How does the author address the failure of schools in the nonfiction book, One Child?

Torey's class is referred to as "the garbage class". While Torey says that this is an affectionate label, the reader fails to see the love. The truth of the matter is that the school dumps the more severely disabled children into a classroom of their own, cut off from the rest of the school so that no one has to be inconvenienced by their presence.

The issue of how to handle disabled children in the school system is a constant debate. Standards change each time a new theory is broached by the latest research. For years, the thought was to keep disabled children isolated from the rest of the school, and then mainstreaming became the fashion. Many schools mainstream the child for the majority of the day, but send him to a special class based on his specific needs. Other schools insist that the child receive additional help outside of school, but leave these arrangements up to the parents. Unfortunately, most of the decisions on how to manage the academic careers of disabled students is dictated by funding. One year the funds may exist for a separate class or additional aides in the regular classroom, but the following year those funds may be exhausted or not maintained. The underlying impression is that the school tries to do what is easiest for them and not best for the student.

Torey's school is no different. Mr. Collins appears to have little patience for the students in Torey's class. He does not mind them as long as they do not affect the rest of the school. So when Sheila disrupts another classroom or the lunch room, he takes issue with her and Torey. Instead of listening to Torey explain Sheila's behavior and point out the progress she has made, Mr. Collins paddles Sheila for her behavior. Mr. Collins lacks the compassion necessary to work with a disabled population. To him they are a nuisance to be shoved to the side and he would prefer not to interact with them in any capacity.

Mr. Collins represents the common perspective on disabled students, while Torey represents a new model of teaching. Torey takes the child into consideration. She evaluates his or her strengths and weaknesses in order to best help that child. Neither side is particularly correct in their method. There needs to be a concerted effort to intertwine the standard and the non-standard with the emphasis being placed on the child. Instead of running the school like a factory that outputs children after the required amount of time, schools should be focusing on the quality, not the quantity, of their product.