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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol. Don’t you think we already refer kids? It takes a very long time for a student to get any additional help at all. Years, in some cases.

Teachers above were reporting not reporting kids. I know it takes years in some cases--but it's often based on number of reports, not time--to qualify. But if all teachers reported consistently, the issue bubbles up to admin in large districts and budgets get reallocated. When teachers are 'shamed' to not report, the budget to support kids isn't there.

If I send a student to the office or call for help I get blamed for not catching something sooner or not being able to manage student behaviors. I don’t want to put myself in a situation where I am reprimanded and then under the microscopic spotlight of the principals.

[Anonymous]

My impulse is to question how other countries handle these behaviors, but then I realize they don’t have the overly entitlement and lack-of-respect problems this country has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My impulse is to question how other countries handle these behaviors, but then I realize they don’t have the overly entitlement and lack-of-respect problems this country has.

Yep. We have a family member from Europe whose daughter is doing a HS year here and she has been appalled by student behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All you folks talking about poorly behaved special needs kids are likely NOT parents of kids with unique needs, and you should consider yourself lucky. Such holier than thou attitudes and a wholesale lack of empathy for kids.

No kid WANTS to behave that way. Behaviors like that are expressing an unmet need. Those kids are in a world a hurt and need support, possibly therapy or other tools. It is not unlike a kid with dyslexia or even a physical disability.

Schools, SN kids, and resources were barely getting by pre pandemic and now we’ve got two years of no progress and more stress on everyone, especially those kids who were left behind. And the learning loss amongst SN kids was far worse than most typical kids.

Rather than fault the kids, or the parents of those kids, start screaming at your school boards and their inane funding priorities. Raise teacher salaries, invest in more SN instructional assistants and their training, more case managers and specialists. Maybe something more than 1 BCBA for 25 schools would help…

All people are saying is that those kids don't belong in the classroom with neurotypical kids. It doesn't serve society well to help out one or two kids at the expense of 25 others.

That is the fundamental gap. They do belong in regular classrooms. Remember back in the 60’s when kids in wheelchairs were sent to special schools, away from the “regular” kids? Ruled unconstitutional. Thank god for the ADA. Same applies here hence the ‘least restrictive environment’ laws.

JUST STOP. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT WHEELCHAIRS OR DYSLEXIA AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT.

So freaking disingenuous.

DP- but it’s not disingenuous. There are standards for inclusion. You don’t know them (full stop. Clear from your post) don’t know the process for removal of a child from gen Ed, and so you don’t know what you are fighting against and certainly don’t have a well thought out alternative.

Clearly not every child who is disruptive fits only certain disabilities. What about the kid with an intellectual disability who has a 1:1 who is placed in a mainstream class who shouts out constantly and gets deregulates and interrupts the class? According to your arbitrary standards is this kid OK but the adhd kid who is disruptive not? If you have a problem with inclusion choose to send your kid private. These children are human being and are not less then. Just different!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there any statistics on how often this is happening in schools? Like is it once per week, or twice per day in every grade? My daughter is in 5th and I never hear anything like this happening. We're in a mid-size, high-SES/UPC public school. FCPS.

Or, like me as a smart, quiet daughter, you just don’t say anything about it because mom won’t believe you/doesn’t care OR you’re too traumatized by dangerous, perverted male classmates that you can’t muster up the courage to tell mom because these boys won’t get punished anyway. Please excuse the projection, I’m sure your relationship with your daughter is strong. Just a vent.

Laws like NCLB and discipline reform policies were made by people who never attended public schools (look @ Bush family, Obama family) and are perpetuated by the same (Biden family)
They and their children & grandchildren are insulated in privates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All you folks talking about poorly behaved special needs kids are likely NOT parents of kids with unique needs, and you should consider yourself lucky. Such holier than thou attitudes and a wholesale lack of empathy for kids.

No kid WANTS to behave that way. Behaviors like that are expressing an unmet need. Those kids are in a world a hurt and need support, possibly therapy or other tools. It is not unlike a kid with dyslexia or even a physical disability.

