Special Education for the Mildly Retarded—Is Much of it Justifiable?

TLDR

The author, a former president of the Council for Exceptional Children, notes that special education has largely been directed by general educators who refer problem children to them. The author urges a halt to the continued expansion of special education programs, citing personal departure from the field. The author concludes that past and present special education practices are morally and educationally flawed, and that educators are generally ill‑prepared and ineffective in teaching these children.

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract to this article, I would like to preface it by saying this is my swan song for now—as I leave special education and this country for probably the next two years. I have been honored to be a past president of The Council for Exceptional Children. I have loyally supported and promoted special classes for the educable mentally retarded for most of the last 20 years, but with growing disaffection. In my view, much of our past and present practices are morally and educationally wrong. We have been living at the mercy of general educators who have referred their problem children to us. And we have been generally ill prepared and ineffective in educating these children. Let us stop being pressured into continuing and expanding a special education program that we know now to be undesirable for many of the children we are dedicated to serve.