I feel sad, too, though unrelenting rage is more appropriate
Many who blog about autism have written about Alex Barton, the Florida five-year-old, whose Kindergarten teacher led his classmates in voting him out of the class after she also had the students tell him, as he stood at the front of the class, what they didn't like about him. From a news report:
Last Crazy Horn at Odd One Out is compiling a long, impressive list of posts on this news story as well as links to some resources responding to the topic.After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about [Melissa] 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. . . .
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. . . .
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."
6 comments:
What a horrible, dismaying story. That teacher shouldn't be in the classroom obviously. That poor kid.
My nephew, who has Aspergers, was thrown out of his 1st grade program for being disruptive - basically asking too many questions. And this was years ago - he graduates from college in 2 weeks. You'd think people teaching would have gotten more awareness since then. Regardless, what a horrible way to treat a child.
Even worse having the other kids and his friend find and say what they dislike, about him. Seems a lot like the teacher was teaching the others how to be a bully. I would be very surprised if he wasn't in tears after the first one or two students got done.
I would call that emotional abuse at the least.
I got held back in school a year because every kid in my class hated me (they said it was my fault for being socially undeveloped). So this is especially a kick in the teeth. I cannot believe the teacher allowed this shit. I cannot believe the teacher hasn't been immediately fired.
Go check out what is said at the blog "The adventures of Leelo and his potty mouthed mom" about this. I agree that it is not good to have kids of this age to vote a fellow student out. makes me wonder how the kids parents are raising them and how the teacher is influencing them. my son has ADHD and I would (as a parent ) be outraged if my sons class would of done that. and would have been at least talking to the teacher and the princapal of the school to resolve the issue to start with.
This is one of the saddest stories I have ever read. That teacher had the role of creating culture in that classroom and what she chose was vile--the other kids in that class are all living scared knowing this could happen to them at any point. So they will look for differences to dislike in others, and ways to exclude before they are excluded. She could have made children more secure and accepting, but she chose to teach them about the dangers of not having power. Yuck.
Wow. Just wow.
I am presently having problems with a class teasing one particular child (as far as I know, he does not have any disabilities, but moms very much avoid labels here, so it's possible.) I can't imagine why the teacher chose that way to respond. My students are not allowed to tease each other (if they do, they get extra homework) in class ever. The problems have all occurred in the 5 minute breaks between classes, which I simply can't monitor (11 hour days, and aside from those 5 mins, I have a grand total of 40 minutes for lunch.)
What what she thinking?
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