Schools, SN kids, and resources were barely getting by pre pandemic and now we’ve got two years of no progress and more stress on everyone, especially those kids who were left behind. And the learning loss amongst SN kids was far worse than most typical kids.

Rather than fault the kids, or the parents of those kids, start screaming at your school boards and their inane funding priorities. Raise teacher salaries, invest in more SN instructional assistants and their training, more case managers and specialists. Maybe something more than 1 BCBA for 25 schools would help…

All people are saying is that those kids don't belong in the classroom with neurotypical kids. It doesn't serve society well to help out one or two kids at the expense of 25 others.

That is the fundamental gap. They do belong in regular classrooms. Remember back in the 60’s when kids in wheelchairs were sent to special schools, away from the “regular” kids? Ruled unconstitutional. Thank god for the ADA. Same applies here hence the ‘least restrictive environment’ laws.

JUST STOP. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT WHEELCHAIRS OR DYSLEXIA AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT.

So freaking disingenuous.

DP- but it’s not disingenuous. There are standards for inclusion. You don’t know them (full stop. Clear from your post) don’t know the process for removal of a child from gen Ed, and so you don’t know what you are fighting against and certainly don’t have a well thought out alternative.

Clearly not every child who is disruptive fits only certain disabilities. What about the kid with an intellectual disability who has a 1:1 who is placed in a mainstream class who shouts out constantly and gets deregulates and interrupts the class? According to your arbitrary standards is this kid OK but the adhd kid who is disruptive not? If you have a problem with inclusion choose to send your kid private. These children are human being and are not less then. Just different!

Nobody is picking on your ADHD kid, PP. If any kid is constantly disrupting the class, then they are not a good candidate for mainstreaming. Intellectual disability, ADHD, or no diagnosis. It's about their behavior and the impact of their behavior on the classroom, and that's it. Kids and teachers need a safe environment conducive to learning. No child needs to be a perfectly compliant robot, but they also can't be "constantly" disrupting a class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any statistics on how often this is happening in schools? Like is it once per week, or twice per day in every grade? My daughter is in 5th and I never hear anything like this happening. We're in a mid-size, high-SES/UPC public school. FCPS.

Or, like me as a smart, quiet daughter, you just don’t say anything about it because mom won’t believe you/doesn’t care OR you’re too traumatized by dangerous, perverted male classmates that you can’t muster up the courage to tell mom because these boys won’t get punished anyway. Please excuse the projection, I’m sure your relationship with your daughter is strong. Just a vent.

Laws like NCLB and discipline reform policies were made by people who never attended public schools (look @ Bush family, Obama family) and are perpetuated by the same (Biden family)
They and their children & grandchildren are insulated in privates

Technically the Bush girls did attend public, but it was during high school when these kind of disruptions are less of an issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of dishonest fear mongering. I'm a mom who volunteers a lot in my kids schools. One of my kids has learning disabilities, they are mild. In 1st grade there was a mom who was so angry that a child with disabilities would be in her child's class, that she pulled her daughter out to homeschool her. She told me to my face that her kid shouldn't have to be in class with mine. My kid isn't intellectually disabled and doesn't have behavior issues. That shouldn't matter any way. You all are that mom.

You people who hate kids with disabilities need therapy.

Sounds made up. Shrug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Federal Govt. doesn't agree with your discriminatory and ignorant opinions. Public schools are for all children, even the ones who you think have differences.

Thank you.

That’s fine. We just need to change the law and its application and get the violent and disruptive ones into alternative public school classrooms/schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Federal Govt. doesn't agree with your discriminatory and ignorant opinions. Public schools are for all children, even the ones who you think have differences.

Thank you.

If only the Federal Government provided the funding so that this could happen in a manner that is safe and sustainable for all students. Instead, public education has become a zero sum game that pits parents against each other as they fight for what their kids need.

Nope. You just resent any kid that you perceive to be less than yours.

