensure that the pupils they serve equally benefit from the education system (ETINI, 2006).
Special schools also play an important role in identifying and evaluating children with special needs. This would make it possible for effective plans on how to best handle the various cases are drafted and implemented. In addition to that, the schools also provide expert advice on various areas such as speech dyslexia and ASD. Teachers in special schools are trained to handle such complex cases and are thus able to help children with various disabilities achieve their potentials to the maximum levels possible. Apart from that, the schools also play a role of providing their students future opportunities in life (ETINI, 200...