Teacher lets Morningside students vote out classmate aged 5

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I never said I found anything acceptable. I was just skeptical of the reporting. I would like to hear the teachers side and the schools side of the story. But all we get is the parents side of the story and these:

Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.
...
St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment.

Vern Melvin, Department of Children and Families circuit administrator, confirmed the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse at Morningside but said he could not elaborate.

In the article, the teacher acknowledges the incident:

Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.

Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.

[OilersBaby]

Letting 5 year olds vote? HORRIBLE. I have no words and am truly appalled after reading this. I work for Easter Seals and we help so many people with disabilities, voting to have them removed out the classroom? What a moron that teacher is. Yeah, like 5 year olds have the capacity/authority to do that. Poor kid is going to be traumatized forever.

Also, I know some of you have issues with the phrasing "in the process of being diagnosed"..and think its a way to put a label to use as an excuse....the thing is, sometimes autism and other disabilities take a really long time to diagnose because the symptoms or conditions very from person to person.

As someone who sees disabled seniors/adults/children at work everyday, I cannot believe the teacher is not punished severely.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

In the article, the teacher acknowledges the incident:

Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.

Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.

That's exactly what I am getting at. It's all one sided, from the mothers perspective.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Burninator

That's exactly what I am getting at. It's all one sided, from the mothers perspective.

If the teacher confirmed that this voting/berating exercise took place then that's enough for me to conclude that the teacher is a fool and should not be teaching children.

Her side of the story would be interesting to hear though.

[Dion]

Video interview with the mother.

Explains the incident better.

http://www.cbs12.com/video/index.php...tid=1576242234

[psicodude]

I am going to wait to hear the teacher's side of the story before burning her at the stake. Anyone remember the teacher in Calgary that was accused of placing a child inside a cardboard box for half a day? Yeah, turned out that she put his desk behind a cubicle wall as part of a punishment.

Parent's exaggeration of truth + media sensationalization = Stories like this.

[BuzzardsWife]

I can't believe they ended the 'investigation'. How could anyone with a brain do this? Tyler, I take it you're joking.

[BuzzardsWife]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Once again, this kid doesn't have aspergers (or at least isn't currently diagnosed with it), it is just part of the article to make you feel sorry for him (not that you shouldn't). We need to focus more on the bizarre actions of the teacher.

The teacher surely is getting fired for this right?

And you know this how?

[Rhetts_the_Best]

Yah that is just horrible.
I was watching CNN
And his mom said he wouldn't eat dinner, and when he was supposed to be sleeping he was just pacing in his bed saying that he wasn't special "Mom why am i not special"
Apparently he was also just repeating the word 14 and feeling very shocked over the outcome.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by BuzzardsWife

And you know this how?

The article says that he is "in the process of being diagnosed with aspergers". What does that even mean? I interpret that as obviously not diagnosed yet and potentially doesn't have it.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

The article says that he is "in the process of being diagnosed with aspergers". What does that even mean? I interpret that as obviously not diagnosed yet and potentially doesn't have it.

So what? Does that mean he does not have a problem?

Let me tell you something: my son is experiencing something similar to Alex's condition. He's been in and out of clinics for the past 7 months, and neurologists are trying to determine what is happening to him. He is still not "diagnosed". Does he have Aspergers? Possibly. Does he have SPD? Possibly. Does he have high level Autism? Possibly. Is he a bit different than the other kids? Definitely.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

So what? Does that mean he does not have a problem?

Did I say he didn't have a problem? I said that he might not have aspergers, and questioned the parenting skills. I don't know why you are comparing my comments based on a couple of news articles to your own situation which I know even less about.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Did I say he didn't have a problem? I said that he might not have aspergers, and questioned the parenting skills. I don't know why you are comparing my comments based on a couple of news articles to your own situation.

to what end? Who cares if the parents are lousy idiots? What difference does it make whether Asperger's is real or not or whether he actually has it?

