This story came up a couple of times in my educational news feeds, and while it raises several issues, the one I'd like to address is that line thing. Where is the line between your rights and mine? Or alternatively, between the rights of the individual and those of the group. In this case, the school clearly made terrible policy decisions, although I do wonder to what extent they were forced into these decisions by district or state policy and by state law.
I am reminded of an essay I read some years since where two sisters (I think) were living together. One was violently manic, although this could be controlled by medication. However, one day she viciously attacked her sibling, sending her to the ER and ICU. The line I remember was her saying something to the effect that "I have the right not to take the medication" to which her sister replied, "Your right not to take medication ends my right to live safely" or to live in peace or some such.
This is what happened to this poor teacher. The 250lb man-child's right to attend school removed the rights of everyone else in that school. I am not saying that he had the right to ignore school rules; clearly not. However, it is clear that he should not have been there, and that his presence should not have put the teacher into the position in which she found herself.
Knowing a little about children, I cannot accept that there had not been previous incidents, presumably not of this severity but warning signs nonetheless. So I suspect four likely scenarios. Firstly, a lack of funding for appropriate staffing and/or student supervision. Secondly, a lack of funding for separate facilities for students such as this. Thirdly, a political drive towards mainstreaming, and away from such specialist provision, and fourthly a parent campaigning, often suppored by litigation or a threat of litigation, against such separation.
No matter the result, we have an injured teacher, probably lifelong pyschological damage to the teacher, pyschological effects on the other faculty and students, legal action and expensive settlements for the school system and a child now in the legal system who will end up in prison.
It seems clear to me that the line was drawn too far from this student (and otehrs like him) and too close to other students, and to teachers. I don't blame the boy. I blame those responsible for drawing that line, and would like to know, how many more times will something like this happen?
**Please leave comments and queries below.**
Further Reading
No comments :
Post a Comment