YEAH AND THEY'RE LIKE "REMEMBER, VERBAL ABUSE WILL JUST HURT OUR CAUSE" AND IT'S LIKE OKAY FINE, FAIR POINT BUT DO YOU REALIZE HOW LIMITING "NO VERBAL ABUSE" IS IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS?!?!?
Dude, if you add a bit of padding and a few variations on "I'm sorry you think this is still the 1920s when we locked people up for life in insane asylums." THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT EACH OF MY DRAFTS HAS READ.
Mine: Dear Mr. Lannon, As you are no doubt aware, the incident in which a five year old student was "voted out" of his kindergarten class has received media coverage which has brought it to the attention of people well outside your district. (http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/23/st-lucie-teacher-has-class-vote-whether-5-year-old/)
I am writing as one such concerned person. I'm sure you agree that encouraging five year olds to criticize and ostracize a classmate is not an effective or humane way to deal with whatever "behavioural problems" the teacher judged the child to have. That the child in question may be autistic makes this incident even more poignant, but even disregarding that factor, this was a shockingly thoughtless way to discipline a child, and can only have had the net effect of hurting and bewildering him, and of suggesting to his classmates that bullying is, in some circumstance, condoned.
I am also sure that this is not an incident you wish to have repeated, and as such, I trust that you are taking necessary steps to discipline the teacher involved, and to make it clear to all staff that children must be treated with kindness and respect, and that that adults should not be modelling bullying behaviours to children.
respectfully,
I cc'd everyone else on the list, and bcc'd aa.org.
DDDDDDDDD: INORITE? I'm stuck in that weird place where my mind is like "lulz this is totes just a joke, no one is really dead!" even as it's going "uh, that's idiotic; no one would do that as a joke, get your grieving over with now so that you can be okay for the funeral."
AS SUCH, I EXPECT THAT WHEN I AM CONFRONTED WITH EVIDENCE THAT THE LOGICAL PART OF MY BRAIN WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG, I WILL TURN INTO A MESS. And then come home and spend the day reading lulzy fic. OR MAYBE JUST YOUR FIC OVER AND OVER.
MY FIC, FEATURING AS IT DOES A CERTAIN WELL-KNOWN ONLINE PERSONA, WILL BE THE DISTRACTION YOU NEED, I PROMISE. PART TWO INCLUDES THE WORD 'PRIAPISM,' HOW CAN THAT NOT CHEER YOU UP?
YEAH, DEATH IS THE ULTIMATE IN "BUT THIS MAKES NO SENSE."
I WISH I WERE YOU BB. BECAUSE THEN I COULD JUST KEEP TELLING THE LOGICAL PART OF MY MIND THAT HE'S JUST CHILLING WITH AARON SPELLING STFU I NEVER SAW THE BODY THEREFORE THERE'S NO PROOF.
I sent them a letter, and I hope it helps. Of course, the pessimistic side of me tends to doubt that, having already exhibited such a lack of sensitivity, they will be open to any sort of community criticism, but the optimistic side hopes I am wrong.
Thank you for sharing this.
ETA: Oh...my letter:
Good heavens!
What on earth were you thinking when you allowed the class to "vote" little Alex Barton out of that class? Surely you realise, after all your collective years of experience with education, how cruel children can be toward one another? I have no doubt that this unfortunate experience has hurt little Alex deeply. How will this experience affect the rest of his education? The rest of his life?
So often, adults don't take how children treat one another seriously. It seems they forget how much it hurt to be the victim of bullying or teasing. I haven't forgotten. I am 48 years old, and I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. I suffered throughout my school years, from elementary school through high school. It still hurts, decades later. I feel very angry at the idea of anyone else suffering as I did.
Education is vital to us, as individuals and as a society. Who knows how this cruel and unnecessary treatment will affect Alex Barton and his education in the future? And what have Alex's classmates learned from this experience? They have learned that it is "okay" to ostracise others and be hateful toward those who are different from themselves. Is this what we want to be teaching our future adults and community leaders? I think not.
Please reconsider what you have allowed to happen in this class, and though it is too late to undo all the damage, I implore you never to let this happen again.
<333333333 I'm so glad that people are posting their letters, because now I have things to model mine after that contain a minimum of expletives. :D
As of yesterday (the 27th) they've placed the teacher on suspension (or something like it) and are "reviewing the situation". On the one hand, kudos to them for listening to everyone telling them HI THIS IS NOT OKAY. On the other hand DEAR GOD HOW DID IT TAKE THEM NEARLY FOUR DAYS TO FIGURE OUT THAT THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A GOOD IDEA????
I have been SO MAD about this for days. Fuckingbastardassholesasldfjasldfjlasdjf! Thanks for the form letter link. I can't write letters for shit, so I might use his. Actually, I'm a dork and I just edited all the mechanical errors and ambiguous wording in his letter and sent it back to him (nicely! Helpfully! In case he wants to update his version!). It's a good letter, but those things were distracting me.
The worst part is the comments on that TCPalm link over on UFB. I just looked at some of the newer ones, but I had to stop when I saw some guy saying that autism is made up and the kid just needs a good spanking. D: I hate the world.
OH GOD THERE'S THIS ONE BLOG WHERE A GUY IS LIKE "My kid should not have to suffer disruptions in his learning because your kid can't sit down and shut up." IN A COMMENT AND I THINK A LITTLE BIT OF ACTUAL HONEST TO GOD FROTH CAME OUT OF MY MOUTH.
