Mainstream schools still remain to be the most popular variant of acquiring secondary education today. Individual plans and homeschooling sound very appealing to some parents, but these options are more available for children with disabilities. Most adults do not even hesitate before enrolling their child in a public or private educational establishment because it seems a correct thing to do – let them discover the world in the classroom and communicate with teachers and peers.
Advantages of conventional schooling assure parents that there is no reason to search for any alternative. Curricula in public schools are clearly structured and properly agreed upon with the principals and government. They cover subjects comprehensively and, in general, provide a well-rounded education. Conventional schools also provide a perfect ability to socialize. Interacting with peers and teachers, children obtain a basic understanding of what life in the community looks like and how individuals and their attitudes may differ from one another. Another important advantage of conventional schools is providing children with labs on physics, chemistry, astronomy so that the students could conduct experiments and research given scientific field precisely.
The lack of individual attention is, perhaps, one of the biggest disadvantages of mainstream schools. If the child is struggling with something or is already behind in the material, teachers cannot come back to clarify the material or turn all their attention top the problematic student. The whole conception of mainstream education is developed on the idea to teach many students at the same time. However, this is not the proper way for teaching children with autism, for example. On the similar basis, every single child receives very little attention. Therefore, we can assume that mainstream schools may provide a good teaching but the quality of learning remains low.