IEP Meeting Update
So the do-over didn't have to happen for the teachers. We were told that we weren't needed. Always nice when all six teachers are the ones that have to deal with the student during the day but we are left in the dark about what is going on with the student. Apparently, the mother's distrust of somebody isn't one of us teachers.
This student can be quite violent. She's been on a fight on the bus (couldn't be kicked off because of her disability), been in more than one fight at school (can't be expelled because of her disability), was responsible for getting other kids to fight each other (got a day home for that one), and is routinely touching (and being touched) in an sexually explicit manner in my class (was referred, but nothing happened) and in others (was referred, but nothing happened...maybe because of her disability).
The girl isn't entirely out of control most of the time although she comes and goes as she pleases (walking around or in and out of the room) and is very talkative during lessons and work times. Still, she's certainly a negative influence on the class and she takes away learning time from everyone. If I were a parent of any other kid in the room, I'd hope that the student would be removed from the course.
Here is the really sad part...the girl has natural ability. At the beginning of the year, she's shouting out answers left and right (okay, so she wasn't being called on then and was certainly disruptive especially when I was trying to get some strugglers to give me answers to questions) but at least she was engaged and excited. Soon she began to skip school, and eventually she fell so far behind that she has no idea what we are doing in class. Sure, if she could focus for a week, she'd be fine for "B"s, but she can't really do that.
And her home life doesn't seem so bad...her mother is a positive part of her life and she doesn't live in the worse neighborhoods. Her choices for friends aren't that great; seeing her in the hallway kissing her boyfriend isn't for the feint of heart, either.
These kids need programs - she was in a program in her middle school that dealt with these issues. Lower class sizes, peer mediation, support systems - this girl needs them. Not to be in classes of 35 especially when many of those kids are borderline students anyhow. They don't need any negative influences in the classroom when so many can tip either way.
So today, the day after the meeting I'm not invited to, the six teachers get this message from the case manager:
This is almost as bad as not being able to call her by name in class because she sees that as confrontational. (Yes, true story....I thought about calling her Buttercup). Someday I might be able to call myself a professional. For now, I'll just bend over for the parents and students making a mockery of public education.
This student can be quite violent. She's been on a fight on the bus (couldn't be kicked off because of her disability), been in more than one fight at school (can't be expelled because of her disability), was responsible for getting other kids to fight each other (got a day home for that one), and is routinely touching (and being touched) in an sexually explicit manner in my class (was referred, but nothing happened) and in others (was referred, but nothing happened...maybe because of her disability).
The girl isn't entirely out of control most of the time although she comes and goes as she pleases (walking around or in and out of the room) and is very talkative during lessons and work times. Still, she's certainly a negative influence on the class and she takes away learning time from everyone. If I were a parent of any other kid in the room, I'd hope that the student would be removed from the course.
Here is the really sad part...the girl has natural ability. At the beginning of the year, she's shouting out answers left and right (okay, so she wasn't being called on then and was certainly disruptive especially when I was trying to get some strugglers to give me answers to questions) but at least she was engaged and excited. Soon she began to skip school, and eventually she fell so far behind that she has no idea what we are doing in class. Sure, if she could focus for a week, she'd be fine for "B"s, but she can't really do that.
And her home life doesn't seem so bad...her mother is a positive part of her life and she doesn't live in the worse neighborhoods. Her choices for friends aren't that great; seeing her in the hallway kissing her boyfriend isn't for the feint of heart, either.
These kids need programs - she was in a program in her middle school that dealt with these issues. Lower class sizes, peer mediation, support systems - this girl needs them. Not to be in classes of 35 especially when many of those kids are borderline students anyhow. They don't need any negative influences in the classroom when so many can tip either way.
So today, the day after the meeting I'm not invited to, the six teachers get this message from the case manager:
No one should use language which suggests [student] should return be in a [special program] setting. This is inflammatory and hurtful.For goodness sake. So now we have a student who has serious issues, and we can't even about having her in another program that might benefit her as a student and a person we can all live with?
This is almost as bad as not being able to call her by name in class because she sees that as confrontational. (Yes, true story....I thought about calling her Buttercup). Someday I might be able to call myself a professional. For now, I'll just bend over for the parents and students making a mockery of public education.
What a Waste of Time & Money
So today I have to go to an IEP meeting for a student. We just had one last week, but the parent wanted to "do-over". So the student, her mother, six teachers, a special education teacher, an assistant principal, some district compliance person, and a smattering of other people with VIT (very important titles) come to our school to meet.
The parent is distrustful of someone - probably not me - but wants to have the entire conversation taped. So the English teacher heads off to find a tape recorder of one sort or another. Nobody has one. Well, we did find an old one but we don't have any cassette tapes, so it won't do any good.
Resolution? A do-over tomorrow. It is nice to think that I had to tell my students that the after-school help the day before their test tomorrow can't happen because I had to attend this (non-)meeting today.
Sure, the district doesn't really have to pay us for our time after school, but if our time is really worth something, I would imagine this meeting really cost the district's ten or so people quite a bit. (In other words, to me and my kids it had a cost; to the district, well, it cost nothing).
Can't wait for tomorrow!
The parent is distrustful of someone - probably not me - but wants to have the entire conversation taped. So the English teacher heads off to find a tape recorder of one sort or another. Nobody has one. Well, we did find an old one but we don't have any cassette tapes, so it won't do any good.
Resolution? A do-over tomorrow. It is nice to think that I had to tell my students that the after-school help the day before their test tomorrow can't happen because I had to attend this (non-)meeting today.
Sure, the district doesn't really have to pay us for our time after school, but if our time is really worth something, I would imagine this meeting really cost the district's ten or so people quite a bit. (In other words, to me and my kids it had a cost; to the district, well, it cost nothing).
Can't wait for tomorrow!
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