Started working at an elementary school last week. Shocked and sad. AMA

[Anonymous]

Most of the violent and disruptive kids have parents in the PTA to get preferential treatment. This way, their kids are not suspended or kicked off the school. Teachers and administrators receive generous gifts from corrupt parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the violent and disruptive kids have parents in the PTA to get preferential treatment. This way, their kids are not suspended or kicked off the school. Teachers and administrators receive generous gifts from corrupt parents.

False. I agree that PTA parent's kids get preferntial treatment. But the terribly behaved kids' parents never come to school unless summoned for an IEP meeting. They make no optional trips to the school whatsoever and generally treat their kid as the "school's problem" as it relates to any behavioral issues that happen at school. When calls are made home regarding their behavior their response is usually to the effect of "Well, he has an IEP so..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the lawsuit from the teacher shot by the 6 year old might change the way kids with “emotional disabilities” are handled in schools.

Change how? My guess is by adding yet another level of paperwork with no effective change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents, just a PSA. If you do not want your child placed in an inclusion classroom, you can tell the principle this. I learned this the hard way with my older child, and from then on with that child and my younger child I have expressly stated that my kids would not do well in that type of environment and it has been honored. Unforunately in middle school there are no more inclusion classes, the unruly kids are just mixed in everywhere - its terrible. I put my kids in all honors and advanced math and that helps some but doesn't work for PE, electives, study hall, etc. Its a mess, and frankly enraging. But unless parents have money for private school they are stuck at the mercy of these kids and the school.

In MCPS, "honors" classes include students below grade level, on grade level, and above grade level.

[Anonymous]

All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the violent and disruptive kids have parents in the PTA to get preferential treatment. This way, their kids are not suspended or kicked off the school. Teachers and administrators receive generous gifts from corrupt parents.

That's not been my experience as a teacher.

The worst kids I've had in my classes have very uninvolved parents. They have parents who are apt to say "he/she is your problem at school" and view school as a break from having to deal with their kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

I know it sounds extreme, but the best way would be to get approved as a sub. Just spend a day or two in each school and you will be seriously considering private school. Also, here are some questions you can ask your child:

Do any kids in the class behave badly or have tantrums or get in trouble a lot? Do other teachers come into the classroom to work with some of the students (this would mean sped or EL teachers are servicing the room.) Do any students get taken out of the room by teachers to go do other things? (This could mean reading specialist, sped teacher, EL teacher, speech therapy, etc.)

Also, at our ES the classes each get a class score or "grade" in specials each day (like PE, art, etc.) and also lunch. You can ask them if their class gets good reports/grades/etc. (whatever their school uses) from the specials teachers and lunch monitors.

But honestly subbing would be the most informative. Until you've done that its ignorate bliss. You won't be able to unsee the things you have seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

I know it sounds extreme, but the best way would be to get approved as a sub. Just spend a day or two in each school and you will be seriously considering private school. Also, here are some questions you can ask your child:

Do any kids in the class behave badly or have tantrums or get in trouble a lot? Do other teachers come into the classroom to work with some of the students (this would mean sped or EL teachers are servicing the room.) Do any students get taken out of the room by teachers to go do other things? (This could mean reading specialist, sped teacher, EL teacher, speech therapy, etc.)

Also, at our ES the classes each get a class score or "grade" in specials each day (like PE, art, etc.) and also lunch. You can ask them if their class gets good reports/grades/etc. (whatever their school uses) from the specials teachers and lunch monitors.

But honestly subbing would be the most informative. Until you've done that its ignorate bliss. You won't be able to unsee the things you have seen.

Do you think this is the case at so called top tier publics? I don’t know the ranking but I think our local high school is supposed to be one of the top(ish) public schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

I know it sounds extreme, but the best way would be to get approved as a sub. Just spend a day or two in each school and you will be seriously considering private school. Also, here are some questions you can ask your child:

Do any kids in the class behave badly or have tantrums or get in trouble a lot? Do other teachers come into the classroom to work with some of the students (this would mean sped or EL teachers are servicing the room.) Do any students get taken out of the room by teachers to go do other things? (This could mean reading specialist, sped teacher, EL teacher, speech therapy, etc.)

Also, at our ES the classes each get a class score or "grade" in specials each day (like PE, art, etc.) and also lunch. You can ask them if their class gets good reports/grades/etc. (whatever their school uses) from the specials teachers and lunch monitors.

But honestly subbing would be the most informative. Until you've done that its ignorate bliss. You won't be able to unsee the things you have seen.

Do you think this is the case at so called top tier publics? I don’t know the ranking but I think our local high school is supposed to be one of the top(ish) public schools in the country.

1000%. Special education is everywhere in public schools. It does not discriminate based upon race or income. Its cute though that you don't think there are any rich kids in special education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Informal AMA thread. I am already shocked and saddened by the state of public elementary. This is in a wealthy suburb. There’s is a free lunch contingent but test scores are excellent and if you watch morning drop off it’s a lot of luxury vehicles.