Nope. You just have a giant, hyperemotional chip on your shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Federal Govt. doesn't agree with your discriminatory and ignorant opinions. Public schools are for all children, even the ones who you think have differences.

Thank you.

Or you could say public school is for all children, except the 24 kids who have to be evacuated from class.

You are such a liar. What you are referring to is an unusual occurrence.

NP here. It’s really not unusual, unfortunately. You clearly have an agenda, but it’s burning out teachers and overwhelming children and parents. You’re in denial and name calling doesn’t make reality different.

THANK YOU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of dishonest fear mongering. I'm a mom who volunteers a lot in my kids schools. One of my kids has learning disabilities, they are mild. In 1st grade there was a mom who was so angry that a child with disabilities would be in her child's class, that she pulled her daughter out to homeschool her. She told me to my face that her kid shouldn't have to be in class with mine. My kid isn't intellectually disabled and doesn't have behavior issues. That shouldn't matter any way. You all are that mom.

You people who hate kids with disabilities need therapy.

It’s not fear-mothering to discuss the routine violence occurring in ES classrooms everyday. My kid is a moderately intellectually impaired but follows directions and particulates as best as she can. My husband and I can’t send her to public school because how is she going to interpret other kids throwing chairs, punching their “friends”, or kicking the teacher? How am I going to explain to her that so and so just has trouble controlling their feelings? How is she going to learn anything in a classroom that has to regularly be evacuated? How is she supposed to understand what to do or not do during Code Red? And God-forbid she gets smacked in the head with an object and they make her intellectually disability worse. How will I even know how she’s been hurt if the school doesn’t tell me? Do you see how these children with severe behaviors are disruptive to everyone? This is not about discriminating against SN. It’s about taking action against mayhem and violence.

Which you exaggerate at every turn.

No. Your agenda is showing. Again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yea, this is why I spend a small fortune for my kids to go to a private school wtih classroom sizes no larger than 12 kids of which NONE are special needs or emotionally disturbed. Its all about having them in a peaceful learning environment and not having to be subjecte to kids who really should be in a contained classroom.

Inclusion classrooms are disrubtive.

Exhibit A of the intolerance and bigotry against all SN kids. Not just behavior issues, she said it directly here. Special needs.

To PP, shame on you.

DP.

“Your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins.”

We don’t have to de okay with SN accommodations having a negative affect on other children. Of that is what happens every day, and we are allowed to balk. If that offends you, IDGAF.

You're all very brave behind your anonymous posts. Bravo, warrior.

I know you’re getting angry that you can’t bully people anymore into agreeing with you or at least pretending to, but you will just need to deal with that loss of power because voting in this country is also anonymous. Most parents of school children have started to see what goes on in schools in this country, and we want things to change. You can stamp your feet all you want but you can’t bully people into voting the way you want.

Are you on the wrong thread? Nobody is voting children off the island.

I presume that not one of you would stand up in public, say at a PTA meeting, and say out loud that you don't want SN kids in your school. Not behavior issues, SN.

But I could be wrong. Most of you are probably just as awful IRL.

DP. No, we are going to vote for candidates who will change the existing laws and their application. Let’s actually have some enforcement of the “A” in FAPE. If you’re in the room repeatedly screaming, threatening and throwing things and causing the rest of the class not to learn, clearly you are not succeeding, your placement is not appropriate and needs to be changed.

Or how about we make a law that ALL children are entitled to FAPE, including a classroom where they can hear the teacher and be physically safe. Let’s do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yea, this is why I spend a small fortune for my kids to go to a private school wtih classroom sizes no larger than 12 kids of which NONE are special needs or emotionally disturbed. Its all about having them in a peaceful learning environment and not having to be subjecte to kids who really should be in a contained classroom.

Inclusion classrooms are disrubtive.

Exhibit A of the intolerance and bigotry against all SN kids. Not just behavior issues, she said it directly here. Special needs.

To PP, shame on you.

DP.

“Your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins.”

