Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing that teachers could do and don't, and that I blame them for, is to not use parent volunteers. How many kids who are in 3rd grade, but reading at a K level, could be helped by one-on-one attention from volunteers (and could have benefitted along the way)? We expect one person to manage a huge classroom with multiple learning levels and many types of disabilities and it isn't humanly possible. So admit that and use parents and other volunteers whenever possible to fill in the gaps. But most won't. At all.

We aren't allowed to use parent volunteers in the classroom. They can make copies, cut out laminating, work at a desk outside the classroom but that's it aside from volunteer on field trips. Once we make this clear to parents, most of them don't want to come in to help. I think many of the parent volunteers just wanted to 1) spy on the teacher and/or other students or 2) only work with their child.

Which district are you, and when did this change or is this a building decision? When my oldest child was in MCPS, it was totally at the discretion of the teacher and I was there every week working with kids at the "Reading Center". But look at your attitude and you will see why I blame teachers for not utilizing parents as volunteers. No excuse to not use them.

Anonymous wrote:If that’s true it’s outrageous. But I feel compelled to weigh in as a counselor in MCPS. I’ve fought tooth and nail for kids’ right to interventions and have failed to secure services for kids whose parents didn’t show up or understand the processes; whose minority status disqualified them (illegally) because the school felt pressure not to code black kids, and meanwhile, plenty of white wealthy families buy a diagnosis and get a 504 plan if not an IEP. Parents in the know want a plan because their kid gets extended time etc. I’ve never heard of a teacher wanting an IEP so they wouldn’t get blamed for low scores or so they could boot the kid out and into a self-contained classroom. Counselors are usually the ones driving the train, and they don’t have a dog in the fight other than helping the child. Other parents in the class don’t have a right to any of this confidential information, and they definitely can’t dictate what the school does to accommodate another child’s special needs. If anything, plans create more work for teachers, but they like them because at least there’s targeted instruction and it’s helpful to know the kid’s area of struggle. Plus, they might get an extra teacher in the classroom if the kid’s plan calls for it. Long way of saying I think kids NOT getting services they need is a much bigger problem than teachers forcibly coding kids to evade responsibility. I have honestly never seen that or suspected that behavior in15 years in the county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

PP here, this does worry me. I have heard, anecdotally, of IEPs being severely misused. In one instance on a child with liberal parents in a working-class right-wing stronghold, and in another on a black child in a predominately white school district in which the other parents didn’t want the child in the classroom with theirs. Do parents have any legal rights once a diagnosis is given and an IEP put in place?

It's very difficult to get an IEP without parental consent. If those stories are true the district went through a lot of hoops to make it happen.

In both cases the parents consented to the IEP under pressure from the schools, and then the schools used the diagnosis/IEP as a rationale for increasing constraints on the children, including pressing to move them out of the regular classroom. It was at that point that the parents found themselves at odds with the school administration. In the first case I know the parents regretted allowing the school to have their child evaluated in the first place. Neither of these instances were in DC, and I’m sure they were extreme cases. Both were friends of friends, and I remember looking up parental legal rights and finding that most of the information available was for parents who wanted more accommodations, not least-restrictive environments. I’m just curious if anyone here knows of similar instances, and what parents can do if this does happen.

They can revoke consent for the iep. Parents can always revoke consent at any time. Years ago, you needed both parents and the school to agree to drop the iep, but not anymore.

https://www.mccarthylebit.com/2015/07/01/iep-plan-b-revoking-consent-of-your-childs-special-education-services/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing that teachers could do and don't, and that I blame them for, is to not use parent volunteers. How many kids who are in 3rd grade, but reading at a K level, could be helped by one-on-one attention from volunteers (and could have benefitted along the way)? We expect one person to manage a huge classroom with multiple learning levels and many types of disabilities and it isn't humanly possible. So admit that and use parents and other volunteers whenever possible to fill in the gaps. But most won't. At all.

We aren't allowed to use parent volunteers in the classroom. They can make copies, cut out laminating, work at a desk outside the classroom but that's it aside from volunteer on field trips. Once we make this clear to parents, most of them don't want to come in to help. I think many of the parent volunteers just wanted to 1) spy on the teacher and/or other students or 2) only work with their child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

PP here, this does worry me. I have heard, anecdotally, of IEPs being severely misused. In one instance on a child with liberal parents in a working-class right-wing stronghold, and in another on a black child in a predominately white school district in which the other parents didn’t want the child in the classroom with theirs. Do parents have any legal rights once a diagnosis is given and an IEP put in place?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing that teachers could do and don't, and that I blame them for, is to not use parent volunteers. How many kids who are in 3rd grade, but reading at a K level, could be helped by one-on-one attention from volunteers (and could have benefitted along the way)? We expect one person to manage a huge classroom with multiple learning levels and many types of disabilities and it isn't humanly possible. So admit that and use parents and other volunteers whenever possible to fill in the gaps. But most won't. At all.

