I know we all claim to be tough guys at one point,

[irish]

I have to agree. In my son's IEPs it has been a real battle with ignorant teachers who think they can analyze his disability (Just dose him on Ritalin and he'll be fine), or judge us (Why are you being so harsh on him). We go to battle every time, because it is what is needed from us. It would be easy to see someone without the dogged determination we have knuckling under to the pressure from the teachers and doing precisely the WRONG thing for our son, just because they said so.

 

 

I wish I could work with more parents like yourself who are dedicated to help their/our children succeed. I see so many parents coming into the meetings showing that they don't care and making no effort to be a productive piece of the puzzle. I preach to my parents every year that the only way for their/our children to have true success that year and in the future is if we as their guardians have great Home/School communication and work collaboratively as a team in the child's best interests. The ones that care, understand and put in the time and effort see the fruits of our labor, the ones that don't were losers to begin with and shouldn't be parents and their children suffer because of it.

 

And I believe this is the crux that hangs so many people in the educational field. Teachers biitch and moan about no respect, low pay, etc, yet when it comes to being a "professional" many are sadly lacking. I have a lot of fun with my kids but I take what I do with a professional attitude and expect that same degree of professionalism from my comrades. When educators don't do their professional duties it results in some kids being ripped off of the education/help they're supposed to be getting. So Irish, keep doing what you're doing and thanks for being a professional teacher.

 

 

Very true statements. I will continue to do my best, no question about it and thanks.

Edited January 9, 2007 by irish

[Yukon Cornelius]

You may have been being sarcastic with this statement and that's cool but if not ...

 

Selecting my moments to tell others off had/has nothing to do with pullin my own chain, tooting my own horn, patting myself on the back, etc. and everything to do with being pissed off about another teacher reading the newspaper with their feet up on the desk while their kids do worksheet after worksheet while getting no personalized attention which is why they're in that environment/setting to begin with. I never embarrass someone in front of other people. I've gotten I.E.P.'s (Individualized Education Plans) from teachers of students that I have currently and they had the year before and their P.L.E.P. (Present Levels of Educational Performance) which is supposed to explain all the child's strengths and weaknesses just says, This child struggles in many areas and needs alot of help. I'm like this is all you have for a written report on this child's abilities and you call yourself a professional?!?!?!? I'm am not only very well liked and respected in my school but also in the district as a whole. I didn't start this thread to compliment myself and certainly won't turn it into one to do so. I am very happy teaching and have been doing so for 8 years with a certificate and several years longer without.

 

as a parent of son with an iep at age 4 and a person who writes them i know that the system is way out of wack.. yes there are bad teachers .. but if a parent has a fusken clue and cares about there kid they get it taken care of... but sadly most parents that have kids with special needs dont give a flying fuck what happens to them as long as there being babysat at school...

Edited January 9, 2007 by Yukon Cornelius

[BeeR]

Special Education teachers and the parents of Special children are amazing people! In High School I helped out at a Special Summer Camp and it was very rewarding but very tough work!

 

My son has definitely helped to reopen my eyes as to how fortunate our family is... one of his first grade classmates has Cerebral Palsy and is confined to his motorized wheelchair and can only speak through a computerized voice. My son stood by his new friend as several of his friends shunned the "Special" kid; my wife and I were actually concerned that our son would loose his other friends, since he would stay by Carson's side as all the other kids would play at recess... it's been five months now and all the other kids have accepted Carson and he is now incorporated into the games at recess! When we celebrated my sons birthday party this weekend it was amazing to see my son and Carson light up when they saw eachother, communicating through hugs, handholding and smiles! We can all learn a lot from our children!

 

Carson also has a twin sister that is not special needs, but his father is paralyzed from the waist down and is an inspiration as well. He drives a special van in which he pulls up to school crawls out, grabs his wheelchair hops in and then gets the kids out of the van. It may take him three times as long as the rest of us but it is pretty amazing! His mom is also very active with him and the school and an amazing member of an amazing family!

 

VERY cool story. I have a ton of respect for your kid.

 

And hats off to irish and any of you who helps kids like this or any who similarly have some huge "handicap" of one kind or another (whether it's a disease or parents that should be pushed off a cliff or whatever). Tragic that POSs like many pro ball players, hollywood slime, etc get all the attention while we almost never hear of stuff like this. Best thread I've seen in a long time. God bless ya.

