Is This the Moment Where the Importance of Public Education Dies?

Posted on October 28, 2013 by simpleijustdo

I was raised to believe in the power of a good education, that education is something, once earned, no one can take from you. And I still believe in those things. But I am getting a sudden, rude awakening in dealing with less-than-stellar schooling for my son. And I’m gaining a new perspective on education in general.

I’ve followed the reports about college degrees not being as necessary as they once were (or at least not getting much return on investment). I’ve seen alternatives to public schooling that work. And I have now witnessed public education that has lost its focus on children, and gone in such a wrong direction.

So what is the value of an education for my son?

What is the endgame here?

Will he attend college? Maybe — I’m not ruling it out, but most likely, no college program is going to be able to provide him with the supports he needs to learn, at least no college program that we are going to be able to afford. He is a bright boy, but it takes a lot of work on his part and the part of those educating him to see results. It takes a lot of understanding, a lot of compassion, and having the right people in the right place at the right time to make it happen, and realistically, I don’t see anything like that happening at the college level.

So the value of an education for my son is not about subject matter content. The value of a public education is in the social skills he learns. I can supplement subject matter content until the cows come home, but what I really want him to walk away with is the ability to understand neuro-typical behavior to some extent, and to be able to cope in this neuro-typical world. I want him to be as independent as possible, and I don’t think “learning” about the Pharaohs of Egypt by doing a wordsearch is going to contribute much to that goal.

Therefore, stressing about getting that stupid wordsearch done doesn’t give us much return on investment. And I’m OK with a C in a class where the teacher probably privately thinks that modifications and accommodations are unfair. I have always been much more interested in IEP goal reports than report cards, because learning to live in the world around us is our endgame. And learning to live in the world around us is so much more important than a stupid wordsearch.

Hostile

Posted on October 25, 2013 by simpleijustdo

Many of The Boy’s teachers have admittedly low exposure to students with autism. We’ve already mentioned the social studies teacher and her issues, several times. One of the teachers who has admitted from day one that he doesn’t know what he’s doing has been The Boy’s band teacher.

Now having been a band teacher, I have been more than willing to help, offering suggestions, explaining things to him, and we have had a pretty good relationship because I know he is trying. We had gotten into a routine of communicating via email, and he would let me know the assignments, and I would send him the practice log.

A few weeks ago, he didn’t let us know that the assignment had changed, and in fact, didn’t email me until after The Boy had taken a test on material he had never practiced. The teacher had realized his mistake, and emailed me with the week’s assignment, and that he would let The Boy re-take the test the following week.

That meant that the following week, we were practicing what the rest of the class had already finished the week before, and started to put The Boy behind the ball in this class.

And now this week, we have taken a different turn. I’ve been emailed several times, with efforts to “document” what the teacher feels is a disciplinary issue, with The Boy “refusing” to play. I explained that we were behind because of the earlier issue, and that we would try to get him caught up as soon as possible. And I continue to get emails, like the one this morning, asking me to “explain a discrepancy”: The Boy is struggling in class with pieces that I indicated on the practice log that he could play without difficulty.

Turns out, after closer inspection, I was using his symbol system wrong, and that in his minus, check, plus system, the check is the highest score… Mea culpa.

But this leaves me to wonder. Is the lack of knowledge of autism leading these teachers to act in this way? To want to kick The Boy out of their classes, or to prove that he “can’t” do what everyone else does? As a former teacher myself, I can’t identify with this, and I don’t understand it. The knowledge of a diagnosis in one of my students immediately caused me to be more compassionate, more flexible, and often spurred me to do my own research on the condition.

I suppose its root is fear. Maybe, with training, these teachers can be led away from their hostile instincts. Or maybe not. In either case, this is what we’re dealing with, and it’s confusing, it hurts, it angers. And I only have so much patience for teachers like this who should never, ever hold a child’s issues against them.

Reprieve

Posted on October 24, 2013 by simpleijustdo

Our meeting scheduled for today will not be happening.

