Reply to Confessions/secrets from Sts, OTs, PTs, special ed teachers, administrators, etc

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm another Sped teacher who is also a SN parent.  This probably isn't a secret, but one thing I wish parents understood is that my time and attention are scarce resources.  The law may say that the school needs to staff adequately to meet every student's needs, but the reality is that unless you add a dedicated aide, the staffing at my school isn't going to change based on your child's IEP.  So, when we're in a meeting, and you're advocating for support at a specific point in the day, or for more minutes of services or services in a different location (e.g. pull out if they're currently push in, or vice versa), I'm thinking of whatever else I'm already scheduled to be doing at that moment.

The reality might be that the recess support you're asking for for your second grader is a great idea, but second grade recess is first grade reading, and the in class reading support I provide to Jose and Mary is crucial.  It might be that your kid would do great if I pushed into math class, but then where would Suzie and Malik go?  All of this is running through my mind during the meeting.

I'm not asking parents to change what they advocate for, just to understand why I might need time to process, or I might propose an alternative solution.  It's not that I'm lazy.  It's not that I don't care about your kid.  It's that I also care about the other kids, some of whose parents aren't great advocates.    I can also guarantee that there are also times when I'm doing the same thing in other IEPs, and the kid I'm thinking of is yours.  [/quote]

I definitely know SN teachers have time constraints and I view it as an impossible job. I have enormous respect for people who do it well and I let them and the principal know. The thing is schools need to brainstorm how to handle these things. People roll their eyes at parent participation, but if you are having recess issues over and over with many students and there is no way for the support staff to help, then perhaps there need to be parent volunteers there too, so you have more eyes making sure the kids are playing safely. If children are wandering alone, see if you can start a buddy program at that grade level or have older kids who be buddies or help facilitate play if they have something going on they can miss.

While I wouldn't have parents teaching reading groups, I would have them watching kids as they write in journals, etc so the teacher can work with a small group.

Some people complain that allowing parent volunteers to help more just leads to gossip and unfair treatment, etc. Guess what if enough other parents see this and say something or the staff notices or whatever then you simply don't allow that parent in the classroom or on the playground anymore. He or she can be reassigned to volunteer in the library or cafeteria. [/quote]

I'm the PP you're responding to, and I agree that there needs to be brainstorming, but my point is that that brainstorming isn't always something that can happen real time in an IEP meeting.  Sometimes there are people who need to be part of the conversation who aren't present (e.g. Maybe I could go to the second half of first grade reading, but I can't make that decision without talking to the first grade teacher.  Maybe Ms. Smith has a pull out group at that point that could absorb Henry.  Maybe Mr. Jones is already providing resource support and isn't so stretched that he couldn't take on Joey too . . .

Sometimes there are confidentiality reasons.  Maybe the reason I'm busy is because that's when Jose's seizure meds are at their lowest, and his temporal lobe seizures can't be handled safely without a 1:1 ratio.  I can't have that conversation at an IEP meeting, because it isn't fair to Jose.  Maybe Molly's mom told you that her daughter's skills are just like your child's so you want them together, but I know that she either over or underestimated her child when she said that, so your proposed solution of putting your child with Molly isn't going to work.

Again, I'm happy to brainstorm.  But I need time.  Now, I'll say that in my experience, most parents recognize that when I ask for it.  But I'm a veteran teacher, so I've had years to learn how to talk to parents.  I don't see newer teachers getting the same courtesy, instead I see parents jump to the conclusion that a teacher doesn't care, when that couldn't be further from the truth.

I disagree with you that parent volunteers are the solution, but I'm not going to derail this conversation into a totally different topic.   [/quote]

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