"Beginning with a history of the city, Osgood clearly depicts Boston's ever-changing diversity and the growing recognition of its educators that students varied in their specific needs. Burgeoning school populations called for balance in efforts to fulfill individual requirements with educational goals set for all students."

"Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, Boston's school administrators accepted this challenge with innovations in organization and curricula that soon were adopted by cities across the nation. The first public graded school, the first public high school, the earliest statewide compulsory education law and state board of education, and a dramatic administrative reorganization in 1876 all drew national attention to Boston. Boston also led the way in establishing special education classes that separated children with special needs.

For "Children Who Vary from the Normal Type" identifies four main rationales for these programs: the need to isolate children whose behavior or background elicited fear and/or contempt among school and civic authorities; the need to ensure efficiency in the administration of the schools; the need to facilitate the operation of individual classrooms; and the desire to provide a specialized pedagogy to individual children identified as requiring one. Each program is examined in depth, including the overlap, interplay, and friction within the dynamic matrix of needs, fears, hopes, and opportunities that spurred its creation."--Jacket.