This is the time where functional curriculum can slowly be meshed into the equation with traditional curriculums found in average classrooms. As the students get older and progress in their mental functioning, more and more vocational-based training should be implemented in order to prepare for entrance into the job market. This does not mean ignoring academics completely, but more so highlighting vocational and independent living skills above traditional academic contexts. Within this generalized set up, each student must work at his or her own pace; "While the subject matter will parallel that taught to the regular student, the manner in which the information is resented, the rate at which material is covered, an the emphasis on individual needs should differentiate it from instructional practices in the regular grades," (Sedlak 1985:149). This is where...

They will allow the students to work at their own pace individually and constructively without feeling pressure to keep up with normal students.
Facilitating both academic and independent living skills within students with various levels of mental retardation proves incredibly important. Many of these students will need extra help to understand and work within the normal world. Thus, allowing a functional curriculum to exist within self-contained classrooms facilitates the greatest levels of success for future endeavors of such students.

References

Heward, William L. (2002). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education.

7th ed. Prentice Hall.

Sedlak, Denise M. (1985). Teaching the Educable Mentally Retarded. SUNY Press.