Every September, about 50 million students attend a public primary or secondary school in the United States. 50 million. Beyond those 50 million, 41 percent of all students will receive some form of special education or accommodation in the classroom. But how much do you really know about special education?
Here is a list of five must-see documentaries that tell the stories of individuals with special needs and how the special education system works.
1. "Educating Peter" (1992)
"Educating Peter" is short and sweet. Made in the 1990s at the very start of today's special education system, this Academy Award-winning documentary short tells the story of Peter, a boy with Down Syndrome who is integrated into a typical second grade classroom. At first, you watch as he struggles to interact with the other children, but slowly you see how his behavior and the behavior of his peers change as he becomes a larger than life figure in the life of the classroom. While a little dated (as most things from the '90s are), the film is a nice glimpse into what special education is all about.
2. "Autism: The Musical" (2007)
There are dozens of documentaries about autism, but if you can only see one, please make it "Autism: The Musical." As a documentary, the hour-and-a-half feature is flawless. It follows a theater project for autistic children through the stories of five children and their families. When it comes to autistic stories, our media and culture seems to be obsessed with the parental experience, and while the film journeys heavily into that area, it does so without compromising the voices of the real subjects--the kids.
3. "I Can't Do This But I Can Do That" (2010)
If you polled a hundred people on what was wrong with the American education system, I would guess that a decent amount would say something about the lack of creativity. Kids aren't allowed to flourish in ways that can help them succeed. Here is a documentary about kids with learning disabilities who can do well in our current system by focusing on what they're good at and by doing what they need to do. Sometimes it's just better to work and live outside of the box.
4. "Mary & Max" (2009)
With everyone raising "awareness," raising "acceptance" is easily forgotten. But "Mary & Max" seamlessly accomplishes both, by featuring a character with Asperger's Syndrome and explaining the form of autism in a way that is simple and entertaining--all in the form of clay!
5. "Monica & David" (2009)
While Monica and David are both in their thirties around the time the documentary was filmed, I picked this film for the specific reason that they are out of the school system. For a lot of children in public schools, once they reach the age of 21, they "time out" of the school's special ed services. Essentially, they have to leave and move out into the "real world." "Monica & David" captures a year in the life of two individuals with Down Syndrome, starting with their wedding and ending in a new situation with complicated circumstances.