I was feeling very overwhelmed, and distrustful — just what was the district doing by inviting 10 district personnel? What is their goal, here? Were they trying to intimidate me? Through some calls to friends and local resources, I was directed to call the state department of ed, because they actually have a department that acts as a watchdog for parents and students, and ensures that school districts are following the proper procedures. Come to find out, our district people had not followed the proper procedures, so I was allowed to request that the meeting be rescheduled. And I did.

It may only be delaying the inevitable, but one of the things that they were supposed to do (and didn’t) was to provide me with a list of people who have been invited, as well as an agenda, of sorts — a statement of their intention for the meeting. The delay will also allow me to marshal my own troops, which I didn’t really have time to do for the originally scheduled meeting.

I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I spoke with the incredibly supportive lady from the state. I was really struggling to hold myself together that morning. I was beginning to feel helpless and hopeless. Fighting the system is extremely difficult, and I was feeling so alone. But with all of the people I’ve spoken to in the last couple of days, I feel like I’m beginning to have a very real support network of people who can help me in my quest to get the best for my boy.

Tonight I can breathe. Tonight I can get some sleep. Tonight I can hope.

Big Meeting with Big Wigs = Big Deal

Posted on October 22, 2013 by simpleijustdo

This Thursday, I have a big meeting at The Boy’s school to first review and update his IEP (necessary only because when you move to a new state, they follow the previous IEP for 30 days, and then completely re-do it to fit their own needs), and second, to determine if he will be switching schools.

The county (district) has a pilot program that is housed at a different middle school across the county. It is for kids with autism who do well academically, but need help with social skills and organization. My friends here have suggested it for The Boy, the county specialist has suggested it for The Boy, and I thought, “Yes, this sounds perfect for The Boy, especially in light of the fact that no one at his current school even knows what autism is…”

So we got the ball rolling, and the county specialist asked the program teacher to come and observe The Boy… and that’s where we hit a snag.

The program teacher said she wouldn’t recommend him for the program, by and large because of the size of the pilot program’s school – it is much larger than his current school, although not much larger than the school he came from up north, I’d like to point out. The specialist said we would meet to review his IEP, and then the team would make a decision about whether he could go, or whether he should stay where he is.

And now, I’ve been notified that “the team” now includes the usual characters, as well as the assistant director for special education in the county, and both the principal and assistant principal from the pilot program’s school…

Um… what?

Why has this blown up into something so huge? We’re talking about admitting one little 6th grader into your pilot program… I don’t get it. I can’t begin to fathom their intentions, and to be honest, it’s intimidating. I’d like to bring an advocate, but for several reasons, that isn’t an option right now.

I’m meeting with my “allies” after school today so that we can plan our “strategy”. It disgusts me that this is how special education in the public schools works. Our kids deserve better. My kid deserves better.

Wish me luck…

Thoughts on Homeschooling from a Former Public School Teacher

Posted on October 18, 2013 by simpleijustdo

There has been a recent trend, especially for those on the spectrum, to consider homeschooling and online schooling as an alternative to public school. For the very reason that teachers make mistakes and don’t leave their personal lives at home is why real-live teachers will never and should never be replaced by online classes. One of the lasting lessons that teaching for almost 20 years taught me was that relationships were everything. If the teacher and student can build a relationship, the chances for successful learning (by both parties) grows exponentially. And this is especially true in the case of students with special needs.

However, homeschooling is a different story.

I was against homeschooling for most of my career. I saw the effects of inconsistent homeschooling on a daily basis. Mom would get upset at the school for something, pull her kid out, “homeschool” for awhile until she got tired of it, and return him back to public school, months behind, and a behavior problem to boot because he’d been away from rules and routine for so long. My ex-sister-in-law was a classic example of a mother who “homeschooled” – Her 12 kids “taught” each other with the end result being two boys nearing the age of 20, starting to work as carpenters with their father, and neither of whom knew the correct answer to 8×7…

But…

I have changed my tune pretty quickly. Over the past few years, I have encountered people who have the intelligence and organization to handle it, as well as compelling reasons to homeschool. I was still stuck on the “socialization” issue – how would kids who homeschooled have any social skills if they only interacted with their siblings and parents all day long? But, I have found that Necessity really is the Mother of Invention, and due to the very real needs of kids with autism and other disorders that aren’t being met by the public schools, some very sophisticated networks exist in our region for those who homeschool. Co-ops have been formed so that homeschooled kids can get that socialization, participate in field trips, and even have co-curricular activities like band.

