It took 8 months to teach one student how to perform his job functions at a local chain restaurant - selecting a knife, a large fork, a salad fork and a spoon and then rolling them into a cloth napkin. But at the end of that 8 months, he knew how to do his job with perfection and worked there for almost 10 years instead of spending his days in a group home or a bedroom in his parent's home. His IQ was around 65. Other students were taught to peel and core apples at a bakery, detail cars at an auto dealer, and bag groceries at a grocery store. I taught them how to ride the bus, clock in and out, and manage specific behaviors that were a problem in the work place.
I doubt that public school teachers can better prepare low-IQ youths for these jobs than the employers can themselves. Subsidizing apprenticeships would likely be more effective than spending ever-greater amounts on special education.
