Human Decency — Teachers Exempt?
June 6, 2008
Whilst catching up on my feeds yesterday, I came across a disturbing article (disturbing because of the appalling events it reported) from my friend and fellow blogger, Lottie. The piece tells of the treatment received by a kindergarten pupil, Alex Barton.
Alex is five years old and is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome — a high functioning form of autism. A child with what is described as “disiplinary” issues, he was recently “voted out” of his class by his fellow pupils, at the instigation of his sorry excuse for a teacher.
Whatever behaviour problems the little boy might have, there is no excuse for someone in a position of authority and acting in loco parentis to resort to what can only be described as one of the cruelest acts of victimisation I’ve heard of in a good while. He’s a child — a child with what seems to be a very real and diagnosable disability.
Shame on you, Miss Portillo.
For more on this story and relevant contact information, click here.
Tagged: abuse, alex, barton, cruelty, disability, Elementary, Morningside, portillo, victimisation
June 6, 2008 at 20:07
Dear Gary
Have you ever had to deal with a 5-year old with “disciplinary issues” ?
It would be interesting to know :
1. the Teacher’s side of all this
and
2. the other students’ perspectives
and
3. what had actually happened
I remain your obedient servant and
Alles Gute
G Eagle
June 6, 2008 at 23:54
That’s terrible. Voting out of a class? Hopefully this woman is getting fired. That’s ridiculous.
And btw, I added all the links to my blog. I didn’t realize it was up yet! So I put them all on my blog now, thanks for making the blog ring.
June 7, 2008 at 09:58
Nope — but that isn’t really the issue, is it, G? I understand the pressure and difficulties such a child can cause in the classroom, but that can never justify such an act of victimisation, surely. There are far more professional ways of dealing with such an issue, I would hope.
The teacher, I believe, has confirmed that the incident happened.
Damian — I’d have to agree, it’s voting aspect of this that I find particularly offensive.
No thanks necessary. The blog group has benefits for all us. And I’m enjoying it, anyway.
June 7, 2008 at 13:15
Gary,
I cannot even bring myself to read that article. Why? because that’s what I feared for my son, who just passed Kindergarten (he’ll be moving onto 1st grade in fall) and has moderate to mild autism (depends on the day how bad it is… But we’re seeing more mild days).
At my son’s school (which is actually our local public school – where he attends normal, not special education, classes to aid him in fitting in) I felt he was lucky for the teachers all worked hard with him. The students even reached out & tried to include him (as he tends to play & do things by himself). He made real friends, kids that if they see my son at the store say hi, run up, & give him hugs.
Even if the child was normal I know “voting out” is not how you deal with a problematic child. I think it is even worse for a child that is diagnosed with Asperger’s. There should have been consultations with the parents (my son’s school called me or wrote me notes more than once trying to get a new perspective on my son that may have helped & to enlist me in their efforts).
Honestly, I feel this teacher should not be allowed to breed or go near children again. But then again, I’m over emotional when it comes to this stuff.
June 7, 2008 at 13:34
Hi Gloria,
I believe there had been a number of meetings with the parents in the past, so it’s not as if this was a new occurrence. It is obvious, I suppose, that the child does have significant behavioural problems. What totally baffles me, however, is the complete inability of the teacher involved to deal with this in a more professional manner.
Really, I suppose, whether the child has a form of autism or not isn’t really relevant. As you say, this type of behaviour from a teacher would be unacceptable whether the child has a disability or not.
I think it’s difficult to be anything but emotional where such matters are concerned, especially given your own experiences of autism — but I for one definitely do not believe that being emotional (in the sense of caring) is a bad thing. Especially when one is working with children.
June 7, 2008 at 14:51
I have been following this since shortly after it happened, and there doesn’t seem to be any dispute over what occurred; at least no-one has denied it, despite being given ample opportunity. Other than that, I can’t think of another “side” that would cause me to reconsider my position.
Part of the problem to begin with, in my opinion, was putting the other children in the middle of an issue that should have been handled solely by adults. These children are five and six years old. Seeing as no-one is disputing what happened, I don’t see how involving them further could be beneficial.
Again, no-one has denied that it happened. The only debate seems to be over how it’s being or should be handled.
In short, I can’t think of a context in which Ms. Portillo’s actions would be acceptable or justified, and those actions have not even been disputed that I’m aware of. Even the State Attorney’s Office doesn’t deny it, they simply stated that it doesn’t meet the criteria for filing criminal charges.
June 8, 2008 at 15:37
I agree anything that destroys a childs sense of self for no better reason than that the teacher and students have trouble with them is just plain lazy and rigid. I think I would like to vote the teacher into another occupation, one whereby she is not molding the minds of tomorrow..or in this case..warping them.
June 8, 2008 at 16:20
It was certainly a terrible example to set for the rest of the kids. She completely underlined and quite possibly, to the other children in the classroom, validated what were, to put it mildly, classic bullying tactics.