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That is really surprising. Maybe she has tenure and they are going through the process to dismiss her. Even then, I would think a mandated leave of absence would be more appropriate.
I completely agree with everything you said. I want to make sure you know that I personally was not complaining about what I get paid. I did know prior to deciding to teach that I wasn't going to make any money, but I did feel that I NEEDED to make a difference in kids' life. Being underfunded is a reality that teachers and schools face, it has been for a long time. I put my own time and money into buying projects for my kids to learn HOW math works instead of just listening to me talk about math. Regardless of what I get paid I will always be a teacher and I will work really hard to change the curriculum and give as many kids the chance to actually learn and grow. I was the product of a horrible educational system, which is why I do my part in making sure other kids don't have the same experience. However that unfortunately isn't the case and I do agree that teachers spend more time complaining about what they get paid then teaching. My concerns with money is not in my paycheck but it's in the resources that are available to the kids, the classroom sizes and special education/school psychologists programs. It makes it hard to give kids the attention and dedication they need when you have 30 unruly kids in your class, with no teaching assistant. I feel lucky for what I get paid, I get so many vacation days (including the summers off), great benefits and a chance to watch kids learn and LOVE to learn. As you said in your post though, the same can not be said for some teachers. My push for money in our educational system has nothing to do with my personal paycheck but for the welfare of these kids who are the future of this country. I tutored college kids in math and was shocked and saddened by the lack of understanding for basic math functions. Recent college graduates and current college students grew up during a time of TV/video games and no reading. They are lazy and uneducated. The blame for education can go both on us as educators and the parents, we need to hold ourselves and our kids more accountable.
I appreciate your desire to be involved in your child's education, you'd be amazed at how many parents I haven't been able to connect to and who just don't seem to care.
While I do understand and respect your thoughts, I have to say something here. You make the choice to teach. You all know going in that you aren't going to get rich doing it and you still go to college and get that teaching certificate. Some do it b/c they really want to work with kids and make a difference. But many do it to have summers off and a better schedule to spend with their own kids. I have bad days at work too but it's my choice to do what I do so I don't complain all the time. Don't get me wrong. I am as involved as I can be at my son's school and the teachers and administration know me. My son's second grade teacher is AMAZING! If all teachers were like her, the school system would not have the problems it does. I've written to the principal and asst. principal several times this year praising her massive talents in the teaching field. However, she is not the norm. Teachers need to quit whining and do the job they agreed to do. As long as you have superintendents who have no direct interaction with kids making 6 figures and taking money from the teacher salary fund to give themselves and other administrators big raises, then you are going to see problems. But the fact is that teachers know going in the salary sucks and you still choose to do it. So do the job and stop blaming anything and everything on the fact that you don't make that much money.
I take a little offense to your post. My husband is a special education middle school teacher in an inner city public school. He loves teaching, is super-dedicated to his students and has made a difference in many of their lives. He has never complained about his salary, in fact he is very thankful to have summers off with our kids and to have great medical and retirement benefits. He works his butt off during the school year and goes above and beyond to meet the needs of his very complicated students, suffering from ADHD, emotional disorders, learning disorders not to mention the effects of poor nutrition, abuse, poverty, violence many of then face every day. The only time I have ever heard him complain is when he had an incompetent principal who provided no support. My husband complained because he was unable to do his job effectively and it was effecting the students. Thankfully he now has great administrators at his school and the difference in the students really shows. He did not go into teaching just to have his summers off! I don't know any teachers who would make such a short-sighted decision and if that was the reason, they likely stayed in the field 2-3 years tops.
While I agree the teacher handled this very poorly, I have to say that it seems no one is thinking about this from a different perspective.
How many have complained about teachers doing nothing to protect their child from a misbehaving, violent child in their class? There's been more than one thread in this very forum on the matter. Most don't seem to care whether or not that child has a 'disorder', they simply want their child protected. Most young children newly diagnosed with Aspergers are unable to control their actions and thus are more violent, albeit unintentional, than others until they have learned tools to help them control their actions.
That teacher was most likely damned if she did anything to change the actions of this child and damned if she didn't do anything.
