teaching

[Guest guest]

I just have to write and have a little vent. I have spent the last two days

teaching a grade 3 and 4 class at a local school. There was a young boy in the

class who has HFA or AS I am not sure. (That is part of my vent.) I asked the

principle which it was and he said oh " Some form of Autism "

The teacher was away sick. On the first day I send them to pysh ed and he gets

sent back. He doesn't know why. The phys ed teacher comes to see me a while

later and tells me that he fell over and started yelling at the girl beside him

saying that she tripped him. So she sends him back to calm down.

I mentioned that maybe he " thought " she did trip him and did she try to explain

that it was an accident. And the phys ed teacher said " No why bother he never

listens " So i explained that he might have problems understanding what she is

saying due to him having autism. And she says " yes he does have some syndrome

or something, it might be tourettes or something like that. I don't know much

about it " And I was really trying not to get too angry because in my opinion

she should know if she's paid to actually teach this boy.

And then today it was even worse because an aid came into work with him and she

was said " I'm here to work with Cody, he has issues! " In this funny tone of

voice. And I said " Oh you mean Autism. " And she said " Yeah, I think that's

what it is. " She went on to tell me there are four types of autism but she's not

sure which one he has. And I'm thinking you have to be joking!

So I tried to explain Autism to her and told her my son has Autism and she said

" I'm only here Friday mornings so I guess they didn't think I really needed to

know to much about it. "

And I almost lost it when I saw that Cody had lunch time detention because of

the Pyhs Ed incident. It was a whole day later and I'm told that I have to tell

him he has detention. The poor kid had been so good all day and now I'm saying

he has detention. It was a nightmare.

After lunch he completely lost it because a musical instrument he made was

broken. You should have seen the looks of disapproval that I got off some of

the other teachers because I sent the aid to fix it with him. In the state he

was, there was no way he was going to work until his instrument was fixed.

No wonder he is so far academically behind the other kids in his class. I was

horrified! How can a school have a child with a disability and yet no one have

any idea what that disability is or how to adapt their teaching to accomodate

those differeces.

This kid was such a lovely young man.

Sorry if this message is a bit all over the place. I just got home and I spent

the whole drive home thinking " and this is mainstream education at work. "

Heaven help my son next year.

Beck