03/6/2012:
"In March of 2009 I received a phone call at work that my daughter was out
of control at school. She at that time was in the first grade. I could
not leave work, so my mother and son went to pick her up. That evening I
was going to punish her for her behavior. My mom asked me to wait until
the next day because I was too upset and my daughter was exhausted. Now,
I will tell you a little about my daughter. My husband and I adopted her
and her older sister in 2006. We were her 6th home by the time she was
almost 4 years old. She was in foster care due to severe neglect. The
conditions in which she and her family were found in were horrible. The
house was without any heat (it was Feb), dead mice in the floor, children
reported being bound to their beds, windows were boarded up where no light
could come in, they were only allowed to go out at night. The elementary
school in which this incident occurred was fully aware of all of this. On
this particular morning, my daugh!
ter didn't want to color her sheet and her teacher began to fuss at her
to the point of her feeling threatned. Her teacher and the teachers aid
then began to chase her around the classroom. When they caught her, they
took her into the special education classroom to another teacher in which
my daughter was unfamiliar with. The teacher then placed our daughter in
a "black-out room" used for autistic children. When our daughter tried to
escape this room the teacher then sat on her in the floor and held her
arms over her head. This incident was never reported to anyone. On the
following Monday, my husband and myself went to meet with the
teacher/principal. The teacher that restrained/sucluded our daughter said
to me "If you have something you need to ask me, you need to go ahead and
ask" I replied "Is this the room where you hold children down on the
floor?" She replied "When they are kicking and screaming it is." After
meeting with the school attorney and superintende!
nt, the teacher says "I didn't know what you meant when you as!
ked me that question." "The school attorney says "restraint never
happened." I have no idea how to fight this. My daughter has Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder now and we have to drive her one hour away out
of district. If anyone has any input on how we can fight this, please
contact me. I have gone to my State Representatives and we have hired an
attorney to no avail.
"
10/24/2011:
"Hello, is anybody know what are legal steps to protect child from bullying
teachers?
"
10/3/2011:
"Last year my child was bullied by his First grade teacher at a private
religous school. His only diagnosis was a langauge delay/disorder; thus,
he was not at all expressive about his needs or feelings. This type of
situarion is a feeding frenzy for many kinds of teachers. His taecher
already had a chip on her sholder about her own grown son, who was
supposedly diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum later in life, which many
feel was an exuse for a much greater and different type of personal
problems.
Thus, this teacher already had a chip on her shoulder, and combined with a
very incompetant and weak principal that would never confront her
teachers. When this is the situation, eventually, everyone will feel
politically pushed to align with the bullying teacher because the
principal stands steadfast behind her. And in my sons situation, his
behavior deteriorated throughout the year, starting to display signs of
increasing stress.
I have a plethora of evidence of her bullying, from berating comments on
his homework in regard to his intrinsic abilities, to disgusting behavior
charts proving to him that he did NOTHING right.
I did formally call her a bullying teacher. Could I take additional action
against her and the school? Maybe. But for now, it's most important to me
that my son heal in a nourishing classroom and school. We are now
attending a public charter school, and my son is excited to go to school
in the morning!
But, I would like to say that I pray for her son that he may heal from her
actions.
"
07/20/2011:
"Why cite teachers? Why not go to the source of the problem: the school
districts and and the top school leadership that insidiously allow large
numbers of children with special needs to be placed into general education
classes (no specially trained staff present to meet the needs of the
disabled students and no IEP's). The teacher is blindsided and penalized
possibly fired for not controlling these undocumented special needs kids.
ACLU needs to present the facts accurately.
"
04/7/2011:
"that teacher should be in prison for murder. just where you or i would be
if we were to have done this.if it had been anyone but a teacher they
would be in prison."