It's a 5 year old. Surely the school has protocols in place to deal with poor student behaviour that disallow this teacher's reckless behaviour.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by fatso

to what end? Who cares if the parents are lousy idiots? What difference does it make whether Asperger's is real or not or whether he actually has it?

It's a 5 year old. Surely the school has protocols in place to deal with poor student behaviour that disallow this teacher's reckless behaviour.

Lousy parenting can be a factor because young kids emulate their parents quite a bit. I'll give some my own anecdote, I had a cousin with a kid who was a total hellraiser and was so bad that the school said they needed to do counseling with the kid. They all thought he had ADD/ADHD or some other problem, but it turns out that the parents were setting bad examples and there were no boundaries or structures or healthy activities. They did a total 180 and now their child is doing much better. I think everyone is so quick to put labels on everyone to use as a crutch for personal responsibilites, and it also takes away from the people that legitimately have problems.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Lousy parenting can be a factor because young kids emulate their parents quite a bit. I'll give some my own anecdote, I had a cousin with a kid who was a total hellraiser and was so bad that the school said they needed to do counseling with the kid. They all thought he had ADD/ADHD or some other problem, but it turns out that the parents were setting bad examples and there were no boundaries or structures or healthy activities. They did a total 180 and now their child is doing much better. I think everyone is so quick to put labels on everyone to use as a crutch for personal responsibilites, and it also takes away from the people that legitimately have problems.

Well, I'd agree with you here as a point. I think there are a lot of rushes to medicalize things that aren't necessary medical but can be resolved through behaviour, training, etc.

But we should agree to disagree here. I still don't think this has anything to do with what happened in the story we're discussing here. I'm not saying string the teacher up... yet. We still need to hear her side of the story. But poor parenting doesn't explain, or justify, or excuse, or have anything at all to do with a mean-spirited exercise of power against a 5 year old.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Did I say he didn't have a problem? I said that he might not have aspergers, and questioned the parenting skills. I don't know why you are comparing my comments based on a couple of news articles to your own situation which I know even less about.

Based on the symptoms listed inthe article it's quite obvious that he has aspergers. My sister is a special ed teacher and works with kids who have this syndrome - she's convinced also. Also this has nothing to do with parenting skills.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

I don't know why you are comparing my comments based on a couple of news articles to your own situation which I know even less about.

Merely to illustrate that a child does not need to have a firm diagnosis in place in order for people to realize that he/she is a bit different from the norm.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by Dion

Based on the symptoms listed inthe article it's quite obvious that he has aspergers. My sister is a special ed teacher and works with kids who have this syndrome - she's convinced also. Also this has nothing to do with parenting skills.

No, it's not quite obvious or he would already be diagnosed. This is what I am talking about, you can't just go, "oh this internet website says people with an austism spectrum disorder may have these symptoms, and little johnny looks like he has three of them so he must be autistic". He could have any number of mental illnesses besides aspergers that share similar symptoms, but aspergers seems to be the fad at the moment so everyone is jumping on board. Trained professionals sometimes have problems with diagnosing properly.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

No, it's not quite obvious or he would already be diagnosed. This is what I am talking about, you can't just go, "oh this internet website says people with an austism spectrum disorder may have these symptoms, and little johnny looks like he has three of them so he must be autistic". He could have any number of mental illnesses besides aspergers that share similar symptoms, but aspergers seems to be the fad at the moment so everyone is jumping on board.

Barton said she received word from a private psychiatrist Tuesday that her son had been diagnosed with autism.

Trained professionals do not treat this as some fad. They take incidents like this quite seriously.

Btw what mental ilnesses share similar symptons to autism?

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasur...slteacher.html

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by Dion

Barton said she received word from a private psychiatrist Tuesday that her son had been diagnosed with autism.

Btw what mental ilnesses share similar symptons to autism?

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasur...slteacher.html

I wouldn't know because I am not a professional in that area, are you?

This article brings out more information that wasn't there before, nothing wrong with changing my view when more information is provided.