[Savage Beatings]

What types of things do you guys encounter or have seen that can stop you in your tracks and make you think long and hard about life and what you have that others don't or what difficulties you might share with others that makes life more challenging for you?

 

 

 

To answer this question... my 2 year old son, breaks my heart with his genuine sweetness almost on a daily basis. Jus tthis morning, as I was about to leave for work he was just waking up... he called out for Daddy, so I went over and sat next to him and stroked his hair a little bit... he smiled grabbed my hand and rolled over so I couldn't leave. I told him I had to go to work, and he just softly said, Daddy stay.

 

On the larger world front, thanks Irish for answering the call to help so many kids that really need it. Two of my closest friends have boys diagnosed with autism. It is a very alarming trend... one that ticks me off because I feel like we are all being lied to about it by the health care community... my friends and I have done a lot of reading about autism and its suspected causes. But regardless of the causes, its good to know that there are people we can rely on to help us through the hardest times with the most innocent people.

[BeeR]

I'm am not only very well liked and respected in my school but also in the district as a whole. I didn't start this thread to compliment myself and certainly won't turn it into one to do so.

 

oh yeah right

 

 

Based on what I can tell it's not hard to believe you're well liked/respected. I esp respect that you're not afraid to get in someone's face if you feel it's really needed as most of the morons you describe are in desperate need (in fact they're probably like that because they had parents who didn't get in their face nearly enough) - and the "why" is so important.

 

Keep on fightin the good fight and never forget it is appreciated, most of all by the kids, although they may not vocalize it (at least not directly) most of the time. Your job is definitely more demanding than mine, but inifinitely more rewarding. I make pretty good money and it has its plus side and all but nothing I do on this job really means anything when you get down to it, at least nowhere near the level as stuff like this.

[BeeR]

Irish – I have an autistic nephew that went though the first three grades without any sort of autistic diagnosis. He is very high functioning boy that had some very amazing skills at a very young age. However, you just sort of knew that something was not exactly right with him. He was such a nice kid with great manners and all that teachers just sort of pushed him along. He was tested by the school physiologist at the age of seven but that drunken misfit completely dropped the ball on him. Two more years go by and the problems start becoming more and more noticeable. Lots of little quirky things but the whole time this is such a pleasant boy that no one sounds any alarms. Sixth grade comes and by now this boy is being tortured for being different. He has a lunch box that is a cartoon and the older kids make fun of him. He has no defense skills at all. He is pushed and kicked and just flat out picked on daily. By the end of that year he is very depressed and not that same happy boy. My sister is up at the school daily and actually volunteers so that she can be near him. She witness’ three bullies kick him down some steps and stop him lunch box.

 

That day I witnessed that saddest thing in my life and that includes seeing both my parents die.

 

My nephew is sitting on the porch crying. He tells me that he knows that he is weird but he can’t help it. He says that he knows that he is causing his mother a lot of pain by not being smart enough to fight back. He told me that he can not take another day like this one. He wishes that he could just be a normal boy or that the other boys could be him for one day just to see what it is like. He tells me that he thinks it would be better if he died so that his mother did not need to worry about him. He knows that his mother will have to watch over him all his life. He told me that he is going to really think about making it so that she never has to worry.

 

That boy is now 18 and still very quirky. However, he is travel trained and works two different jobs. He is most reliable person in this world that I know. Yes he is weird. Yes he is always going to need us. Yes he knows that he is weird. “Weird” is his word, by the way.

 

Now my favorite part of the story. About three months ago he called me on my cell phone. He told me that he has a girlfriend that is just like him. He told me that he knows that he is too young for love but he and Julie are in it. He explained about his attempt at safe sex with Julie and that the two of them are going to get married because “we are perfect for each other”.

 

Well, day to day life goes on and I really do believe that this two kids are going to spend life together. They watch out for each other like you would not believe. They are both high functioning assburger(sp) kids that take classes together to learn to live together.

 

Sounds like (hopefully) a happy ending. Way to be there for him and best of luck to him.

 

Next time I biatch about my team not winning or having to work late or something similarly and incredibly meaningless, I hope someone reminds me of something like this.