Analysis Of Special Edward By Eric Walter

Special Edward is a short novel written by Eric Walter. The story is about Edward, a high school student who takes advantage of the system by pretending to need an IEP. He does this because he does not want to put in the effort to keep up his grades and knows that special education students get to have extra time, a reference sheet with tests, and assistance with taking notes. Along with the complications of trying to get into the special educational program, he learns a lot about learning disabilities and motivation. In my opinion, this story is a good example of the way people make assumptions about students who are in special education. This is on account of how people think that just because someone has an IEP or is in special education,

An example of this is in chapter 1 when we learn about Edward’s nickname Fast Eddy. He is given this nickname because he has the talent to talk himself into and out of sticky situations. Another example that shows how Edward only thought about socializing in school is in chapter 2, when he says “a big chunk of school is social” and in chapter 3 when his own friend Cody tells him that “he’s lazy and does not take school seriously or care if he gets good marks”. In chapter 7, towards the middle of the story, Edward becomes more aware of the fact that what he was doing was wrong and considers confessing to Dr. Clintock. Finally, by the end of the story Edward realizes that the key to his success is hard work and that if he really makes an effort he can get better grades than he can ever imagine. He also learns near the end, chapter 12, that it takes a lot of additional time and effort to achieve success with a learning

He then admits to his friend in chapter 3 that he is going to take advantage of the system, which he thinks of as “a special-education scam”. This is because he believes that special education students have it easy and don’t have to put in much effort to be successful in school. Towards the middle of the story, he starts to feel guilty about what he is doing and the assumptions he has made about special educational kids. An example of this is in chapter 10 when Elizabeth is offended by Edward and explains to him “being in special education doesn’t mean you’re not smart”. At the end of the story, Edward understands what it takes to achieve success and he also has a better understanding and respect for people with learning disabilities. He learns that they have to work so much harder than everyone else to achieve academic success and get good grades. An example of this is in chapter 12, when Edward actually studies for his history test which leads him to getting a better grade than he was used