Protected

Of course one of the reasons the kids in the Special Ed class are so different is because they have been sheltered and protected in school from the very first. 

Being educated without unnecessary stress, they have every advantage--close supervision by specially trained adults--small classes--individual attention to their needs--medical help on call--free transportation from home to school and back and practically guaranteed paid work at their personal level of efficiency when they themselves become adults.

"Normal" kids are most usually thrown into regular classes to swim or sink--and, unless they are helped and protected by parents or other interested adults, most will sink to the least common denominator.

They are SO normal they are given little instruction about how to behave--so they behave like their peers in order to survive in a hard world where there are no guarantees--and most of their peers get their  patterns of behavior from TV, movies, computer games and slightly older children.

Kids will soon learn enough "blackboard jungle morality"--to lie, cheat and steal--the common morality of their peers and of their most looked-up-to adult heroes--and slow learners will not survive long.

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