According to the Curry School of Education, approximately 80% of students with learning disabilities receive the majority of their instruction in the general classroom ("Inclusion." http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/dept/cise/ose.html. 10 Oct. 1999). That number is expected to rise as teachers and parents become aware of the benefits of inclusion. .

             Because there are so many disabled students in regular schools, it is important to look at whether or not mainstreaming is necessary for their education. For parents, having their disabled children mainstreamed into regular education can be a difficult choice. Although disabled children"s education can be more challenging in regular schools, the benefits of inclusion include enhanced self-esteem, development of social skills, and exposure to regular curriculum. .

             Many people believe mainstreaming only helps disabled children, but there are many challenges that hurt their education rather than help. Both faculty and students can be cruel to disabled students. Because they are not used to interacting with disabled children, faculty and students may be uncomfortable with the situation and be insensitive to the disabled children. By ignoring the disabled children or treating them badly, the children will lose self-esteem and may disrupt the class in order to show their unhappiness. Some teachers are not familiar with teaching disabled children, so the education is lacking for the children. Teachers may continue to teach their classes at an accelerated level, forgetting about the slower students. The students will then fall behind and get frustrated with the situation. All these factors hurt disabled children"s education and will hurt their chances at succeeding in life. .

             Being in a regular school can help disabled children feel better about themselves and their accomplishments. When disabled children complete a more challenging task, they may receive praise from their teacher and fellow students.