Education of Exceptional Children

The education of exceptional children is the subject of concern to responsible educators. Particularly since the enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), or P.L. 94-142, professionals in education are required by law to provide a suitable education program for handicapped children. The state of Pennsylvania also requires that educational provision be made for gifted and talented children, which are not included in the U.S. law P.L. 94-142. Following is a transcript of an interview of the principal of Buckingham Elementary School, Buckingham, Pennsylvania, Carolyn Ambler, of a veteran teacher from the same school, Monica Gooding, who teaches second grade. The purpose of this interview is to determine the impact of public law 94-142 on the school's educational program.

Interviewer: How familiar are you with the requirements of public law 94-142?

Mrs. Ambler:Very familiar. When the law was enacted in 1977, I was a new principal at Buckingham School, and all the principals in the district were required to attend training seminars to orient us to the requirements of the law. We received printed information detailing the specific guidelines and follow-through support from consultants.

Mrs. Gooding:That year was my first year as teacher of second grade at Buckingham School. After Mrs. Ambler learned about P.L. 94-142, she oriented all of us to the changes that would be required in our i

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on city buses. On-going in-service training has been time consuming for all concerned, and at times I have become tired from being supportive to so many people. Mrs. Gooding:I was frightened at the thought of having handicapped children in my room. I took pride in running an upbeat classroom filled with optimism and achievement, and I felt that problem children would be disruptive. I found that I had to face personal prejudices against handicapped children, which were most uncomfortable to acknowledge. I didn't want my regular students to "catch" my attitudes, so I spent time with the school psychologist and Mrs. Ambler to air my feelings. Admittedly, at times I resented the interruption of my regular classroom routine and the extra time that the special child might require from me. Interviewer:How is the education of handicapped children in your school different now from what it was before the enactment of P.L. 94-142? Mrs. Ambler:Instead of children being set apart in special classes all day, they spend part of each day in a regular classroom. For the more severely handi- capped who tend to backslide during off times, we have summer programs and weekend classes. As I mentioned before, there have been physical plant mo
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Approximate Word count = 1618
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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