Teacher suspended for letting class vote out autistic boy

[editec]

The 'teacher' needs to be fired and have her teaching certs pulled. I hope the mom follows through with the lawsuit.

Seconded!

 

[Article 15]

It's pretty moronic to have a group of 5 years olds put this to a vote.

 

[Ravi]

In the OP it said "according to a Police Report".

Why were the Police called? That's just insane!!!!

I have to agree with you.

 

[Sunni Man]

Lawsuit!?!?

People are just too nuts over this story. The teacher was just trying to help the boy and the class. Maybe it wasn't the best course of action. But at least she was trying!! No wonder there is a teacher shortage. All of this PC insanity keeps many people from wanting to teach as a career.

 

[Silence]

Lawsuit!?!?

People are just too nuts over this story. The teacher was just trying to help the boy and the class. Maybe it wasn't the best course of action. But at least she was trying!! No wonder there is a teacher shortage. All of this PC insanity keeps many people from wanting to teach as a career.

help the boy how? he's got a medical disorder. he doesn't necessarily understand how to control his behavior. If she expects to teach perfect, well behaved children she should get out of teaching.

and there is a teacher shortage because they get paid shit for what their responsibilities are. But there are plenty of fantastic teachers who would NEVER publically humiliate a child and on top of that get other children to participate.

it's not about being PC....it's about being a decent human being.

 

[Gem]

Sunni Man Wrote:

Lawsuit!?!?

People are just too nuts over this story. The teacher was just trying to help the boy and the class. Maybe it wasn't the best course of action. But at least she was trying!! No wonder there is a teacher shortage. All of this PC insanity keeps many people from wanting to teach as a career.

Sorry, Sunni...you are completely wrong on this one.

The teacher was not trying to help the boy and the class...because a trained educator would know a number of things:

1) Developmentally speaking a kindergartener is not going to be able to process "constructive criticism" given by his peers and use it to "change his behavior.

2) A group of kindergarteners are not going to understand that they are offering "constructive criticism" and instead, will just shout out their feelings about another child...especially when encouraged to do so by a teacher

3) A child with autism is not necessarily going to understand without specifically designed instruction (not being berated by peers) that his behavior is inappropriate and causing problems.

4) There are ways, numerous methods, for improving the behavior of troublesome students, and for improving the social skills and behavior of students on the autism spectrum. NONE OF THEM includes putting the child up in front of a firing squad of children hurling insults.


This woman was probably tired, frustrated, and at her wit's end. I know the feeling...I've been there. But as a professional, you are NOT PERMITTED TO HUMILIATE A CHILD because it makes you feel better.

Any teacher with half a brain would know that 1) this wouldn't improve the situation and 2) the action she was taking was inappropriate and borderline illegal.

There are ways to deal with troublesome students with disabilities...this woman acted out of spite and anger. And a teacher who allows her emotions to go wild like this, allowing her to endanger the well-being of a child because she can't deal with his behavior, isn't fit to be in a classroom.

 

[Sunni Man]

Silence and Gem, thank you for your insight.

 

[editec]

help the boy how? he's got a medical disorder. he doesn't necessarily understand how to control his behavior. If she expects to teach perfect, well behaved children she should get out of teaching.

I am in NO WAY excusing this teacher, but honestly...what was the kid doing in that class to begin with?

and there is a teacher shortage because they get paid shit for what their responsibilities are. But there are plenty of fantastic teachers who would NEVER publically humiliate a child and on top of that get other children to participate.

it's not about being PC....it's about being a decent human being.

Quite right.

 

[Silence]

I am in NO WAY excusing this teacher, but honestly...what was the kid doing in that class to begin with?

they mainstream non-violent children all the time and if he had asberger syndrome it is a form of autisim which makes him socially awkward but still highly intelligent and with behavior modification he's still be able to function in a normal setting.

not to go off topic but there was a girl two or three seasons ago on Top Model who had this form of Autisim. She was very smart but socially she had no clue what she was doing. It's not, from what I understand, the same type of autisim which renders the child unresponsive and/or uncooperative.

 

[Gem]

I am in NO WAY excusing this teacher, but honestly...what was the kid doing in that class to begin with?

Many, many schools are returning to the inclusion model of education - that states that children are best educated in their least restrictive environment....meaning that they are receiving the least amount of special education services needed in order for them to be successful.

Sometimes this means that you get kids with some strange and/or difficult behaviors in a regular education setting.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Lawsuit!?!?

People are just too nuts over this story. The teacher was just trying to help the boy and the class. Maybe it wasn't the best course of action. But at least she was trying!! No wonder there is a teacher shortage. All of this PC insanity keeps many people from wanting to teach as a career.

Some people OUGHT to be kept from wanting to teach as a career, and this brain-damaged weirdo is one of them. It's a classroom - a KINDERGARTEN classroom - not an episode of "Survivor". My God, school systems can't get rid of "students" who are drug dealers and violent criminals because it "violates their right to a public education", but this ignorant bitch thought it was appropriate and legal to have 5-year-olds vote a handicapped classmate "off the island"? What the hell?

As for wanting him to "have feedback to improve his behavior", he has Asperger's, for the love of God! It's not like he's just a spoiled brat. I'm sure he already knows his problems better than anyone else does, and it isn't as though he has a whole lot of choice about them one way or the other.

And by the way, for those of you rattling on about somehow "depriving" the other students by making them deal with a "mainstreamed special needs" kid, Asperger's is not normally so debilitating that those who have it don't still lead more or less normal lives in with the rest of society. God help us if we've gotten to the point where we never want our children to encounter and deal with anyone who isn't perfectly, down-the-middle, white-bread average and "normal".

 

[tigerbob]

Sunni Man Wrote:
But as a professional, you are NOT PERMITTED TO HUMILIATE A CHILD because it makes you feel better.