I've been following this for a while, and every time I see a comment about how Alex had it coming, I see a little more red. WHY IS IT NEVER THE GODDAMN BULLY'S FAULT? I'm so glad that the mom decided not to let them get away with this, and I hope that example spreads elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I gape at this "hilariously" ignorant article (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/10-0&fp=483d29a9473681f7&ei=faI9SPmjCJ6EQoC9hdwI&url=http%3A//www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/28/anthony-westbury-teacher-flap-is-surprise/&cid=1216613290&usg=AFrqEzeQ9t9zazQtbpZSI7OKzl_hGAN1xw) about the teacher deserving a benefit of doubt. WHAT.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_wanlorn) wrote2008-05-28 10:35 am
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I'VE STARTED IT TWELVE TIMES OR SO, AND EACH TIME IT DESCENDS INTO NAMECALLING AND HEIDIPOLOGIES AND OH MY GOD WHO DOES THAT.
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D: D: D:
WE: SHOULD COLLABORATE Y/Y/BUT THEN THERE WILL BE TWICE THE VERBAL ABUSE?
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please drive in a Fiat you absolute bastards.
Love and kisses,
the meme.
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Dear Mr. Lannon,
As you are no doubt aware, the incident in which a five year old student was "voted out" of his kindergarten class has received media coverage which has brought it to the attention of people well outside your district. (http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/23/st-lucie-teacher-has-class-vote-whether-5-year-old/)
I am writing as one such concerned person. I'm sure you agree that encouraging five year olds to criticize and ostracize a classmate is not an effective or humane way to deal with whatever "behavioural problems" the teacher judged the child to have. That the child in question may be autistic makes this incident even more poignant, but even disregarding that factor, this was a shockingly thoughtless way to discipline a child, and can only have had the net effect of hurting and bewildering him, and of suggesting to his classmates that bullying is, in some circumstance, condoned.
I am also sure that this is not an incident you wish to have repeated, and as such, I trust that you are taking necessary steps to discipline the teacher involved, and to make it clear to all staff that children must be treated with kindness and respect, and that that adults should not be modelling bullying behaviours to children.
respectfully,
I cc'd everyone else on the list, and bcc'd aa.org.
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Actually, can I do it tomorrow? I WILL NEED POST-FUNERAL LULZ, MAN.
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D: FUNERALS.
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DDDDDDDDD: INORITE? I'm stuck in that weird place where my mind is like "lulz this is totes just a joke, no one is really dead!" even as it's going "uh, that's idiotic; no one would do that as a joke, get your grieving over with now so that you can be okay for the funeral."
AS SUCH, I EXPECT THAT WHEN I AM CONFRONTED WITH EVIDENCE THAT THE LOGICAL PART OF MY BRAIN WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG, I WILL TURN INTO A MESS. And then come home and spend the day reading lulzy fic. OR MAYBE JUST YOUR FIC OVER AND OVER.
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YEAH, DEATH IS THE ULTIMATE IN "BUT THIS MAKES NO SENSE."
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I'm not allowed to go to funerals anymore :(
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lol the things TV has taught me.
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Thank you for sharing this.
ETA: Oh...my letter:
Good heavens!
What on earth were you thinking when you allowed the class to "vote" little Alex Barton out of that class? Surely you realise, after all your collective years of experience with education, how cruel children can be toward one another? I have no doubt that this unfortunate experience has hurt little Alex deeply. How will this experience affect the rest of his education? The rest of his life?
So often, adults don't take how children treat one another seriously. It seems they forget how much it hurt to be the victim of bullying or teasing. I haven't forgotten. I am 48 years old, and I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. I suffered throughout my school years, from elementary school through high school. It still hurts, decades later. I feel very angry at the idea of anyone else suffering as I did.
Education is vital to us, as individuals and as a society. Who knows how this cruel and unnecessary treatment will affect Alex Barton and his education in the future? And what have Alex's classmates learned from this experience? They have learned that it is "okay" to ostracise others and be hateful toward those who are different from themselves. Is this what we want to be teaching our future adults and community leaders? I think not.
Please reconsider what you have allowed to happen in this class, and though it is too late to undo all the damage, I implore you never to let this happen again.
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As of yesterday (the 27th) they've placed the teacher on suspension (or something like it) and are "reviewing the situation". On the one hand, kudos to them for listening to everyone telling them HI THIS IS NOT OKAY. On the other hand DEAR GOD HOW DID IT TAKE THEM NEARLY FOUR DAYS TO FIGURE OUT THAT THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A GOOD IDEA????
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The worst part is the comments on that TCPalm link over on UFB. I just looked at some of the newer ones, but I had to stop when I saw some guy saying that autism is made up and the kid just needs a good spanking. D: I hate the world.
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Meanwhile, I gape at this "hilariously" ignorant article (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/10-0&fp=483d29a9473681f7&ei=faI9SPmjCJ6EQoC9hdwI&url=http%3A//www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/28/anthony-westbury-teacher-flap-is-surprise/&cid=1216613290&usg=AFrqEzeQ9t9zazQtbpZSI7OKzl_hGAN1xw) about the teacher deserving a benefit of doubt. WHAT.
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That is just...What the everloving fuck is wrong with people? I am writing a letter right now.