And when public schools are increasingly heading toward a business mentality, and one-size-fits-all curriculum, I think this trend will only increase. I never would have even considered it for my own son, but I look at my skills, and what passes for education here, and let’s just say I am keeping my options open.

3 Things I’ve Learned from The Boy’s Worst Teacher

Posted on October 11, 2013 by simpleijustdo

If you are a regular reader, you know we’ve been struggling with The Boy’s new school since day one of this school year. They seem to have precious little experience with autism, or even with IEPs, modifications, and accommodations, which cannot be remotely possible, but here we are. I have felt all along that their hearts are basically in the right place, they are just ignorant… with one exception. The Boy’s social studies teacher has repeatedly demonstrated contempt, if not for The Boy himself, then for the extra effort he requires. She is the type of teacher who follows the textbook as if it were a bible, and pushes those 6th graders as if social studies is their only class, and their one true avocation in life. Her assessments have little to do with the content learned, and seem to have been added as an afterthought, possibly when an administrator asked her to expand her resources to other sources than the textbook.

I received a note home from her in the planner, mid-week, that explained that The Boy had been given a modified test, and even with extra time had completed very little of it. OK, Problem Number One: I looked back in his planner, what is supposed to be our primary method of communication between school and home, and there was no mention of a test. I went on this teacher’s website, and there was no mention of a test, I looked back in my emails, and there was NO MENTION OF A TEST. So I emailed the teacher immediately, pointing out that I had no previous knowledge of a test to be given this week, and was there a review sheet? She emailed back the next day, saying she had looked in The Boy’s planner and it had been written at least four times in the last week that there was a test Wednesday… This was an outright lie! I had made a copy of the current page of the planner, because I like to document these notes of hers (this was not the first) that seem to imply she’s doing everything she can and The Boy is being somehow disobedient by not complying. I emailed back to say that her statement was incorrect, that I had made copies of his planner pages, and there was nothing written in the social studies slot in the planner during the last week. She responded, apologized and blamed it on the 11 year-old girl who helps The Boy write things in his planner, saying she had either written it in the wrong spot or had not copied exactly what was on the board.

Can you feel the anger rising in my throat by now?

We’ll get back to the outright lie in a minute.

Problem Number Two: She explained that there had been no review sheet, that the students were supposed to study from their “chapter work,” and that due to personal issues and being out for a few days the previous week, she hadn’t updated her website. Well, The Boy didn’t have any “Chapter 3 work” to study — it had all been turned in. I had requested review sheets from her starting with the first test (this was their third already), so that I could help him prepare and focus for the test, and again she had disregarded The Boy’s needs.

Problem Number Three: “Extended Time” as an accommodation does not mean an extra ten minutes within the same class period, and I explained this to her. I also explained that he is entitled to take his test in another location, have his test read to him, and all of the other testing accommodations that are in his IEP. I asked her if he could bring it home to take it and she didn’t respond. She just keeps giving it to him every class period and expecting him to complete it.

In my opinion, this has gone beyond a teacher “trying” to provide my son with modifications and accommodations. This is now willful ignorance. She has a history of not communicating with me about upcoming tests. With the first, we had one day’s notice, and with the second and third there was no notice at all. And for all three tests, I have seen one review sheet. She has a history of not providing modifications to his assignments, and when I requested more time for him to study before the first test, she refused. And now, not only did she lie to me about there being four notes about this week’s test in The Boy’s planner, she had The Boy and his helper go back and write in the notes after I told her there was nothing in the planner. She got my email, waited until the next day in class, had them write things in the previous week in his planner, and then claimed they had been written there all along.

