Special Education. Are students at a greater risk of Abuse?

Part of a parent's job is to worry about their children, but shouldn't they be able to feel like their children are safe while at school? What about parent's of children with disabilities? Don't you think they have enough on their minds. They should feel comfortable knowing that between roughly the hours of 8AM-3PM their children, are in a safe, nurturing and educational environment. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

Maybe it is because the people who abuse or mistreat them are not afraid

of being caught. If they victim is not capable of telling the authorities what has happened to them, then they are likely right, they probably won't get caught. I have somewhat of a personal reason I decided to research this topic in general. A good friend of mine has a son who is severely mentally retarded. He is in the middle school system now we'll call him "Brad". For about a month straight "Brad was having a real lot of trouble sleeping at night, he was keeping everyone in his family awake and it was becoming a real problem. His mother asked the teachers a few times if Brad was napping during they day they told her that he wasn't. She was really concerned, He had never had trouble sleeping before, unless he napped during the day. So after about a month of him not sleeping well she decided she was going to show up unexpected in her sons classroom to see if he was napping. Sure enough she walked into the classroom and he was fast asleep in a corner. He didn't even have a blanket or a pillow, he was laying on the linoleum floor fast asleep. Needless to say she was very upset. Apparently the teachers got the message and didn't want to find themselves in that position again, because from that point on Brad slept great at night. About a year later, my cousin entered the same school. My cousin sits at a few tables away from where the special needs students sit. One day when we were having a family party my cousin mentioned to my friend that Brad is always sitting by himself at lunch, and the rest of the kids sit together. This didn't sit to well with my friend. So the next day when she brought "Brad" to school she asked where he sat at lunch, and they told her he sat right with the other kids. My friend knew that Brad probably didn't sit with the other kids because he was probably grabbing their food or something, but still, she felt like she couldn't trust the teachers, they were lying to her face. How can she really know whats going on in the classroom? Brad can't tell her.

Its scary to think that parents cant trust the people who are supposed to be educating their children. Except for budgeting reasons, I really see no reason why video cameras can't be placed in special needs classrooms, or all classrooms for that matter. If teachers have nothing to hide, this shouldn't be a problem with anyone. That way if there are any questions on what happened in the class, it is easy enough to go to the video.

If parents feel uncomfortable with a situation that includes their child for any reason, they need to do something about it. If their child can't speak for themselves, it is up to them. They need to be their child's advocate. Here are some steps to becoming your child's advocate "1.Positive Parent/Teacher Relationships...2. Be Well Informed About Your Child's Needs...3. Be a Note Taker...4. Know What Records the School Is Keeping...5. Ask Questions...6. Include Your Child...7. Remain Positive and Think Positive"(Special Education Parent).

Vending Machines...hmm?

Who doesn't need a little vending machine relief once and a while? But with the ever increasing obesity academic, are schools really an appropriate place for them? I feel that this is an important topic because students over all health affects their ability to learn. Not to mention the foods we put into our bodies effect the way our brains work through out the day. A nice balanced lunch with help a student be able to sit and listen/comprehend material, where a Twinkie and a 20 oz soda will likely cause a student to have a hard time sitting still and focusing on a lesson.

As a child in a cafeteria where you have the option of a turkey wrap with carrot slices and a carton of milk for $2.50 or a bag of Cheetos and a Gatorade, what will most children go for? Or adults for that matter. Of course many will choose the unhealthy, non notorious meal. With out parents there guiding their children to the right food choices, its possible that your sons and daughters are taking their lunch money straight to the vending machines all week.

Apparently some schools depend on the revenue they make from selling these high calorie snacks to students. "Through contracts with soft drink companies and other vendors, some schools are raising as much as $100,000 a year, money that pays for such things as computer rewiring, teacher training and Black History Month activities." Then the same article goes on to say "Kids shouldn't be pawns. They eat a candy bar from a machine, get a brief sugar rush, and then their heads go down on their desks." (US Schools Hooked on Junk Food)

I assume this is a hard position for school officials to be in. I imagine, that they feel torn, these machines can really increase their budgets, but this is at the risk of the students. I think enough is enough. I can't think of one good reason to sell soda at school. Water, Milk and Fruit Juice are plenty. I remember in Elementary school we got chips with our lunch on Fridays, and to us, it was a treat! Now many students eat chips for lunch everyday.

