Synopsis "Tales and Misadventures in Special Education"
Incredible Tales of a Special Education Teacher is a humorous, thought-provoking fictional adventure of a teacher working with special needs juveniles diagnosed with behavioral, social, and emotional needs. The story follows a teacher Kevin Matthews, from his initial experiences in inner city Wilmington during desegregation and accompanies his adventures teaching in an urban middle school and high school environment. After eight years in Delaware, he decides to continue his career as a teacher and soccer coach at a wealthy, suburban Philadelphia High School. The book also examines and describes the children in each class as well as the multiple changes to special education curriculum. Within the new district he is faced with an unscrupulous lawyer named Marsha Greenburg. She seeks to gain fame, money, and notoriety within the school community. She challenges special education laws, alters test scores, and ignores the truly needy students. She forces the district to pay for private schooling, costly assistance within the classroom, and forces teachers to adhere to new policies for affluent students who have no special needs. She completely ignores the truly needy students and their families. Matthews is a witty, committed educator and a well-known very successful soccer coach trying to balance both jobs, who stumbles into the maelstrom of Marsha’s antics. He attempts to expose her and her many accomplices but, in his efforts, he realizes he is facing significant battles and serious events that make it almost impossible to make progress. As each new obstacle appears, his journey takes serious, deadly turns. His struggle impacts many and the effect is felt throughout the entire Philadelphia area. Even in the midst of this turmoil and possible job loss, he fights school administrators and Marsha to maintain his integrity as an educator and coach.
