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I have a parent/school communication book that I use in conjunction with my child's gen. ed. teacher and spec. ed teacher (my child has HFA). It's purpose is to alert me to problems/issues that arise as well as good days that are a big deal. It's used maybe 1x/ week. A few occasions it's been more, but that's not the norm.
Yesterday, my child (8 years old) came home from school and the book had a glowing report of a project my child worked on. My child was agitated and in a bad mood at pick up. Later that evening when I asked my child about the bad mood a different portrait of the day apeared than what the teacher wrote about. According to my child, after completion of a project the teacher asked the class to color the projects (paper). My child wanted to leave the project as is. My child said the teacher kept on repeating to color the project. Child got overwhelmed and broke out crying. Class went on to specials and then recess without my child. They put my child in the spec. ed. teachers office for that time.
After hearing from my child what happened, I wrote in the book asking the teacher why my child was kept out of 2 periods. Teacher answered that she wanted the students to "finish" their projects by making them more, "flashy" and "appealing." When my child became upset, she asked my child if child would like to go to the spec. ed. teacher's room until they were ready to participate. She ended her comments with, "we all feel that this situation was handled in the most appropriate way for your child."
I'm honestly ticked that I couldn't have relied on the teacher to tell me from the start my child broke down crying and missed 2 classes. I'm just dumbstruck why a teacher would do this? Unfortunately, this is not the first time the teacher lies/omits/fails to accurately report what happened to my child. I'm pretty sure other staff will back her regardless of anything I say. This is so frustrating. Any suggestions in dealing with this teacher or staff?
There are several clues in your response that are clear indicators the school did not handle this situation properly.
1. Forcing a child to color a project is stifling creativity and expression, and it's especially surprising with an HFA child. What was her real problem?
2. An agitated child at pick-up time, which was obviously not the child's normal demeanor.
3. The two period time-out reeks of retaliatory punishment for not completing the cookie cutter project according to teacher demands.
4. At best, an incomplete and misleading entry in an established communication book.
I wouldn't settle for less than a conference with the teacher and principal.
The teacher's behavior on #1,#3, & #4, resulting in #2, was highly questionable and some clear guidelines need to be re-established so this situation isn't repeated, and the school knows they are being monitored more closely.
Just to clarify, did the student actually miss two periods/classes as posters are stating? Or did the child miss a special and then recess?
You mentioned the notebeook is used about 1 time per week to report problems as well as share good days. Are either of these - problems or good days - explicitly defined somewhere (such as an IEP) or is it open to interpretation? You also said the notebook system is utilized by both gen. ed. and spec. ed. teachers. Since the SPED teacher was involved as well, are there notes from that teacher? Perhaps the gen. ed. teacher wanted to share what she felt was the final positive result and expected the SPED teacher to record info about the problem itself - since it started in the classroom and continued in the SPED room, the spec. ed. teacher would have more details about how your child was outside of the gen. ed. room. Who made the decision to keep the child in the SPED room - the gen. ed. teacher, the SPED teacher, the counselor, the principal... ? It just sounds like more people were involved than just the gen. ed. teacher.
Just to clarify, did the student actually miss two periods/classes as posters are stating? Or did the child miss a special and then recess?
You mentioned the notebeook is used about 1 time per week to report problems as well as share good days. Are either of these - problems or good days - explicitly defined somewhere (such as an IEP) or is it open to interpretation? You also said the notebook system is utilized by both gen. ed. and spec. ed. teachers. Since the SPED teacher was involved as well, are there notes from that teacher? Perhaps the gen. ed. teacher wanted to share what she felt was the final positive result and expected the SPED teacher to record info about the problem itself - since it started in the classroom and continued in the SPED room, the spec. ed. teacher would have more details about how your child was outside of the gen. ed. room. Who made the decision to keep the child in the SPED room - the gen. ed. teacher, the SPED teacher, the counselor, the principal... ? It just sounds like more people were involved than just the gen. ed. teacher.