01/31/2011:
"Unfortunately, one of our children has become apart of this statistic. The
teacher was arrested, the state dropped the case after the lead
investigator was arrested shortly after. They knew he was under
investigation but continued business as usual and all his cases were
dropped. This teacher got her job back teaching 3-4 year-old ESE
children! Now my children -- all three are on the spectrum -- are not in
school. We are in the middle of a civil suit and a civil rights
complaint. I wish there was a virtual schools for auties. Let these kids
stay at home, learn at their own pace. The public school system has
become a forced institutionalized daycare and some of the teaching staff
are more mentally challenged than the students."
07/28/2010:
"they use family members, friends come and visit your child at school
during pull out time for speech and OT sessions"
07/19/2010:
"i have a child with autism. he/she comes home with numerous bodily marks..
what can we do?.... very disturbing!"
07/19/2010:
"Why should a parent have to withdraw a child from school,if is the
administrator faults what happens in their schools. If a parent bruise his
child or hit him he can be in jail, so why not put those jerks in jail
that don't know how to work with special kids and think that hitting is
ok. We have law for special kids but look good just in the papers. The
government should make some specific laws for those who abuse disable kids
that can defend their self or tell what is going on in their schools. "
07/19/2010:
"I am pulling my son out of this school district. This school district in
my opinion should never be allowed to have special needs students our son
is repeating 4th grade for the third time thanks to their inattentive and
indifferent attitudes. He supposedly had a title one reading teacher...We
never saw a progress report or spoke to this person, When we received a
report card it was grade only no checks or minuses on what progress had
been made or what needed to be improved. During his first round of 4th
grade he was isolated for four months because they could not handle him
during that same year we had five case conferences nothing changed, and by
the way I contacted the ACLU over these issues and have yet to hear from
them. Parents you have to protect and defend your child count on no one,
know your rights, and stand your ground. Good luck "
04/12/2010:
"It is terribly sad that the teachers and administrators in our schools
continue to abuse students in the classrooms. In addition to physical
abuse, verbal abuse is rampant. Recent reports of bullying have only
addressed bullying between students and not the bullying by teachers.
In 2006, I gave my son's teacher (who has Tourettes) an evaluation from a
renowned organization devoted to assessing, evaluating, and serving the
needs of special children. He was tested and evaluated and specific
directions were given to the school. Despite spelling out exactly what
his needs were, the teacher ignored it completely. Instead, he was
ridiculed and put out of the classroom (he was givin a desk in the hall)
for having 'outbursts' in class.
The teacher has the support of the spineless principle and equally
spineless and ignorant superintendent. The abusive dean told him at one
time to 'stop being so pathetic.'
How naive to assume that teacher equals education. How naïve of us to
see one great teacher then paint all teachers with the same brush,
ignoring obvious improprieties. How naïve of us to assume that because
teachers work in an area of such importance, the education of our
children, that they are automatically exempt from accountability. Instead
of looking rationally at the situation, we stick our heads in the sand and
put all teachers on a pedestal.
In reality, some teachers are in the business for the wrong reasons, some
teachers are inept, and some teachers are even abusers. It's time for
this to end.
"
02/1/2010:
"As far as all the cases of Autism, ADD etc, isn’t anyone concerned why so
many kids are now allegedly affected with such problems. Could it have
something to do with massive amounts of video, additives in food or the
PCB’s in plastic food containers? I knew a kid that took drugs for
Hyperactivity/ADD. He was always stuffing his skinny self with chocolate
candy, cake, and drinking caffeinated sugary beverages! His mom would drop
him at the grandmothers with extra clothes, pajamas, a bag of various
candies, snack foods, pop and an S-load of video games. The only “food�
he’d eat was hot dogs, ham and French fries. I read up and discovered long
term or large doses over short term that drug causes cancer! I had a talk
with the mom and she corrected the bad eating, video and TV excess. The
skinny shrimp of a kid shot up in height and put on normal weight, his
behavior improved and he never needed drugs again."
