Posted on 05/25/2008 1:36:54 AM PDT by LibWhacker
PORT ST. LUCIE — Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.
After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.
By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex — who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism — out of the class.
Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.
Port St. Lucie Police no longer are investigating, but police officials are documenting the complaint, she said.
Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.
Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.
Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.
Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.
Children diagnosed with Asperger's often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior..
Alex has had disciplinary issues because of his disability, Barton said. After the family moved into the area and Alex and his sibling arrived at the school in January, Alex spent much of the time in the principal's office, she said.
He also had problems at his last school, but he did not have issues during his two years of preschool, Barton said.
School and district officials have met with Barton and her son to create an individual education plan to address his difficulties, she said. Portillo attended these meetings, Barton said.
Barton said after the vote, Portillo asked Alex how he felt.
"He said, 'I feel sad,' " Barton said.
Alex left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office, she said.
Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse's office.
"He was shaken up," she said.
Barton said the nurse told her to talk with Portillo, who told her what happened.
Alex hasn't been back to school since then, and Barton said he won't be returning. He starts screaming when she brings him with her to drop off his sibling at school.
Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.
Barton said Alex is reliving the incident.
The other students said he was "disgusting" and "annoying," Barton said.
"He was incredibly upset," Barton said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."
St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment.
Vern Melvin, Department of Children and Families circuit administrator, confirmed the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse at Morningside but said he could not elaborate.
In your heart, do you really believe that a teacher is concerned with “looking popular” to a group of five year olds?
She's a whore of Satan who doesn't put up with little brats acting up in her class.
It might if mommy doesn't sue the lesson away.
So funny. You stay classy, raybbr.
I'm sure that Satan himself doesn't put up with much guff, either.
That's not exactly an endorsement for his management style. Nor this slut's.
sitetest
The only lesson this kid learned was that he was singled out for ridicule.
For good reason.
Amazing. Focusing on one child and forgetting the other 14. How do you know what problems he’s caused them?
This is what is destroying the U.S. The idea that one person’s needs will be put above the other fourteen.
________________________________________________
But there have to be much better ways to handle the issue. The teacher should have taken the steps necessary to remove the child from her class and not allow him to return—period, due to his disruptive behavior. And maybe she tried without success. However the emotional beating that boy took at the hands of his class, at the teacher’s direction, didn’t solve anything and in fact made the entire situation far worse.
> The liberals in education did not want these students to “feel different” so, instead of being in a separate classroom taught by those who were trained to deal with their particular problems, they were placed in “regular” classrooms. This left one teacher to deal with the special needs of one student (which could even include catherization for incontinent students) while trying to teach a full class of “normal” students. On its face, the idea is ridiculous, but is still practiced in some school systems.
When I was going thru school (gr 2-7) in Canada there was precisely such a classroom. Back then, in less sensitive times, it was called the “Mental Class”. All children with dyslexia, hyperactivity, autism, down’s syndrome &tc ended up in this class — all grades. It was taught by one teacher (strangely enough, a New Zealander) and the kids stayed in that class for as many years as it took for them to move on.
Was it a great way to learn? Dunno — I wasn’t a part of that. I do know that many of the kids from the “Mental Class” ended up graduating in Grade 12 with high school diplomas.
One kid in particular — whose diagnosis was described back then as being “stunned” — ended up being a brilliant artist and one of my close friends thru High School. He was quite a bit older than me, and had repeated several of the Elementary School years.
As for the people on this thread who think this teacher should lose her job, or describe her as a “whore of Satan” &tc — I’d like to see you all control a room of 5 year old kids, under similar circumstances. It would be interesting to see your teaching techniques: we could even do a TV show called “The Child Whisperer”.
Seriously, we pay elementary school teachers 5/8ths of bugger-all, and then invest with them our most important assets — our children — and expect them to work miracles with each one of them as individuals: even the disruptive ones like Alex. It makes me wonder why anybody enters the teaching profession: it would be a thankless task at best.