I guess you're absolutely sure that was her intention. I suppose I read the same OP as you and - unless you've done further reading - arrived at a slightly less finite conclusion.

(By the way, please note use of slightly).

 

[Cecilie1200]

I guess you're absolutely sure that was her intention. I suppose I read the same OP as you and - unless you've done further reading - arrived at a slightly less finite conclusion.

(By the way, please note use of slightly).

Who cares what her "intention" was? We all know which road is paved with good intentions. Any adult who wasn't utterly, flatlined brain-dead should have been able to figure out the RESULT of such an asinine action, and it's the RESULT that counts.

 

[Gem]

tigerbob wrote:

I guess you're absolutely sure that was her intention. I suppose I read the same OP as you and - unless you've done further reading - arrived at a slightly less finite conclusion.

(By the way, please note use of slightly).

I apologize for giving this educator the benefit of the doubt. I assumed she was a professional educator - one who is aware of the developmental capabilities of her students, the laws regarding students with special needs, and the numerous ways a professional can manage a student with Aspergers in a classroom setting. You know...a teacher, who takes her profession seriously and performs her duties with at least a minimum level of professionalism and dedication.

Assuming that she was a professional educator and therefore possessing at least a basic knowledge of these topics...there really isn't any reason why she would take the action she took unless she lost control and was taking her anger out on this child.

I apologize...you're right...she could just be an idiot who stumbled into a teaching certificate and lucked into a job and because she was an incompetent, she could have been caught completely unprepared to deal with a situation that almost every teacher in the nation has to deal with everyday...and in a completely honest attempt to make a kindergarten-aged child comprehend that his disability was causing other children not to like him...she could have felt that the best course of action she could take would be to place that disabled child in front of the room and encourage the other children to call him "disgusting." You know...to help him.

Yawn. Stop quibbling and making excuses for this woman. You can feel that this child should not have been in her classroom and still have the common sense to know that if it was your child, you wouldn't want his peers calling him disgusting because he was disabled...you would expect FAR better from the trained professional whose job it is to educate and protect your child.

This woman lost control because she was unable to deal with the situation she was presented. Rather than act as a professional and follow the steps that are in place to deal with these types of situations...she made an incredibly poor choice, abused her power and authority, and mistreated a child with special needs.

 

[tigerbob]

Who cares what her "intention" was? We all know which road is paved with good intentions. Any adult who wasn't utterly, flatlined brain-dead should have been able to figure out the RESULT of such an asinine action, and it's the RESULT that counts.

I care what her intention was. If her intention was to humiliate the child there's a big difference to if she intended simply to let him see the impact he was having on others. I was drawing a minor distinction between the 2. One is arguably misguided, the other is clearly cruelty and should be punished by courts, not a school board.

Intent is a legal distinction, irrespective of what "we all know" or which roads lead where.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I care what her intention was. If her intention was to humiliate the child there's a big difference to if she intended simply to let him see the impact he was having on others. I was drawing a minor distinction between the 2. One is arguably misguided, the other is clearly cruelty and should be punished by courts, not a school board.

Intent is a legal distinction, irrespective of what "we all know" or which roads lead where.

Amazingly enough, there ISN'T a big difference whether she intended to emotionally scar the kid or not. The point is, she DID emotionally scar him. And oh, hey, while we're at it, she emotionally scarred a child who already has enormous obstacles in regards to forming relationships with other human beings PRECISELY in the area of forming relationships with other human beings.

We're not talking about legally-actionable criminal behavior, and I can guarantee you that if and when this child's parents sue this idiot, the court is not going to care whether she took this damned-fool action because she's sadistic or because she's just an imbecile. They're going to care that any adult with the brain wattage of a flickering candle should have and would have known better.

That's the bottom line here: this chick is dumber than the kids she allegedly teaches, not to mention is apparently in possession of fewer social skills than they are, so she has no business in a classroom. I wouldn't hire this dimwit to teach my dog not to widdle on the rug, let alone trust her with my child.

 

[tigerbob]

Amazingly enough, there ISN'T a big difference whether she intended to emotionally scar the kid or not. The point is, she DID emotionally scar him. And oh, hey, while we're at it, she emotionally scarred a child who already has enormous obstacles in regards to forming relationships with other human beings PRECISELY in the area of forming relationships with other human beings.

We're not talking about legally-actionable criminal behavior, and I can guarantee you that if and when this child's parents sue this idiot, the court is not going to care whether she took this damned-fool action because she's sadistic or because she's just an imbecile. They're going to care that any adult with the brain wattage of a flickering candle should have and would have known better.

That's the bottom line here: this chick is dumber than the kids she allegedly teaches, not to mention is apparently in possession of fewer social skills than they are, so she has no business in a classroom. I wouldn't hire this dimwit to teach my dog not to widdle on the rug, let alone trust her with my child.

Well, you're obviously very caught up in this so I won't waste my time and yours explaining why I disagree with some of your conclusions. Suffice to say I can't be quite as damning as you based solely on that brief article.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Well, you're obviously very caught up in this so I won't waste my time and yours explaining why I disagree with some of your conclusions. Suffice to say I can't be quite as damning as you based solely on that brief article.

Suffice it to say that you probably can't manage to be damning no matter what, and that you're looking for a way to turn tail and run without having to admit that you're trying to defend an indefensible position simply because you're programmed to try to be "nice" and "compassionate" and "understanding" of everyone.

Run along.

 

[YWN666]

Even IF the student needed to be removed from that classroom for whatever reason, the teacher should not have involved other students.

 

[Missourian]

Would it make a difference in your opinions if, hypothetically, the boy wasn't autistic?

If he was just a disruptive child with no special needs?