02/1/2010:
"Most teachers in the public school system got their jobs through political
connections. They’ve gotten through college and obtained a degree but
they’re bad teachers. I realize they should not be expected to also be
lion tamers and horse wranglers but most of them do not teach anything
either. They give assignments, tests and fill out forms but learning is for
the student to figure on their own. It’s a shame that so many mean and
incompetent people get to spend thirty or more years coasting and collecting
a paycheck while simultaneously emotionally scarring so many children for a
lifetime. Most people holding seats at the local educational boards are just
as bad.
Even if a kid is a handful, it’s the teacher’s job to take charge and
handle the situation appropriately. If a teacher is overloaded with students
then she should file a complaint with the proper authorities. Just because a
kid hasn’t had an official medical diagnosis is no excuse to leave him in
a class where the teacher can’t cope with his behavior. If a kid is that
disruptive then it’s obvious that it’s time to get some help or a
different teacher.
Since the Columbine incident, I thought that across the country schools had
adopted a zero tolerance policy regarding bullying but apparently I was
mistaken. The schools still rely on public humiliation, peer pressure and
exile to exert control over children of all ages. Some things will never
change. The “Witch Trials� live on.
"
01/11/2010:
"If anyone ever touched my child in any manner than w/respect, I'm afraid I
would beat them within an inch of their life. Only cowards pick on
helpless children (and animals). My son is on spectrum for Autism, and I
protect him with everything in me. My husband would be in jail if anyone
messed with him. He is a God given gift and an angel. This world needs
to realize our future is w/our kids and they need to be respected and
protected."
11/18/2009:
"This is a disturbing article. The unfortunate thing is I have seen this
behavior in action in my own school district. I have a child with ASD and
I know for a fact that he has never received any type of corpal punishment
only because I have made myself known to the school personell,
Administration, and school board in my community. Parents must take
action. They HAVE to get involved in their schools and let their schools
know that they are paying attention to what is going on. They must make
regular appointments for teacher conferences and request updates on a
regular basis and become familiar with what real data is and how it should
be taken. Hold your school system accountable for the services they are
providing. Demand better training. Parents need to unite with each other
and present a unified front to their school systems and let them know that
this kind of behavior will not be tolerated."
11/2/2009:
"I have a cousin that is 14 and very austistic.He has inspired me to learn
alot about the subject.He is basically my world.Ive been in 4 fights just
because of people making fun of him or someone else with a
dissability.No,I am not bragging.Im just saying what I believe in.Because
I beleive strongly in Excepting people either way it goes (:"
10/27/2009:
"this must be an useful article for parents facing such problems at schools"
10/27/2009:
"I cannot believe the ignorance of some people. It is as if our children
asked for these diabilities. Our 8 year old son has been choked, slapped
in the face, grabbed about the arms, and pushed to the floor on numerous
occassions. He was diagnosed with an ASD when he was 4, we had the
meeting with our local school district for early education and they denied
us. He also has seizures, migraine headaches, cerebral palsy,
hydrocephalus (in which he has a shunt), severe visual impairment, etc.
We cannot afford to send him to a private school, nor do we accept state
or county assistance, but our school does. In order for our children to
learn, the adults must do so first. If our states want our children 'main
streamed,' they need to step up and train the educators of our children
properly. In the same token, is it not common sense to practice what you
preach. Our children learn to act the way in which they are shown. A
teacher, aide, administrator, etc., may tell a child!
not to do or to do something, yet they themselves show an action that is
quite to the contrary. Why? I thought these teachers went to school to
help children, not treat those with disabilities any different then you
would a 'normal' child. Even 'normal' children have ADHD on Fridays. Why
are our children so 'micro-managed?' On top of them constantly. If our
son does not pick up his pencil, he is made to. What is wrong with these
people? Would you take that as an adult? Then what makes anyone think a
child would. Until we, the parents of children with disabilities, educate
staff and other parents, our children will always be singled out.
