I just read a news story about a 5 year old boy who may have Asperger's Syndrome (a high functioning type of autism). This little boy, Alex Barton, was voted out of his kindergarten class after his teacher had him come to the front of the room and asked every other student why they didn't like him. The teacher then had each student vote as to whether or not Alex should remain as part of the class. They voted him out. What kind of values is this going to teach the children in that classroom? What are these kids going to take away from this? The values are going to be that you can ridicule anyone that doesn't meet your standards for whatever reason. The children are going to take away the idea that anyone with autism of any degree or mental illness of any type doesn't deserve the respect you would give a dog. That teacher should have been fired at the end of the day. I can only give the teacher the benefit of the doubt and say that she was taught that behavior by her parents. That doesn't excuse her actions but it does offer a possible reason for the way she thinks. I am praying for Alex that he is not permanently hurt by this. By God's grace I hope he is able to forgive the teacher and the other students and put this entire incident behind him. Check out the story for yourself : http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/24/30gtteacher-lets-students-vote-out-classmate-5/
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I saw this. As a husband of an elementary school teacher I couldn't believe it. Is this reality TV run amoc? Voted off like some Survivor or Big Brother Contestant?
It is surprising in one way and in another it isn't. If you consider the state of the nation now and some of the movements that are taking place. In light of gay marriage making progress and abortion etc. it seems much less surprising. What bothers me the most is the direction this country is taking. Very disturbing.
Back in the 80's when my son (who has ADHD) was in 2nd grade, his teacher asked all the students to write an essay about my son about why they didn't like him! He never said a word about this and I didn't find out about it until I found his bookbag stuffed with the cruel notes. I immediately called the principal and had a meeting but they defended the teacher's behavior by saying she was "new" and didn't know how to handle Johnny's hyperactive nature. In those days one didn't have media attention over incidents. It was recommended that my son stay in the class so as not to make him feel further ostracized and singled out. This incident still brings tears to my eyes. My son grew up to become a strong young man despite it all and this one incident did not "define" him. I wonder if the attention drawn to this boy in the news will have a negative legacy. My son went on to become very popular with a good character and values. He earned a 2nd degree black belt and graduated with a 3.80 GPA from college. His ADD/ADHD is not the sum of who he is as a person---and while this teacher's choice of punishment was repugment and stupid, it did not destroy my son. We made it a lesson to not adopt a victim mentality.
I never intended to put this child into the category of "victim" but that doesn't mean the person responsible shouldn't be held accountable for what she did, after all she is the only adult involved as far as we know.
Post a Comment