We don’t have to de okay with SN accommodations having a negative affect on other children. Of that is what happens every day, and we are allowed to balk. If that offends you, IDGAF.

You're all very brave behind your anonymous posts. Bravo, warrior.

I know you’re getting angry that you can’t bully people anymore into agreeing with you or at least pretending to, but you will just need to deal with that loss of power because voting in this country is also anonymous. Most parents of school children have started to see what goes on in schools in this country, and we want things to change. You can stamp your feet all you want but you can’t bully people into voting the way you want.

Are you on the wrong thread? Nobody is voting children off the island.

I presume that not one of you would stand up in public, say at a PTA meeting, and say out loud that you don't want SN kids in your school. Not behavior issues, SN.

But I could be wrong. Most of you are probably just as awful IRL.

DP. No, we are going to vote for candidates who will change the existing laws and their application. Let’s actually have some enforcement of the “A” in FAPE. If you’re in the room repeatedly screaming, threatening and throwing things and causing the rest of the class not to learn, clearly you are not succeeding, your placement is not appropriate and needs to be changed.

Or how about we make a law that ALL children are entitled to FAPE, including a classroom where they can hear the teacher and be physically safe. Let’s do that.

Where are these candidates? There is not a politician on earth who say SN kids should be in a separate school. And what's the threshold? Three strikes and you're out? Kids grow and mature. A kid in my DC's grade was a mess in K and 1st, once trashing a classroom (but not violent). Now that student is in AAP, involved in every school activity, and a model student. Kid needed time and counseling, which was provided through the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All you folks talking about poorly behaved special needs kids are likely NOT parents of kids with unique needs, and you should consider yourself lucky. Such holier than thou attitudes and a wholesale lack of empathy for kids.

No kid WANTS to behave that way. Behaviors like that are expressing an unmet need. Those kids are in a world a hurt and need support, possibly therapy or other tools. It is not unlike a kid with dyslexia or even a physical disability.

Schools, SN kids, and resources were barely getting by pre pandemic and now we’ve got two years of no progress and more stress on everyone, especially those kids who were left behind. And the learning loss amongst SN kids was far worse than most typical kids.

Rather than fault the kids, or the parents of those kids, start screaming at your school boards and their inane funding priorities. Raise teacher salaries, invest in more SN instructional assistants and their training, more case managers and specialists. Maybe something more than 1 BCBA for 25 schools would help…

All people are saying is that those kids don't belong in the classroom with neurotypical kids. It doesn't serve society well to help out one or two kids at the expense of 25 others.

That is the fundamental gap. They do belong in regular classrooms. Remember back in the 60’s when kids in wheelchairs were sent to special schools, away from the “regular” kids? Ruled unconstitutional. Thank god for the ADA. Same applies here hence the ‘least restrictive environment’ laws.

JUST STOP. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT WHEELCHAIRS OR DYSLEXIA AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT.

So freaking disingenuous.

DP- but it’s not disingenuous. There are standards for inclusion. You don’t know them (full stop. Clear from your post) don’t know the process for removal of a child from gen Ed, and so you don’t know what you are fighting against and certainly don’t have a well thought out alternative.

Clearly not every child who is disruptive fits only certain disabilities. What about the kid with an intellectual disability who has a 1:1 who is placed in a mainstream class who shouts out constantly and gets deregulates and interrupts the class? According to your arbitrary standards is this kid OK but the adhd kid who is disruptive not? If you have a problem with inclusion choose to send your kid private. These children are human being and are not less then. Just different!

Nobody is picking on your ADHD kid, PP. If any kid is constantly disrupting the class, then they are not a good candidate for mainstreaming. Intellectual disability, ADHD, or no diagnosis. It's about their behavior and the impact of their behavior on the classroom, and that's it. Kids and teachers need a safe environment conducive to learning. No child needs to be a perfectly compliant robot, but they also can't be "constantly" disrupting a class.

But don’t you get it? By law they have a right to be put in the least restrictive classroom. I am not saying it is right but that is the law