And were all the "i's" dotted and were the "t's" crossed???
C'mon...the teacher should have made a note of the incident in the communication book. Pretty simple. (You don't happen to be a lawyer, do you? )
And were all the "i's" dotted and were the "t's" crossed???
C'mon...the teacher should have made a note of the incident in the communication book. Pretty simple. (You don't happen to be a lawyer, do you? )
No, they don't have to be a lawyer. However, when you are teaching and possibly working with numerous students in your class that require specific modifications in their IEP, you are more likely to ensure those things outlined in a legal document are attended to first.
It does sound like a note about the incident would have been appropriate. Have you ever had issues with these teachers before? If not, then let it go. Teachers have bad days just like everyone. Perhaps the teacher thought it was handled, had a rough day, and did not go the extra mile communication wise. It doesn't necessarily mean the teacher is neglectful. Only you know how often things are being pushed under the rug. If this is constantly going on then you have a problem.
And were all the "i's" dotted and were the "t's" crossed???
C'mon...the teacher should have made a note of the incident in the communication book. Pretty simple. (You don't happen to be a lawyer, do you? )
Nope, just seeking clarification because there were some gaps in the information provided. I tend to like to look at a situation from both sides, so it helps to actually have all pertinent details (and sometimes asking questions people haven't considered themselves helps them step back from the situation a bit and look at it more objectively). Someone else posted that this incident called for a conference with gen. ed. teacher and principal - from just what was stated and with so much info lacking, I would hesitate to say this was conference-worthy in and of itself, especially since it seems more that just the gen ed teacher was involved. Others mention that the student missed two classes/periods, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Darned desire for facts!
Nope, just seeking clarification because there were some gaps in the information provided. I tend to like to look at a situation from both sides, so it helps to actually have all pertinent details (and sometimes asking questions people haven't considered themselves helps them step back from the situation a bit and look at it more objectively). Someone else posted that this incident called for a conference with gen. ed. teacher and principal - from just what was stated and with so much info lacking, I would hesitate to say this was conference-worthy in and of itself, especially since it seems more that just the gen ed teacher was involved. Others mention that the student missed two classes/periods, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Darned desire for facts!
I am soooooo glad we are transferring to a small, private school next year...
Golf, I assume you missed the fact that this child is HFA. It's unreasonable to extrapolate from your golf-playing wunderkinder to an autistic eight-year-old.
No I didn't miss that fact. I still don't see any reason to know what goes on every single second of the day at school no matter if your child is severely disabled or a complete genius. The school dealt with the issue, there was no need to relay that home, the issue should be over.
No I didn't miss that fact. I still don't see any reason to know what goes on every single second of the day at school no matter if your child is severely disabled or a complete genius. The school dealt with the issue, there was no need to relay that home, the issue should be over.
Agreed.
Many HFA kids are constantly learning social norms, and the school dealing with one like this very kind, and letting it be over and done with is part of the learning.
Many HFA kids do not do well with continued focus on the actual incident at school after leaving because it's too far removed from their current time/situation.
That's why I asked the questions about what would they have done with the info and what would they have wanted done, to which I haven't seen a reply.
Separately - missing a specials class and recess in our school would amount to about an hour, not an unusually long amount of time to regroup for some kids, especially if the actual crying had stopped quickly and the child simply wanted more time before returning to class. May or may not be the case, but either way, I still say if it was handled, then the parent isn't really required to deal with it at home. They probably can handle the bad mood just like they would any other bad mood whether or not they knew about the day at school.
No I didn't miss that fact. I still don't see any reason to know what goes on every single second of the day at school no matter if your child is severely disabled or a complete genius. The school dealt with the issue, there was no need to relay that home, the issue should be over.
Agreed. Special ed teachers are professionals at dealing with their students after all. Should they get blind loyalty? No. But should they be treated as if they know what they are doing and given the benefit of the doubt in the classroom? Sure.
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