Where do you live? It cannot be MoCo bc if you were then you wouldn’t write something so ignorant. Parent volunteers cannot provide anything you mention.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

PP here, this does worry me. I have heard, anecdotally, of IEPs being severely misused. In one instance on a child with liberal parents in a working-class right-wing stronghold, and in another on a black child in a predominately white school district in which the other parents didn’t want the child in the classroom with theirs. Do parents have any legal rights once a diagnosis is given and an IEP put in place?

It's very difficult to get an IEP without parental consent. If those stories are true the district went through a lot of hoops to make it happen.

In both cases the parents consented to the IEP under pressure from the schools, and then the schools used the diagnosis/IEP as a rationale for increasing constraints on the children, including pressing to move them out of the regular classroom. It was at that point that the parents found themselves at odds with the school administration. In the first case I know the parents regretted allowing the school to have their child evaluated in the first place. Neither of these instances were in DC, and I’m sure they were extreme cases. Both were friends of friends, and I remember looking up parental legal rights and finding that most of the information available was for parents who wanted more accommodations, not least-restrictive environments. I’m just curious if anyone here knows of similar instances, and what parents can do if this does happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

PP here, this does worry me. I have heard, anecdotally, of IEPs being severely misused. In one instance on a child with liberal parents in a working-class right-wing stronghold, and in another on a black child in a predominately white school district in which the other parents didn’t want the child in the classroom with theirs. Do parents have any legal rights once a diagnosis is given and an IEP put in place?

It's very difficult to get an IEP without parental consent. If those stories are true the district went through a lot of hoops to make it happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

PP here, this does worry me. I have heard, anecdotally, of IEPs being severely misused. In one instance on a child with liberal parents in a working-class right-wing stronghold, and in another on a black child in a predominately white school district in which the other parents didn’t want the child in the classroom with theirs. Do parents have any legal rights once a diagnosis is given and an IEP put in place?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

So the child should just be able to disrupt class, disrespect fellow students and teachers. All the while the parents, similar to you, take no responsibility and instead blame the teacher. Nevermind the parents fail to acknowledge the reality of their child or actually help them. Easier to blame everyone else.

This is an anonymous forum. Why do you so confidently assume what side I am on? The fact of the matter is, in answer to pps question, ieps sometimes do more to help the teacher and other students rather than the misbehaving child. That is why a child who already receives all the informal accomodations he would need might still be referred for an iep. There's nothing more the iep would really do for the student. The iep in that case is for everyone else. Just needs to be said.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgive my ignorance, but I’m genuinely curious as to what an IEP does for a teacher. I thought it provided a set of requirements that the teacher needs to follow to give extra help to a student with a diagnosis, in order to ensure the child is not left unsupported. If a teacher is already giving that support, why the desire on the teacher’s part for an IEP? And what can the parents do for the teacher given that they are not the ones in the classroom during school hours?

+1.

It resolved them of some responsibility and accountability. If the child doesnt meet grade level expectations or misbehaves when a visitor or admin is watching, they can blame it on a documented disability rather than their lack of teaching and classroom management skills. Another thing it does is open up the possibility of having the child removed from the classroom for all or part of the day into a self contained classroom so the teacher doesnt have to deal with it. None of this would benefit the misbehaving child much whichbis probably why the parents refused.

So the child should just be able to disrupt class, disrespect fellow students and teachers. All the while the parents, similar to you, take no responsibility and instead blame the teacher. Nevermind the parents fail to acknowledge the reality of their child or actually help them. Easier to blame everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:I teach 8th grade at a low income school. I have lots of students who fit the description.

Staff across the board goes out of their way to try to even the playing field for these kids. We all stay after multiple days a week for free tutoring, bring them food and send passes to remind them, etc. More than anything though, we try to teach them skills to overcome the deficits they have at home. I've purchased an alarm clock for a kid who had no way of waking up on time for the bus. I've helped them apply for high school scholarships when they didn't have a present parent to navigate the forms for them.

We love these kids and while there is definitely pity and sadness for the cards they were dealt, the fact of the matter is that in a few short years no one is going to care that they have it rough, so we have to help them become self sufficient and independent in the mean time.