This really moved me….to tears actually. It is all so wonderfully and painfully true. I have a son who had mild, primarily learning disabilities. He was fortunate because after his first year in elementary school he qualified for private school paid for by the state of Florida. It is my younger son who spent his elementary years in public schools that it made me think of. He had a wonderful first grade teacher….the teacher you are hoping for that was Mrs. Brehm. I was fortuante because of my life circumstance to be able to provide all of those wonderfully enriching moments and experiences you mention in your piece. My kids are 18 and 20 now. It is those experiences that made them the great kids they are today not the rote learning that is so heavily pushed on kids today. By the way, my older son with the learning disabilites, just finished his first year of college with straight A’s….there is a whole lot of peace and hope in that.