I’m shocked at how we enroll and keep some kids who have academic and social needs we can’t possibly meet. Often a helper is assigned to one of these kids to try to keep the kid safe while 20 other 6 years old try to ignore yelling and crying and distraction to learn from their teacher. I’ve heard 7 year olds using language I’d feel guilty about even repeating! I’ve watched teacher be kicked and punched and slapped, again by 6 and 7 year olds! And the hot lunches shocked me. The other day I watched one kid eat the following for lunch: giant chocolate chip muffin, chocolate milk, sugary Dannon yogurt, low fat string cheese. This is a “balanced” meal provided by the school.

Maybe I am just out of touch, but I feel many typical parents would be surprised to hear what elementary school is like for their kids.

I have only read the initial post in this thread, but the environment seems more like an out-of-control daycare than a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

I know it sounds extreme, but the best way would be to get approved as a sub. Just spend a day or two in each school and you will be seriously considering private school. Also, here are some questions you can ask your child:

Do any kids in the class behave badly or have tantrums or get in trouble a lot? Do other teachers come into the classroom to work with some of the students (this would mean sped or EL teachers are servicing the room.) Do any students get taken out of the room by teachers to go do other things? (This could mean reading specialist, sped teacher, EL teacher, speech therapy, etc.)

Also, at our ES the classes each get a class score or "grade" in specials each day (like PE, art, etc.) and also lunch. You can ask them if their class gets good reports/grades/etc. (whatever their school uses) from the specials teachers and lunch monitors.

But honestly subbing would be the most informative. Until you've done that its ignorate bliss. You won't be able to unsee the things you have seen.

Do you think this is the case at so called top tier publics? I don’t know the ranking but I think our local high school is supposed to be one of the top(ish) public schools in the country.

1000%. Special education is everywhere in public schools. It does not discriminate based upon race or income. Its cute though that you don't think there are any rich kids in special education.

I know that about special education. I'm talking about the (hopefully) extremes that people have mentioned here, including repeated assault, evacuations in class, etc. And I didn't say anything about race or income or wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No child left behind REALLY screwed so many kids. It hasn't helped kids avoid being academically left behind. And "least restrictive environment" isn't helpful when the kid is verbally disruptive.

+1 Very rarely will non-teachers admit this. But NCLB/IDEA/FAPE ruined public schools in the US. The Federal Government and Congress like the publicity of “helping everyone” but provided no funding. So then all children suffer.

+1
IDEA and FAPE are nice concepts but until the feds actually fund these programs as they need to be they are breaking schools.

This. It could work with proper funding. There is not proper funding and it's not working. There's at least one student at our ES who is causing their classroom to be evacuated on a weekly basis, sometimes twice a week. The kids are out of the room for about 20 minutes each time it happens. That's 100 minutes of missed instruction per month for every kid in the class, including the other non disruptive classmates who have IEPs and are also legally entitled to FAPE.

What do you mean by causing the classroom to be evacuated? Is the student hurting other people? If so you need to get involved. Others have posted re how to get results - see posts up thread.

PP. I'm a teacher at a different school and I've heard about it plenty from teachers at my kid's school. Teachers never ever ever discuss these matters in writing or via text, but we definitely talk behind closed doors or over the phone. No students have been harmed but at least one staff member has had to go to urgent care a few times. The student in question is going nowhere. Admin reportedly has never set foot in the classroom but claims he's just socially immature.

How can these admins get away with never visiting classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

Talk to your kid. Ask him specific questions about his days. Volunteer policy varies by school, but at least you could volunteer at recess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by causing the classroom to be evacuated? Is the student hurting other people? If so you need to get involved. Others have posted re how to get results - see posts up thread.

When a student becomes violent, or acts out in a way that is dangerously disruptive, like throwing things and flipping desks, the entire rest of the class has to leave. They don't remove the child; they remove everyone else. It's hugely disruptive and upsetting to many kids.

This is nuts.

Happens weekly in some classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these posts are making me want to check out my kid’s elementary school. He is in kindergarten through 5th. How would you as a parent even know if these kinds of behaviors are going on? How can I find out about what’s going on at the middle and high school his elementary feeds into?

I know it sounds extreme, but the best way would be to get approved as a sub. Just spend a day or two in each school and you will be seriously considering private school. Also, here are some questions you can ask your child:

Do any kids in the class behave badly or have tantrums or get in trouble a lot? Do other teachers come into the classroom to work with some of the students (this would mean sped or EL teachers are servicing the room.) Do any students get taken out of the room by teachers to go do other things? (This could mean reading specialist, sped teacher, EL teacher, speech therapy, etc.)

Also, at our ES the classes each get a class score or "grade" in specials each day (like PE, art, etc.) and also lunch. You can ask them if their class gets good reports/grades/etc. (whatever their school uses) from the specials teachers and lunch monitors.

But honestly subbing would be the most informative. Until you've done that its ignorate bliss. You won't be able to unsee the things you have seen.

Do you think this is the case at so called top tier publics? I don’t know the ranking but I think our local high school is supposed to be one of the top(ish) public schools in the country.

I think it is probably fine at TJ, but at Blair they have specials with the “regular” kids. It’s hard to tell how common an occurrence it is. While my kids were in public for a total of ten years, I’d say I saw issues like this at least half the time. Sometimes you luck out or it is just one class that is a problem.