Children with disabilities are WONDERFUL. They teach us, we do not teach
the, how to be more patient, loving and forgiving of the people who hurt
us the most. What a great way to be, disabled! I applaud all you parents
who fight for your children and you keep going. Those who are unwilling
to learn, truly are disabled. Good !
luck to all of you, and keep fighting for what you know is rig!
ht. "
10/27/2009:
"I did not realized that state sanctioned assault against children was
still permitted and used in so many states. Shocking."
10/27/2009:
"It is FACT that teachers in this country and other parts of the world
IDIOTS. If somebody did something to my child I would hunt that person and
beat them until blood comes out of their mouth. Who normal uses paddle
today, it is 21 century not 1st. Teachers wants kids to sit still for 24/7.
Kids spend 8 hours in school that is not NORMAL. Who is going to sit still
for 8 hours? Also if teacher does not know how to make stuff interesting in
school and kids to listen to them that is their failure. I went to college
in this country and overseas. Here is required to attend classes, while
overseas is not. Over there professor knows when is bad professor if he does
not have any student to come and listen his lectures while here none
professor knows are they bad or good. The hardest classes for accounting I
took in this country, I was sleeping on them. They were useless for me. I
was correcting professor so many times until I got sick of it. People do not
know to teach in elementary!
schools, colleges. Bad professor’s bad teachers, bad educational system.
Just bad. And after you are wandering why American kids have reputation of
stupid ones. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! And nobody does anything to
change it."
10/27/2009:
"I have a 3yr old son who was just recently diagnosed as being on the
Autism Spectrum. As soon as we received the news, I started reading all
kinds of books I could find on the subject. I didn't know too much except
of what I had seen in the movie 'Rainman' years ago. I wanted to empower
myself with education. The knowledge I've gained from researching has
helped me work to provide a quality life for him because that is what he
deserves as do ALL children. If what I've read in this report isn't
stopped, I fear for his academic future. It makes me want to run the
teacher/principal over in the school parking lot with my SUV, j/k, I would
never do that but whats to say a parent wouldn't when it comes to
defending their child. The teachers in these cases above were not educated
on dealing with special needs children. (I'm trying to say something
productive about the ones in this report instead of ...ooh I hope that
230-lb teacher has a heart attack or stroke! oopss..sorry.) And i!
n response to that dumb person who blamed the parent, my wish is that you
are someday put in our shoes. Oh, geee, we should know the policy ...well,
we're just sending our kids to school to LEARN, not be paddled! The
parents are the ones who know &(live with) their LD children & should
discipline them appropriately!"
10/19/2009:
"It is horrifying reading articles such as this; even moreso when someone
says there should be MORE corporal punishment and they blame the PARENT!
Huh?!? If the person who left the previous comment relating to that, or
the school administration/staff had any clue as to what corporal
punishment does to chilren, and ESPECIALLY those with a LD like Autism,
they would be so ashamed of what they have done. It is sickening to hear
that student with Autism was paddled. These children have a hard time
learning and need more repetitions of what they are learning. For you to
paddle them for something is not doing anything except for making them
more aggressive, angry, and closed-down to adults and authority figures.
If you want to raise a generation of children who shy away from the
public, don't contribute, and are greatly hurt in the long-term, then you
are going down the right road. If you want a generation which will be of
benefit to their communities, seek alternative means of dea!
ling with situations that typically lead to punishment:
- Reward good behaviors
- Place them in alternate environments when needed
- Include aids to help in situations where applicable
- Have the parents be more involved
- Seek therapy with someone who is specializing in LD children
but above all...
- Do not hit, humiliate, or discourage the child as this will do far more
harm to them then what they might have done to someone else!
If a child hits someone, separate the child, explain the situation and
have them cool down. The child who was hit will be over it after a few
hours, days, weeks. However, if the faculty paddles a child, that lasts
forever. Whose the monster here?"
