The quiet rooms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“So the article is missing the other part - if this doesn't work, what does? Where is a system or protocol that keeps everyone safe, de-escalates the situation, allows teachers and students to keep teaching and learning and is not detrimental to kids?

What is the solution?”

+1 million

Require parents to attend school with the child and handle restraining or removing the child as needed.

You expect parents to sit in the school office all day in case their child melts down and they are needed to assist in calming the child?

YES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Illinois is not using the rooms as intended and that definitely should be corrected. But at that doesn’t mean they are abused everywhere. SN kids can’t hurt people, even their teachers. I can’t believe some parents are okay with that.

Who said it was ok?

We are talking about whether it's okay to hurt the child. Pushing the kid into a seclusion room is causing psychological danger and often also physical danger. Clearing a room is not intended to leave teachers to get injured. They should absolutely not be in danger's way and able to move around the room out of harm's way which will be safer than trying to force an out of control flailing child into a room/closet.

Again, the teacher and other students shouldn’t have to move “out of harms way” AT SCHOOL.

Plus 1.

The parents should be called to pick up their child when he/she is out of control.

Are parents of children with behavioral disabilities not allowed to have a job? Should they just wait around to pick up their child because their child is not receiving an appropriate education? Or should we just make a decision that these disabled children should just not get any education?

Stop pawning your problem child of the school system. Find the right place for them to be educated and stop blaming they system that is ill equipped to deal with them to begin with that you are forcing them into because it’s close to your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Illinois is not using the rooms as intended and that definitely should be corrected. But at that doesn’t mean they are abused everywhere. SN kids can’t hurt people, even their teachers. I can’t believe some parents are okay with that.

Who said it was ok?

The people who want to keep this kids in class at the expense of everyone else. One lady on another thread reasoned that a kid “only throws chairs a few times a week.” Like this wasn’t too bad.

Can you point to some examples of people saying its ok for people to get hurt? Most people are suggesting the kids and teachers be moved out of the room so they don't get hurt if a child is throwing chairs. Sorry, you aren't making a lot of sense.

The other children should not have to stop and vacate their classroom because your child is a threat. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.

My school system pays far more than that to send my autistic son to a specialized school. Close to six figs when you add in transportation. All children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education under Federal law. Even mine. And especially yours so they don't turn out like you. I would absolutely pay more in taxes to ensure that every child has access to an education that helps them to access their full potential, regardless of what that is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its been happening for many many years. This is nothing new and still sad that today we haven't found better ways to deal with it.

Not years. Decades. They used to be called seclusion rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.

LOL! You are so full of sh!t. A boarding school for special needs kids that only costs 30k a year? Even IF the school system was only paying the tuition portion, no way. Local day schools cost 2-3 times that without room, board and 24-7 supervision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Illinois is not using the rooms as intended and that definitely should be corrected. But at that doesn’t mean they are abused everywhere. SN kids can’t hurt people, even their teachers. I can’t believe some parents are okay with that.

Who said it was ok?

We are talking about whether it's okay to hurt the child. Pushing the kid into a seclusion room is causing psychological danger and often also physical danger. Clearing a room is not intended to leave teachers to get injured. They should absolutely not be in danger's way and able to move around the room out of harm's way which will be safer than trying to force an out of control flailing child into a room/closet.

Again, the teacher and other students shouldn’t have to move “out of harms way” AT SCHOOL.

Plus 1.

The parents should be called to pick up their child when he/she is out of control.

Are parents of children with behavioral disabilities not allowed to have a job? Should they just wait around to pick up their child because their child is not receiving an appropriate education? Or should we just make a decision that these disabled children should just not get any education?

Stop pawning your problem child of the school system. Find the right place for them to be educated and stop blaming they system that is ill equipped to deal with them to begin with that you are forcing them into because it’s close to your house.

That's not how the law works. It's not on the parents to find a school, it's on the system to provide the education. All of your gripes about the parents should be directed at the people who fund, staff, and manage schools. If the inbound public school isn't able to handle the kid, they need to arrange for that kid to be educated elsewhere. Mismanagement at every level has tricked slack-jaws like you into thinking that disabled children and their families don't belong in your precious public schools when the truth is that they're the only place that was created to educate everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious what people think should be done instead. School isn’t a psych ward and other students and staff have a right to remain safe during these “incidents” or whatever.

+1 it seems like advocates are happy to say what schools can't do, but are silent when it comes to reasonable alternatives. Are schools still allowed to evacuate other students from a room when a child is violent? And if that is okay, what makes the now empty room different from a "quiet room?" What exactly is the solution to a violent child? Can't suspend them, can't expel them, can't expect them to face any consequences at all. My child gets a bloody nose, but that's okay because your child has a disability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.

My school system pays far more than that to send my autistic son to a specialized school. Close to six figs when you add in transportation. All children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education under Federal law. Even mine. And especially yours so they don't turn out like you. I would absolutely pay more in taxes to ensure that every child has access to an education that helps them to access their full potential, regardless of what that is.

YOU should pay more for your child special education needs. it’s not on society to pay extra for your kid.

[Anonymous]

My kids got far fewer resources and attention than the special needs kids. And yet it’s always the parents of the kids sucking up a disproportionate amount of the resources yelling at the school administration for even more.