Your analogy with the paraplegic is incorrect, in my experience. The people I’ve known in wheelchairs wanted to be treated the same as people who could walk. If that meant some teasing about slowing down traffic, it would be more welcome than condescension and hollow, sympathetic stares.
But the problem here is the rest of the class. They are five year olds, and they are learning from what they see. They are not old enough to grasp the concept of special needs. They see little Johnny acting out and there are no consequences. When they are much older, they will have to overcome that lesson.
“As for the people on this thread who think this teacher should lose her job, or describe her as a ‘whore of Satan’ I'd like to see you all control a room of 5 year old kids, under similar circumstances.”
Nobody forced her to take the job. If she can't handle it, she should find something more suitable to her talents. I hear Subway sub shops are hiring illiterate morons to write their web pages. (See this thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2020985/posts?page=1 .) She should fit in just fine there.
I understand the difficulties of managing a number of unruly children. I also realize that some parents make the job that much tougher. But two wrongs don't make a right. Wanton cruelty isn't a valid personnel management methodology, and anyone who engages in it should be fired.
sitetest
This kid's revolting & disgusting behavior may be no more than picking his nose and eating the contents, something that is fairly common among young children, or something much worse, such as taking toys and hitting children without any warning.
In any case, there is a process to be followed, and having a child voted out of the classroom is not part of that process. The classroom is seldom a democracy. Usually, it is, at best, a benevolent despotism, and kindergarten may be a good place to start teaching democracy, but not by voting a child out because others don't like him. Among other things, they may not like him because he has darker or lighter skin than they do, straight or kinky hair, or speak in a different language or dialect.
> Wanton cruelty isn’t a valid personnel management methodology, and anyone who engages in it should be fired.
So in a perfect world, and given the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, what should this teacher have done, both to control this child Alex and the other 14 5-year olds?
You have described the treatment as “wanton cruelty”. Fair enough — what would be the “humane and effective” remedy for dealing to a disruptive influence like Alex, amid 14 other 5 year olds?
I place 95% of the blame squarely with the parents of Alex for “bucket-headed stupidity and selfishness”, and 5% of the blame with the school system for “reckless disregard”. Yup, the teacher gets a Pass.
Alex did not belong in that class. He was ill-equipped and he suffered as a result.
IMO, the problem stems from mainstreaming special needs kids. It helps neither the special need child (as we see here), nor the other students in the class. So much of the teacher's attention and time is devoted to the special needs child and preventing harm to other students.
In kindergarten, since the DX and IEP take time to establish, the lone teacher has no help in the classroom at all. A 20 to 1 ratio is NOT sufficient with a special needs child and no aide to help.
Everyone suffers.
Put the teacher on live TV and let people call in an tell her why she should be voted out of her profession and out of the city.
You wrote:
“Because he has an IEP, he gets this special world created for him.”
Yep. I deal closely with a local school. I have seen similar cases. In some situations the child with a behavioral problem essentially hols the whole class hostage and teachers have little they can do. Some parents - and I am sure they tell themselves they are doing all of this for their child - repeatedly blame the teachers when their child continues to fail, act up, get in trouble, etc. Asberger’s is a big deal these days. Teachers all across the country are being trained on how to deal with it, but many sufferers simply don’t have enough self control to be mainstreamed.
Mainstreaming once again rears it’s ugly head.
I think the word "perhaps" is the problem. I think most people agree she SHOULD have done it differently - no "perhaps." But most likely she shouldn't have done it publicly at all.
So in a perfect world, and given the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, what should this teacher have done, both to control this child Alex and the other 14 5-year olds?
Oh, I don't know...maybe ask administration for quidance on what she was to do...since they sent him BACK to the classroom.
Maybe he doesn't have it, whatever it is.
Maybe he's just a little ass who need his butt whipped.
During my daughter's education I have had to deal with types like this teacher. They are few and far between, but they are there. Tenure make sure they stay there. These type of people become teachers just so they can control and bully others.
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