10/19/2009:
"My heart aches from the torture inflicted on my son who is now 17. I never
knew what to do. I am broken and bitter from the years my son was in
public school in Lexington Ky. His was an arm being pulled daily and he
complained about his shoulder hurting frequently in 2nd grade. The more I
complained the more they seemed to tourture him. I always believed that
the teachers and administraters were the bullies and the other students
just followed there lead."
10/19/2009:
"Child buttock-battering vs. DISCIPLINE:
Child buttock-battering for the purpose of gaining compliance is nothing
more than an inherited bad habit.
Its a good idea for people to take a look at what they are doing, and
learn how to DISCIPLINE instead of hit.
I think the reason why television shows like 'Supernanny' and 'Dr. Phil'
are so popular is because that is precisely what many (not all) people are
trying to do.
There are several reasons why child bottom-slapping isn't a good idea.
Here are some good, quick reads recommended by professionals:
Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak,
The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson,
NO VITAL ORGANS THERE, So They Say
by Lesli Taylor M.D. and Adah Maurer Ph.D.
Most compelling of all reasons to abandon this worst of all bad habits is
the fact that buttock-battering can be unintentional sexual abuse for some
children. There is an abundance of educational resources, testimony,
documentation, etc available on the subject that can easily be found by
doing a little research with the recommended reads-visit www.nospank.net.
Just a handful of those helping to raise awareness of why child
bottom-slapping isn't a good idea:
American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Center For Effective Discipline,
PsycHealth Ltd Behavioral Health Professionals,
Churches' Network For Non-Violence,
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Parenting In Jesus' Footsteps,
Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment of Children,
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In 26 countries, child corporal punishment is prohibited by law (with more
in process). In fact, the US was the only UN member that did not ratify
the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
10/19/2009:
"Corporal punishment isn't the only thing that these teachers seem to
single out the Learning Disabled ADHD/ADD children with... they aren't
trained properly and do not know enough about these unfortunate children
to be leaving your child in the classroom with on a daily basis. They tend
to insult and embarrass them into tears by publicly confronting them and
removing them from the classroom because they aren't fitting in. It's
disgusting and abusive - my son had been in a school where the teacher
would sit with a list and check off his bad behavior on a daily basis and
made him cry each day, leaving him feeling rejected by the entire
classroom. This caused the entire class to treat him disrespectfully and
I had to physically pull my son out of that school. These teachers do not
know what they are dealing with and the scars are deep wounds, much deeper
then a physical scar. My son once said I'd rather be beaten than insulted
because a bruise heals but when all your friends!
turn on you because they think that you are stupid it's something that
hurts much worse then the deepest cut. These teachers better learn not to
cross that line and if they haven't had the proper training on how to
handle a child with learning disabilities then they had better seek some
advice before inducing long term emotional scars upon these innocent
children. Not all children learn at the same pace and many cannot keep up
with their class - they should never be punished for such a disability."
10/13/2009:
"Write both your state and federal lawmakers. In Georgia, we are the 8th
highest paddling state in the nation, that's some dubious distinction. For
all you pro-hitters out there, the time is coming where this will stop in
schools for good. It is no longer acceptable and innapropriate on many
levels. You can't hit your dog, you can't hit your spouse, you can't hit
your neighbor but in 20 states children can be hit by a school person. 30
states educate children just fine without hitting, and they typically are
the better performing states to boot. Write your state and federal
lawmakers and urge an immediate moratorium and legislation to stop these
practices for good."
10/13/2009:
"Its amazing how educational professionals do not have a background on the
variety of special needs and the attributes of each LD which would dictate
on a case by case basis how behavior should be handled. Im floored about
the teacher laying on top of his student. Idiotic!"