I have requested a meeting with the principal about this, even though I am hopeful that we won’t have to deal with this too much longer.

What have I learned?

Document everything. I had a feeling I should copy those planner pages the night I wrote my email. Unfortunately, I only copied one. But at least I have that, and I have every email she has ever written which shows this pattern of a lack of communication and a lack of willingness to accommodate my son’s needs.
Don’t assume every teacher has your child’s best interest at heart. It pains me to say this, and I don’t think this is true for 99% of the teachers out there, but I’ve learned this the hard way.
Don’t avoid confrontation about something like this. I could take the easy way out and just bide my time until we can get out of the school, but I know there are other kids with autism in this teacher’s class, and I can only imagine how they and every other kid with an IEP who has ever been in her class have been treated. It’s not right, and she needs to be called on it.

Labels: Ain’t Nothing Wrong With Being Special

Posted on October 8, 2013 by simpleijustdo

I saw a post on Facebook the other day with a picture of a young boy, and the words, “I have a disability. I need love. I need to play. I need friends. I need an education. My needs aren’t ‘SPECIAL.'” It originally came from the Wyoming Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, and on their main page, the group describes their “I’m Not Special” campaign, relating use of the word, “Special” to the use of the r-word, citing that many in the DD/ID community are offended by the term “special”. The page goes on to say, “The label of ‘special’ in reference to a person with a disability does not convey equality. Expectations for success should not be underestimated to accommodate the ‘special’ label that is associated with people with disabilities.”

Feel free to chime in below, but here are my thoughts. The “I’m not special” campaign?? Are you kidding me? Yes, THAT’S what I want to tell my son. “YOU are NOT special, suck it up. You are just like everyone else, and I expect you to do the same as everyone else with no support. Stop using your autism as an excuse.” That’s what the name of that campaign says to me. Here’s what’s true: one of the tenets of special education, and educational law in this country is that you need to throw out the word “equal” and replace it with the word “equitable”. Because the reality is that some people need more help, than others, and some kids cost the school district more than others – they need to have equal access to the curriculum, so the school has to take an equitable approach to ensure that.

And for the record, I don’t like the word “disability”, but I haven’t formed a task-force and anti-disability campaign. My son has plenty of abilities, and has deficits in certain other areas, but he is not dis-abled.

The truth of this is that our kids with special needs do have special needs. They are not typical children who can bathe/dress/feed themselves, or pay attention in class themselves, or do homework by themselves. My child needs supports to be able to show us his abilities in certain areas. He is able, but needs some help. He is special, much like any child is. And he is equal in worth to anyone else. He can be all of those things – they are not mutually exclusive.

I also saw this pretty neat news story on Facebook. That little girl’s flute sounds the same as all the other flutes, but it works differently, thanks to the special design of Mr. Woody. Her flute is not less, but it is special.

The View from the Other Side Is Blurry

Posted on September 19, 2013 by simpleijustdo

I had a post drafted for today, but I had to revise it. I’ve mentioned the struggles we’re having with The Boy’s new school, and how little they seem to know about autism, and how to make modifications and accommodations that are necessary for him to thrive within the general education curriculum. His teachers came to his IEP meeting with that deer-in-headlights look, as if they have never seen a creature like my son before, and had no clue about how to assist him in his learning.

As a teacher, I knew that ineffective teaching existed — I just didn’t really witness it. I taught for over 17 years, and rarely did I work or come into contact with colleagues from whom I wouldn’t want my son to learn. There were strict teachers and lax teachers, friendly teachers and more distant teachers, scattered teachers and organized teachers, but essentially they still knew what they were doing. It was even more rare to come across a teacher who was not good with kids. Even teachers who were not warm and fuzzy were still able to form relationships with kids and treat them fairly and professionally.

