5 year-old FL student voted out of class

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Nothing wrong with being judgmental, especially when it comes down a teacher sacrificing classroom time to deal with one disruptive brat.

Nope. I'm a parent. And I see a lot of kids who allegedly suffer from problems like this. But the reality of things is that, most of the time, you have a parent who is uninterested in controlling their children. What's more, even if the child is ADHD, he still will have to function in the real world one day, something that indulgent parents never seem to get.

My son has a classmate who is high-functioning autistic, and an only child to boot. He has been in my house countless times. His parents' style of parenting is to not impose limitations on Josh, but rather give him sufficient freedom of action so he does not feel frustration (The father, by the way, is a child psychologist). The predictable result? A child who throws tantrums whenever he doesn't get his way, and parents whose entire lives are built around the demands of this little monster.

So, the first time Josh ever tried to pull those same tactics at my house, I essentially pulled him up short and suggested that he walk on home, because I would not put up with that kind of behavior for a second. He thought I was kidding, because he had another episode five minutes later, which meant Josh walked home that day. But the next time he visited, you can be sure that he followed my rules to the letter. I've never had to contend with another episode like that out of him. The father pulled me aside just last week and asked what my secret was. "I just don't put up with it," was my response.

Which all leads to my original point. All children, except those with the most chronic problems, can learn how to behave themselves. What it takes are parents who are not standing around all day, enabling poor behavior.

Just wanted to comment on what is in bold. I have a brother who is, severely, ADHD. From the time he was 3 my parents worked with him to help him learn to deal with his issues instead of just putting him on drugs. He has excelled as a result. He devleoped coping mechanisms and even turned some of his issues into strengths. Too many parents just dope kids up at the first sign parenting might get hard.

I've been told by three doctors that I'm probably ADD. I've told all three of them that I don't need a diagnosis or treatment because whether I am or I am not is irrelevent to the fact I've developed coping strategies that work for me. I may like to work with 12 balls in the air and find it impossible to sit down and do one thing to completion but I get the job done and I get it done well. My old manager used to just shake his head at me. He told me once that he could give everyone in the lab 12 reports to write on Monday and he'd get 2 each day from everyone else and an excuse on Friday as to why they couldn't get to the last two and he'd get 12 reports from me on Friday. (This annoyed him because he had to proof my reports) If you give me 12 things to do, I work on 12 things. If you give me one thing to work on, I tend to find other things to do while I'm doing it so it doesn't get done any faster. Might as well just fill my plate and understand that everything will be done about the same time because I will work on all of them simultaneously.

It's funny. My inability to work on one thing at a time was actually an asset in engineering school when I was taking 18 credits and working 24 hours a week. I'm at my best with lots of balls in the air. Which is why I HATE summer as a teacher. I need something to do.....Lots of somethings to do...

Anyway, I'm glad my parents forced me to deal with my issues, whatever medical label they may or may not have, rather than just putting me on drugs. I gained the skills that will last a lifetime as a result. So did my brother.

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by reloop

Yeah, and most teachers don't have a lot of choice in how they conduct their classrooms either lest they get sued or put on the carpet from Admin who are afraid of getting sued.

Most teachers have emotional issues? Wow. That's a blanket statement if ever I heard one.

In psych class, I remember being taught that 5% of the population is psychotic. The rest are neurotic . That would include teachers.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by Sam82

I have actually read many of the posts in this thread. I will finish the rest soon. Also, I realize the OP was a while ago. I still want to share my thoughts.

1. I think that the teacher was wrong. Period case closed. The right thing to do would have been to get the child out of the room until she calmed down. Usually there is a guidance counselor or even another classroom teacher that can help you out. I was not there, so I can't say exactly what she should have done. However, she made the wrong choice.

2. I won't speak for everywhere, but where I live, they do not really diagnose in the early grades. Early childhood classrooms are usually horrible because of this. They just leave the teachers to "deal with it". In my school, we have had violent children that attack teachers and other children. Whole entire classrooms have been destroyed; classrooms that were decorated using the teacher's own money. This is not just my school. I know teachers from other schools who deal with the same thing. That is not fair to the school, the child with the problem, and other other children.

3. One extremely disruptive child can indeed ruin the entire class, especially if the teacher is alone. How is he/she suppossed to teach?

4. My hope is that cases like this (although very sad) will open up the eyes of school districts, administrators, parents, and everybody. The laws need to change.

5. If I were the parent of a special needs child. I would NOT want them in a regular classroom with one teacher if my child could not function. That is horrible. I would be demanding a proper placement. If my child were a "regular" child in a class with an extremely disruptive child, I would pull them out if the child was not removed. I would rather home school than have my child suffer. I have seen children suffer because of 1 or 2 children. It is SO sad.

This is a very very old story and it was resolved quite a while ago. The boy, btw, did not yet have a diagnosis. However, the vote thing should never have been done to any student. The teacher was suspended in November of 2008. She appealed the suspension and was reinstated in June of 2009. She was supposed to be suspended for a full year, but they voted to reinstate her after 6.5 months, so she was teaching again the following school year. Her tenure was also reinstated. Alex was removed from school by his mother. Alex is at a new school, where, thanks to a supportive staff, he is very happy and has even made the honor roll.

Note that this is KINDERGARTEN. All the children are still learning the rules.

Children *are* diagnosed early, but if a child does not have a speech impairment, it is more difficult. Autistic children are *NOT* generally violent and don't attack peers or adults. Some have meltdowns when they are overwhelmed by the environment, but that was NOT the case for Alex Barton.
Asperger's is harder to dx and Alex was dxed the following year.

What this teacher did was totally off the wall. She should never have gotten her job back.

Before the vote, his teacher told classmates to say what they didn’t like about Alex: He was labeled “disgusting” and “annoying.” They voted 14 to 2 to kick him out of class. This is just unacceptable.