10/12/2009:
"If a teacher is truly targeting your child and the school isn't doing
their job, then pull your kid out and school them at home where you can
protect them- it's YOUR job as their parent! If your kid is a 'hellion'
and is unmanageable at home for you, why do you think a teacher can do any
better? I feel sorry for some of these teachers- and for my kids who don't
get as much attention because teachers spend all their time with the kids
that make the most trouble- disabled or not, other kids get the shaft. I
come from a family of teachers. Some kids are truly disabled, but many are
just completely undisciplined and make teaching a nightmare!"
10/12/2009:
"I think there is a place for paddling when children are unruly or out of
control. Personally, I would not want my children hit by a school
principal, but there is nothing wrong with corporal punishment. In fact we
need more of it. In this particular case, the parent should have been
aware that they had an autistic child and they also should have been aware
of the school's policy about paddling. I BLAME THE PARENT!!"
10/12/2009:
"It would seem so easy for the mom who complains about children with
disabilities supposedly attacking her perfect boy who can afford to go to
a charter school. Too bad you don't know the heartache to have your child
be diagnosed with a disability, but quite frankly you don't care. You are
the type of parent who criticizes parents like us as being overprotective.
You see our kids as defective and expect that nothing else matters so they
can be treating worse than animals. Here is a senario for you Ms.Perfect,
your child gets hit by a car and now needs your assistance and as you drop
him off at school everyday you leave knowing the incidence of abuse
especially since in the past you have been a perpetrator to children with
disabilities. Our children did not chose to have a disability just like
your child has not chosen to be struck by a car or be diagnosed with some
type of cancer. Think about that next time you cast the first stone. Ever
heard of something by the name of Karm!
a, kit makes a full circle, so good luck when it catches up with you."
10/12/2009:
"My child will not set foot in a Government school. Parents, educate
yourself about homeschooling. It is not just for religious nuts, or
whatever you may think. Your child is worth your time and attention and
if you don't feel that way then you are no better than the public school
system. There are many excuses, but there are no good excuses to not take
care of the most important thing in your life."
10/8/2009:
"I wouldn't trust the ACLU to to tell me the correct time of day. I'm now a
76 yo remembering my 7th grade math teacher who was a very large man with
big bushy eye brows and a voice to match. His punishment method was
ridicule. He kept two examples prominently displayed in the classroom--one
was a bag full of Zacks (sp) to be played in the front of the classroom
taught by a willing girl to the trouble maker (most often a boy with the
whole class looking on. If this failed the the second object, was used out
in the hall. It was a hard rubber paddle with holes drilled to cut down
air resistance when used. The first lesson in physics we were taught. "
10/8/2009:
"School administrators and teachers are the most protected people you will
ever meet. They are nearly untouchable and students are among the highest
risk group. It's not a fair match and the people that are supposed to be
there to help are very often the ones targeting, bullying and pushing
these kids away, disabled, popular, leaders...for whatever reason they
want they hurt these kids and good luck getting someone to listen. Parents
need to for support groups, student/parent advocate groups, write letters,
go to board meetings and bring the kids so they can stand up for
themselves. Our district is taking the next step and targeting parents. A
parent recently raised her voice during a meeting, they filed a
restraining order and two weeks later they contacted the police and added
disorderly conduct. This is a parent who volunteered in the district for
14 years, PTO, right through the high school years. There is not a history
of problems this is amazing! New administration is o!
ut of control!
"
10/8/2009:
"I'm not a parent of a LD child but I witnessed this is school growing up
myself. Some teachers to the point of mentioning wether or not the child
took his 'meds today'. Personal isn't it?"
10/8/2009:
"my 8 year old son has adhd and a ld and he was attack for a bully on
second grade,the bully got caught and suspended but wath was most
upsetting for me was that the teacher seem to enjoy how other kids reject
my son i kind of notice but was not sure so i did nothing plus i did not
want to look like i want to overprotect my son, thankfully my son doesn't
notice he is too busy dreaming,until one day my friend told me one kid was
kicking him while he was tiying his shoes and she was mad and told that
that was NOT right it was then that i break down and went to talk to his
mom,IT'S NOT FAIR. "
