@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
I didn't read every single post here ..... but what seems to be glossed over is that the school employees weren't able to subdue the kids in question so then they had to call the police.
(Did the police know these kids were disabled?)
What else would a police officer be expected to do if the school called because the kid was so out of control they HAD to be called .... would you rather the officer taser the kid?
I agree. It should never come to that point though.
If a teacher is so threatened and/or over-whelmed, there need to be other solutions or tactics in place for him or her to turn to before dialing "911" for the SWAT teams.
That alone demonstrates that there is big hole in the system.
I have a very good friend, mom of two, degrees, worked in advertising, etc who thought it would be a "nice" idea to work part-time in the local school. She was assigned to be a teaching assistant...in a special needs classroom.
After only about two weeks she had to quit. Even at the middle school level she said that a couple of the boys were utterly scary - angry, strong, belligerent. She also said that many of the kids, while disabled, are utterly spoiled. And its known that many are on some level. They often receive a lot of attention at home and always have. AND SOME can be sort of self-centered.
While all of that may be true (and I don't doubt it) the other truth was that my friend, as smart and as caring as she is, was NOT equipped to work with such kids or in such a classroom.
And why should she be when her "training" for special needs assistant teaching was maybe a whole hour. The need for an adult body in the room is sometimes that great.
We can look at the KIDS all day long and assess them head-to-toe. But they're there for a reason. They didn't drive themselves to school or place themselves into that classroom.
We won't solve much indicting the behaviors of the child, in other words.
We can only look at the teachers and the whole system. Are they truly equipped to deal with such students (or such students when things go afoul?).
Its similar to those who want to work with the elderly in nursing homes. They may have the book training and even the good will to want to help. But not all people are equipped or skilled to deal with anything but puddin' time at the home. They can't truly handle the dark days or hard, belligerent patients or the messes or the death.
Same with Special Needs teaching. It takes not only a particular sort of training but a very particular person who can deal with it all - on a daily basis - good days and bad.
Something is really wrong with the entire scenario if the National Guard has to be called in to deal with a special needs student.
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