Take notes. Special Education (SPED). I got the kids no one wanted. Parents were burned out. My classroom was in the boiler room in the basement. So no one would see us. Hidden away learning how to pick up and put in blocks and boxes. Spell your name. What is your phone number. Try another way. Dick and Jane had a dog named Spot. Pulmonary aspiration. Real school would have been out there in the big bad brutal world. Mom and dad will not live forever. Have you ever been on a public bus. By yourself. The Normals in the bus are getting antsy because it's taking too much time to get your wheelchair onto the lift. Now, let's talk about what sex is. This is a pair of pants. Today we will be learning how to put your pants on. Pull. Pull. Pull. We are not the good students. You can do it. I got them out of the boiler room by refusing to go back there. It stunk. We were not allowed to play with the typical children because they refused to admit we even existed. They hired me because I am a male. End of story. I had to lift them from stretchers. Pulmonary aspiration. My students drool all over their desks. They wear diapers. I took a sledge hammer to a classroom wall. People were outraged. But no one stopped me. I wanted a door to a typical classroom where maybe they would find a friend. They had no friends. A 6th grade classroom does not want anyone who drools and messes his pants. Three words among many. Fetal Alcohol syndrome. Etcetera. Most do not speak.
But we are here. -- Tim Barrus