[00:06.02]1994 Passage3

[00:08.24]Exceptional children are different in some significant way

[00:12.07]from others of the same age.

[00:15.11]For these children to develop to their full adult potential,

[00:18.74]their education must be adapted to those differences.

[00:22.98]Although we focus on the needs of exceptional children,

[00:27.10]we find ourselves describing their environment as well.

[00:31.24]While the leading actor on the stage captures our attention,

[00:34.96]we are aware of the importance of the supporting players

[00:38.55]and the scenery of the play itself.

[00:41.36]Both the family and the society

[00:43.78]in which exceptional children live are often the key to

[00:46.91]their growth and development.

[00:49.13]And it is in the public schools

[00:50.85]that we find the full expression of society's understanding

[00:55.08]--the knowledge, hopes, and fears

[00:57.50]that are passed on to the next generation.

[01:00.93]Education in any society is a mirror of that society.

[01:05.57]In that mirror we can see the strengths,

[01:08.50]the weaknesses, the hopes, the prejudices,

[01:11.89]and the central values of the culture itself.

[01:16.02]The great interest in exceptional children shown

[01:18.69]in public education over the past three decades

[01:22.14]indicates the strong feeling

[01:23.86]in our society that all citizens,

[01:26.58]whatever their special conditions,

[01:28.50]deserve the opportunity to fully develop their capabilities.

[01:33.37]"All men are created equal." We've heard it many times,

[01:38.01]but it still has important meaning for education

[01:41.04]in a democratic society.

[01:43.76]Although the phrase was used by this country's founders

[01:46.78]to denote equality before the law,

[01:49.40]it has also been interpreted to mean equality of opportunity.

[01:54.75]That concept implies educational opportunity for all children

[01:59.48]--the right of each child to receive help in learning to

[02:02.98]the limits of his or her capacity,

[02:06.22]whether that capacity be small or great.

[02:10.65]Recent court decisions have confirmed the right of all children

[02:15.18]--disabled or not--to an appropriate education,

[02:18.91]and have ordered that public schools

[02:20.73]take the necessary steps to provide that education.

[02:25.48]In response, schools are modifying their programs,

[02:29.00]adapting instruction to children who are exceptional,

[02:32.94]to those who cannot profit substantially from regular programs.