I guess that’s why I’m having such a hard time with one of The Boy’s teachers in particular. They all seem a little lost in terms of autism, and a few seem a little scattered in terms of general teaching skills. This one in particular has problems communicating, both with me and The Boy. She assigns a crazy amount of work, even for a neurotypical student. She uses rubrics, but they do not seem to assess knowledge of social studies content, rather the processes by which the content is expressed – for example, there is a public speaking rubric for sharing current events, and a writing rubric for a research project. I don’t know for sure, but I can guess that she is not teaching about public speaking and/or writing in her class, so where are the assessments that give her information on what the students have learned from her?

More importantly in our own case is that she seems to dislike having a student in her room that isn’t “normal”. She decided on the second day of school that The Boy should be placed in the resource room rather than go to her class because he wasn’t “doing the work”. She wrote in his planner last week that he wouldn’t “answer” her. She sent me an email today, saying that The Boy had printed off 43 pages from the internet in the computer lab yesterday and that there is a rule against printing without a teacher’s permission. She has made only one modification since the beginning of the year, giving The Boy a modified review sheet and quiz that she had printed off from a “special needs workbook” published by the textbook publisher, and refused to give him extra time to study as I requested, and which is also an accommodation spelled out in his IEP.

When I got the email about computer lab printing rules today, I could hear my pulse quicken, could feel the blood in my veins heat up, saw my hands clenching into fists involuntarily. I took a breath, and reminded myself not to answer immediately (calm down, Mama Bear – Ha!). After a few minutes, I responded that I would reinforce the printing rule with The Boy when he returned home, but also asked her to please remember that he has a hard time asking for help when he needs it.

And then I sat down to write this post.

And this seemed like even more proof that this woman was not nice, would continue to be a source of frustration and obstruction this school year, and was looking for any excuse to prove that my son can’t.

…

And then she responded to my last email, telling me she knew he didn’t do it on purpose, and that he shared his research project in front of the class by sharing his maps while she read his points of interest, and the children clapped for him. She said it was a successful day for everyone.

…

And all of a sudden, my impressions of her became blurred, and a little bit of hope peeked through.

I can only hope that we will all learn a lot this year.

A ray of hope?…

Reflections on an IEP Meeting

Posted on September 14, 2013 by simpleijustdo

Our IEP meeting was Thursday, and I felt like we accomplished something, but I’m reserved in my enthusiasm… More of a wait-and-see attitude about it all.

The good:

They agreed to implement his IEP as it came from our previous state, to the best of their ability
They agreed that training for the teachers in modifications and accommodations was necessary immediately
The teachers seemed to support his need for an aide
We finally fixed his schedule so that he would no longer have two math classes
They will be adding ASD-specific life skills to his schedule to replace the math
They will be looking for some sort of computer for him to use for assignment
They will begin to actually implement his IEP, and the ASD specialist commented several times that this was overdue

The not-so-good, of the “shake my head” variety:

The teachers kept bringing up common autistic traits, “He won’t talk to me,” or “He won’t do his work, even after being directed”
The principal asked me point-blank, “He won’t verbalize it if he needs something??”
They are going to do more testing, including a psychological and intelligence (IQ) test, even though he was thoroughly evaluated this spring in his old district, simply because the new state requires these other tests
My concerns about organization help and communication were not addressed as specifically as I’d like them to be
They included a note about following his IEP “to the best of their ability”

I think I was heard, I think they have a better idea of what needs to be done, I think I’m not “that woman” anymore. I don’t know to what extent they will follow through on their promises, and they have a great deal to learn about autism in general, and my son, specifically.

I hope we accomplished something. I hope…

IEP Day

Posted on September 12, 2013 by simpleijustdo

We’ve already had our IEP for the year (up north), but things have been going so poorly at The Boy’s new school that I called a meeting, and it’s today. Luckily, I know the outcomes I want, and I know how to stand my ground. I know enough about special education law, and I know a lot about my son. I also know a lot about good teaching, regardless of the students in the chairs. I’m not going to slander anyone, but I really hope for some changes to be made. I’ll go as far as I can go, but I am prepared with contingency plans, as well. I’ve spoken to an advocate, and I have documentation to support our cause. We also have resources available to us, and I’m ready.

Let’s do this.