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Compassion and acceptance are not character traits - they are attributes that can be taught and learned. They are best taught by example, and best learned through experience. As a young teacher, I was challenged to cope with several special needs children in both K-1 and preschool classrooms. I can say, without reservation, that my "normal" students' education was greatly enriched by the opportunity to learn side-by-side with children who were considerably handicapped in some way.

My first special needs student was Kevin, who was repeating grade one after having repeated kindergarten because he couldn't talk. The previous year his sister had started kindergarten in the same classroom, and the teacher had relied on the little sister to translate when Kevin spoke. This year Kevin and his sister were in the same class, and I was determined to see what could be done to improve Kevin's speech. I made a referral to the speech therapist, and Kevin was tested. The therapist advised me that there was no physical reason for his impairment; he just needed practice forming the many sounds that he was not currently using. She also advised me that assessments filled her time, and she would have no opportunity to actually provide therapy for Kevin. Knowing that would be teaching Kevin that year, I had taken a summer class in speech and language development and pathology, so I was prepared to undertake remedial work with Kevin in the classroom. The therapist provided me with a list of speech sounds, in their order of difficulty, and a set of exercises to do with Kevin to develop each sound.

Since I wanted Kevin to practice newly-learned sounds all day and not slip back into baby talk at recess, I enlisted the help of the other children to monitor him. I blended Kevin's therapy into the reading program and had all the children participate in his speech exercises. Everyone went through the exercises together, and other children were called upon, just as Kevin was, to take a turn speaking individually.

As spring approached, I started to discuss with the class possibilities for our part in the up-coming program for the school's Mother's Day Tea, which was a significant event in the community. The children and I determined that they should do a theatrical production of "Jack and the Beanstalk", which was written as a play in the Grade One reader. Kevin wanted to be the giant, and since he was a head taller than everyone else in the class, the students agreed unanimously. The only

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