“...My dear friend, a special ed teacher in a specific special ed school for “severely mentally disturbed/disabled” (SED) told me what he used to see in locked-up psychiatric wards (where he taught for a while, kids were basically in cages while he “taught”) - is now in his school, what was in his school is now mainstreamed in “regular” classrooms.”
Thank you! I knew something was very wrong and it had to do more with money.
When I was in Junior High I was in the “special class” only for math. I read numbers back wards or mix them up, can’t remember what they call that. Anyway when I was in that class? Most of the kids were either like me or had other problems learning math that they required extra help. Some of the kids were suffered from hyper activity or ability to focus how ever none of them were freaking crazy like this.
I also remember the teacher had a paddle over the black board in that class room and if any of the boys got out of line he would point to it. I never saw him once use it, all he had to do was point to it. Now either that teacher was a freaking genus at teaching special needs kids at the time or we were not in need of a mental ward to calm us down.
I’ll say it right now this young man belonged in a psych ward. We never had kids like him in class when I was in Junior High. I guess the best his parents could do is get him into a group home because that is all there is these days?
“The school system wants them mainstreamed b/c each special ed student costs the district approximately three times what a “regular” student costs - AND, there is a lot of litigation from special ed students and their families. I attended a number of IEP meetings with either a lawyer (pro bono, I’m sure) or an “advocate” in attendance to intimate school authorities”
I knew money was at the root of this and parents of these kids, who sometimes are worse than the kids in my opinion, are egging it on. I mean let’s get real like another FReeper said here “some kids need to be left behind” some of these kids can’t be taught. Ones like this guy? We would have a joke about him back in the day “strong as an ox and almost as smart” All this money spent is a waste of resources.
As for this teacher that was attacked? I feel she too is going after the wrong person. She should go after the group home that allowed him into the school after the parents warned them he was dangerous. Not to blame the victim here but maybe she was not the correct paraprofessional for the job? Considering he is violet, his size and weight perhaps the school is to blame for not hiring a paraprofessional the size of a NFL linebacker to deal with boys like him in that special needs class? Think about it! Why this small woman? That was freaking stupid by the school!
What’s worse is these parents would come down to the school - they have all the rights - and demand their child isn’t “drugged” while school - these “drugs,” mostly anti-psychotics, are the ones that allow the child to focus and keep control of himself so he is not a danger to himself or others - and are absolutely necessary in these instances. The school is then forced to keep these kid unmedicated - making them extremely dangerous. And yes, some of them should be locked up - and were in past generations.
Turns out the parents want the drugs for afterschool, weekends and school breaks - when they’d double or even triple dose the kids. Kids were met at the door at home with the meds and that is how the parents were able to cope with them.
My friend eventually got out, he was getting older and was afraid of being seriously hurt.
I ended up working next to an SED school for several years. I have never in my life seen such vicious fights, which happened almost every single day - it often took three or four adults on each student to break up these fights.
Later, it had gotten so difficult that it looked like a condition of attendance was taking whatever drug was needed - the kids had a zombie-like stare all day and walked slowly and flat-footed around their campus, not normal at all, but it was probably the only way they could attend school. I never saw any fights after that.