The Special Ed Kid

Once upon a time, there was a boy in 5th grade. He was in special ed for English because he was a slow learner and had difficulty keeping up with the pace of the rest of the class. Now some might think he had some learning disability that infringed his ability to comprehend what was being taught, but there was something about this little boy that like the "little engine that could" would reveal his brilliance.

Tommy, 11 years old, would be in the elementary classroom just like all the other kids except when the subject of English was taught. Everyday he would be pulled out of the classroom to go down the hallway and to the left was a classroom that would help break down the basic elements of English that the rest of the students were learning. But Tommy was unlike any of the other boys and girls who were in that special ed class. He was a huge fan of the movie series Rocky and remembered in the first movie that Rocky said "If you want to be smart, hang around smart people..." and Tommy took that to heart because he sensed the wisdom in that statement. It made sense to him because he observed people become the average of their peers. (Even I the author was astounded by the level of intelligence of Tommy.)

So one day about quarter way through the school year, Tommy made the decision to graduate out of special ed realizing that growing up in later in junior high & high school there would be a social stigma associated with accepting help. That same week he made the decision to commit to achieving the goal, Tommy studied ruthlessly and had razor like focus. Tommy was consumed by his desired outcome to "get out" of special ed, for he knew that he WAS NOT STUPID/RETARDED but that he simply LEARNED DIFFERENTLY & SLOWER PACE to which he could fully comprehend the subject matter. For he sought out understanding, not merely remembering phrases and numbers because without meaning symbols are meaningless. Within the month Tommy passed the tests necessary to graduate from special ed.

Tommy for whatever reason would remind himself of his experience whenever he was feeling disappointed or depressed because he learned from that experience that being educated is something HE DOES, NOT SOMETHING PASSIVE but a proactive observation of the world around him.

The End