[Anonymous]

I worked with ED kids for years. There are kids with extreme mental health needs in our schools. Parents are not required to get therapy for their kids, or medications. When a child is attacking others, it is much safer for everyone to put them in a closely monitored seclusion room than it is to physically restrain the child. No, they should not be pooping and naked and so forth, but that speaks to mismanaged situations and staff not following procedures. It does not happen everywhere.

At our school, as soon as the child could calm enough to sit against the back wall for two minutes, the door was opened, and after five minutes of sitting again the back wall, with a teacher in their sight to comfort them, they were asked to come out and sit in a chair with some silly putty for ten minutes, and then, if they were ready, they discussed the situation with staff and made a plan to return to class. Parents and admin were kept apprised the whole time, and notes kept and forwarded to teachers, admin, and central office.

This was a last resort to manage behavior. It’s fine to say there is a reason for misbehavior, but these reasons are not under the school’s control. A child with severe mental health needs is not going to be cured by the special education teacher. It’s a long process. Some of my kids just needed this intervention once in a while, and did not need a more restrictive school setting.

Unless you have been in the school setting with ED kids, you can’t understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked with ED kids for years. There are kids with extreme mental health needs in our schools. Parents are not required to get therapy for their kids, or medications. When a child is attacking others, it is much safer for everyone to put them in a closely monitored seclusion room than it is to physically restrain the child. No, they should not be pooping and naked and so forth, but that speaks to mismanaged situations and staff not following procedures. It does not happen everywhere.

At our school, as soon as the child could calm enough to sit against the back wall for two minutes, the door was opened, and after five minutes of sitting again the back wall, with a teacher in their sight to comfort them, they were asked to come out and sit in a chair with some silly putty for ten minutes, and then, if they were ready, they discussed the situation with staff and made a plan to return to class. Parents and admin were kept apprised the whole time, and notes kept and forwarded to teachers, admin, and central office.

This was a last resort to manage behavior. It’s fine to say there is a reason for misbehavior, but these reasons are not under the school’s control. A child with severe mental health needs is not going to be cured by the special education teacher. It’s a long process. Some of my kids just needed this intervention once in a while, and did not need a more restrictive school setting.

Unless you have been in the school setting with ED kids, you can’t understand.

This makes sense. Thanks for explaining

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.

LOL! You are so full of sh!t. A boarding school for special needs kids that only costs 30k a year? Even IF the school system was only paying the tuition portion, no way. Local day schools cost 2-3 times that without room, board and 24-7 supervision.

I never said it ONLY cost 30k. What’s your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a gen ed teacher 100% against seclusion rooms for any child, ever. If a child is that seriously dangerous, then hospitalization is in order.
At the same time, I'm a gen ed teacher often expected to "handle" kids with extreme behavioral and emotional needs. There is a huge gap in what the law requires and what funding actually provides in terms of support for such students and their teachers. I propose doubling taxes to pay for appropriate help for all students in schools. The safety of staff and the safety of all kids, gen ed and sped kids, is on the line.

What??? All of the NT kids parents would revolt, and there are a lot more of us. There is already a disproportionate amount of taxpayer money and classroom teacher effort devoted to the SN kids. I would seriously move to another county if my county voted to do this.

Bye Felicia

The PP is exactly right. There is too much money spent on American public school education for such mediocre results. The last thing SN departments need is more money. They already take up so much while the gifted kids who will actually benefit our future society are neglected.

I support higher salaries for teachers. If the general public knew how much $$ in public education is wasted on admin and frivolous contracts resulting from special interest lobbying, they would be horrified.

As the parent of 2 “gifted” kids (I really hate that term), I agree that they are often neglected in public schools. I agree that too much money is spent for mediocre results. I DISAGREE that too much is spent on kids with special needs or that that money is wasted.

I would support a tax interest if I thought the money was necessary for and would be used on behalf of improving education for children (be they gifted, on-level, or special meeds). However, my experience in a county whose schools are comparatively well-funded is that regardless of how much money we give them, the educational benefits will be minimal. MCPS spends an enormous amount on every high-tech/glitzy extra they can think of. They devote a significant effort to PR. They have a reputation for preferring litigation to defend lawsuits from special needs families for services, rather than providing appropriate services to begin with. The money that does actually go to education, too often goes towards resources of questionable value. For years they churned out a lousy curriculum, using our kids as guinea pigs. I’m hoping that the critical report from the curriculum audit will lead to improvements, but if the personnel in the curriculum department have any input in selecting and implementing a new curriculum, I very much fear we’ll get another ineffective curriculum that aligns with their preferences. (I desperately hope I’m wrong and we can get some established curriculum that are content rich and have already been proven effective elsewhere.)

I think education is the very best investment society can make. I’m willing to pay more to improve education. I am NOT willing to pay more so that a school district that is more concerned with its own prestige than in the actual process of education can have more money to waste.

My school system Pays 30k a year to send
My Neighbors kid to a boarding school that better addresses his special needs. My taxes already pay for that. Don’t dare come at me to say I need to be taxed more when My kids are at regular public schools.[b]

This is truly the ugliest post I have ever seen. Right here is the downfall of America: the winner take all attitude and where is mine. There is zero long term logic in your post and only selfishness is ruling your brain. The idea that you as a civilian tax payer should get to decide how money that is pooled together from everyone without understanding any of the factors involved is ridiculously short sighted.
I really hope you are smarter than to fall for that.