What I wonder is.....were the other students and parents complaining to her about this child's behavior? Did anyone give her support in handling this situation? Did she have any training in handling children with Aspergers? Did the parents know what was going on in class prior to this incident? Too many factors involved to have a full understanding, sadly.
How many have complained about teachers doing nothing to protect their child from a misbehaving, violent child in their class? There's been more than one thread in this very forum on the matter. Most don't seem to care whether or not that child has a 'disorder', they simply want their child protected.
This has bothered me a great deal in this controversy.
This isn't going to be a popular position, but... amongst all the outrage... very, very few have even stopped to consider the rest of the students in the class who have been held hostage and victimized by this one child's actions in the classroom.
The mentality seems to be that this one child should be prioritized over all the others, at the expense of the other students' ability to have a safe and effective learning environment.
I understand that there are legitimate needs with ADD/ADHD/Asperger/Autistic/etc. students. But, should we really be elevating the rights of one student over the rights of all of the others?
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That teacher was most likely damned if she did anything to change the actions of this child and damned if she didn't do anything.
Too true, and a horribly sad commentary on the state of our public school systems.
This has bothered me a great deal in this controversy.
This isn't going to be a popular position, but... amongst all the outrage... very, very few have even stopped to consider the rest of the students in the class who have been held hostage and victimized by this one child's actions in the classroom.
The mentality seems to be that this one child should be prioritized over all the others, at the expense of the other students' ability to have a safe and effective learning environment.
I understand that there are legitimate needs with ADD/ADHD/Asperger/Autistic/etc. students. But, should we really be elevating the rights of one student over the rights of all of the others?
Too true, and a horribly sad commentary on the state of our public school systems.
Many have thought about it. How many of them will be affected by having to tell another child in the class what they hate about another kid and then voting whether to let them stay? How many will use the situation to learn NOT to pick on those who are different? How many will think that because a teacher bullied a student, it's an acceptable way to handle things? It's not even really been explained what the child did that was so bad the troll felt she needed to do this! The whole class will be affected long after the media stops talking about it.
When most of us "whine" as it has been called on this thread, it is to address the fact that the conditions in most classrooms are anything but ideal. It has nothing to do with the pitiful salary we receive or being too lazy to deal. We don't want to just shut up and suck it up because not only is the environment in the classroom often unbearable for the teacher, but it is unfair to the children. I think the majority of teachers truly teach because they feel compelled to do so. It would indeed by shortsighted and foolish to teach because you want summers off. By the time you are student teaching, you realize just how much work goes into being a teacher. I can't tell you the hours I've spent grading papers or planning at home.
As for spectrum disorders, there is no real training because behavior varies from child to child and even experts can't come to a specific conclusion. How does one fix the problem that all children deserve the best education possible, yet mainstreaming is often disasterous on the class as a whole? Who decides who is most important?
The bottom line in this case is that the teacher had the responsibility to do what was in the best interest of all of the children in her class. And regardless of his behavior, this was not in the best interest of this child.
The mentality seems to be that this one child should be prioritized over all the others, at the expense of the other students' ability to have a safe and effective learning environment.
It's not just a "mentality," it's the law. IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, provides legal protections for students with disabilities. Put simply, they have rights and protections that non-disabled students don't.
Many have thought about it. How many of them will be affected by having to tell another child in the class what they hate about another kid and then voting whether to let them stay? How many will use the situation to learn NOT to pick on those who are different? How many will think that because a teacher bullied a student, it's an acceptable way to handle things? It's not even really been explained what the child did that was so bad the troll felt she needed to do this! The whole class will be affected long after the media stops talking about it.
I completely agree with what you said. Not only was the kid treated poorly but the kids in the class were taught a horrible lesson. A lesson which some will carry with them for most of their lives, a lesson that teaches them to judge, discriminate and separate themselves from those who are not understood. We have so many issues of race, gender and class in this country because we are teaching our kids that its OKAY to judge and ultimately fear "differences". We have these forums discussing whats wrong with out educational system, well whats wrong with our moral system!? We need to act like adults and demonstrate to our kids the responsible way to live their lives. We wonder why we continue in this vicious cycle of hate, people are too ignorant and selfish to teach the younger generations not to fear things not understood or discriminate against someone who chooses to live a different life. Instead we continue blaming, all the while failing to look in the mirror.
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