Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of discussions surrounding the abysmal state of the education system. It’s always the same issues discussed; lack of funding, lack of resources, lack of teachers and severe classroom overpopulation. With almost unanimous agreement regarding the decay of our school system, I began asking myself (and others), where we as a society went wrong. At what point did we begin falling behind and shortchanging our children? When did our Nation’s education system as a whole become a “political back burner?” This epidemic is all over the news, social media and most major education publications, yet NOTHING changes! If anything… the issue continues to worsen. Being a teacher today is extremely tough no matter the grade or subject, whether the classroom is inclusion or self-contained! Teachers are leaving the profession in droves and the problem continues to grow exponentially. I often wonder… what was it like being a teacher “back in the day”? Were behavior issues as rampant as they are today? What was it like to work in a school when IDEA was passed… what was it like before children with learning disabilities were recognized? Have we, as a nation, made ANY progress? As an educator, these are some of the questions that burn in my mind… and now, I have answers from an eyewitness to the birth of Special Education in the U.S.