A positive example of the effects of research on a child and his family is one of this special needs boy enrolled in the agency I work for. This boy goes part-time at my school and part-time at a Chicago public school for his special needs services. The student was always coming to my school crying and upset. The school is always calling his mom telling her to come pick him up for any small incident. The boy may have been crying and the teacher would call for his mom to come and get him. The boy has a full developmental delay and he cannot speak. So I asked the mother if it was okay if I go over to the school to observe what was going on in the classroom at the Chicago public school. I went to the school and observed that the teacher immediately started to complain about the boy before he even took his coat off. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. The boy was trying to get the teacher's attention and she just ignored him. She yelled at him and told him to go sit down. The boy began to cry and the teacher told him that she was going to call the front office and have them call his mom because he was uncontrollable. After my observation I contacted my disability coordinator and told her what I saw and then I went to meet the principal and have a one on one with her. She was very upset about the situation and the teacher's action. I showed her the case notes I had on everyday that the teacher called for the mom to pick her son up and what the teacher told the mom when she called. The principal could not believe what she was reading. The principal informed me that she would speak to the mom and the teacher about this situation. The principal said that the teacher is trained and getting paid to work with special need children. She also said that the teacher has an assistant in the classroom with her at all times, so she should not be overwhelmed. The outcome of this situation was that the child was transferred to a different classroom and the parent was pleased. The child no longer came to my school crying or upset. He was happy and he was starting to say words. Every day I see the improvement in this little boy. The parent was happy that I was there to advocate for her child and get some better results out of the situation. The mother was on the verge of taking her son out of the Chicago public school because she was not happy. I convinced her to give me a chance to rectify this situation. The teacher may not know that she was doing a disservice to the child and the family by not even being willing to work with him. She never gave him a chance and I am glad that he is in another classroom.
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Erica,
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story! This truly is a very strong positive that came out of a very negative situation. I suppose I am over reacting when I say the teacher should have face diciplinary action. If she was trained to work with special needs and this is how she responded maybe she should have her license/certification re-evaluated. It just goes to show how important it is to pay attention to the children and advocate for them the best we can.It sounds to me that you did an awesome job. I surely bet the child and his mom are grateful. Job well done.
Jenn Pore`
Hi Erica, it is interesting to that a trained teacher to deal with special needs children found time to be mistreating one of her students. She discriminated against the child without even giving him a chance. If believe the job can become stressful but not everyday you choose the same child to not be in your class. Was she really trained after all, because I believe she missed a vital part of her training.
ReplyDeleteHi, Erica this was very disturbing to me obviously the teacher had lack of training and knowledge with dealing with this little boy. I am she also discriminated against this little boy because she did not know or have the resources in teaching a child who had a learning disability. I feel that this type of behavior goes is presented in our School district because so many teachers are not being trained properly to help children that are being place in their classroom. I do understand her frustration but she could have handle it a better way by asking for resources to help her to assist in making sure this little boy received a good education as well.
ReplyDeleteErica,
ReplyDeleteI want to first commend you for stepping in as an advocate for this child. It is so disturbing to hear such stories yet unfortunately they are all too familiar. I have to agree with the other comments that with more training this teacher would have never placed herself in such as position. Again I am very happy that you were there to listen to the parent's concerns and were aware of the child's needs in order to find resolution for this little boy.