I think its time we do away with junk food in vending machines. Or at the very least put some limits on them. Limit the times they are available for use, school officials need to take a good look at the foods they are stocking the machines with, add healthier choices, and take out some of the choices that are extraordinarily bad. Schools will still be making money while improving the overall health of its students.

PS...I found it awfully funny that the spell checker didn't try to correct my brand names like Cheetos and Twinkie. I wonder if they will be in the dictionary soon?

Sex Education in Elementary School. Are we ready?

I decided to investigate this topic while driving up route 93 this past Tuesday. I work as a nanny for two great little boys. We were on our way home from a trip to the aquarium when the youngest, we'll call him Tom, who is 3 asked me how he got out of his mommies belly. I froze! I had no idea what to tell him, I hadn't prepared for this conversation at all. I knew someday when I had kids of my own this topic would come up, but boy did he catch me off guard. Every family gives different explanations of where babies come from and I didn't want to give him information that may upset his parents so all I said was "hmmm, well maybe you should ask your mommy" At that point it was all I could come up with.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure we are past the days of telling children they were delivered by a stork. But if that's so, what are we telling them, what sort of vocabulary are using with them. I'm assuming that if a 3 year old boy is asking me, it's a possibility that a student may ask me. Even in preschool we deal with sex, we read literature where animals are being born, babies are being born etc. When I was in school sex ed didn't start until around middle school. Times have changed though, sex is everywhere. We can't guard our children from being exposed to things that deal with sex or sexuality for very long. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, I'm just saying as educators it is something that we are going to need to deal with.

These days it seems hard to talk about anything without mixing in a little politics. While researching I came across so many sites titled Obama supports "Learning about sex before Learning to read". Of course that seems a little far fetched. But I do think its important to begin teaching at least about sexuality at an early age. Teaching children what is okay and what is not okay. Who can touch you, who cant touch you, and where and so on and so forth. This is mainly for their protection. My feeling is that if we have open conversations and don't act ashamed to use certain vocabulary with our children they may feel more comfortable coming to us if they do find them selves in an unfortunate situation.

From what I understand school districts can determine what is taught, and how much time is allotted to teach this, I really think that there ought to be a state wide standard for what is being taught at each grade level, why shouldn't it be part of our education standards that we must meet while writing our lesson plans. While researching I found some guidelines that I felt were very appropriate. "children in early elementary school should learn the names of the reproductive organs, that masturbation should be done in a private place, that they should turn to their families for love and support, and that people .have different values and life styles that should be respected. At the late elementary-school level, children should learn about different sexual orientations, basic biological information about sexual reproduction, how puberty will affect their bodies, and that sexual intercourse is not for children, the guidelines Say" (Education Week New Guide Calls for Broad Approach to Sex Education).I think this provides adequate information for children.

By allowing school districts to determine when things are being taught, many are waiting until middle school. For budget reasons, religious reasons, in order to not upset parents, etc. However by the time middle school comes around students have learned about sex through the wrong outlets. Many students in middle school these days are beginning to experiment with sex. A story I found online about a pair of middle school students were engaging in sexual activities in a class room (Officials: Middle School Students Caught in Sex Act in Class).

As an educator of young children I would really like to have specific rules and regulations on what I am allowed to teach and what I am not allowed to teach. This is such a sensitive and touchy subject to many. I'd like to be confident that the words coming out of my mouth are words that the state approves of and are explanations that students are capable of understanding.

In a world where we are bombarded with sexual references and material every day, we need to help children appropriately make sense of what is happening. I believe that if we start teaching children appropriate information at an early age they might have a better chance to know how to filter out inappropriate information and messages. It might be a long shot, but considering where we are today(middle school students having sex) something needs to change.

Violence in Elementary School. What can we do?

Everyone has seen news reports of violence in high schools and middle schools. Students fight, they bring knives and guns to school they are harming enemies and strangers. It is a terrible problem. However, it's important to realize that this isn't only a problem in the higher grades. There is also a substantial amount of violence in Elementary Schools. Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else. It's the parents faults, the televisions fault, video games, and whatever else. "overabundance of exposure to graphic violence in the news and entertainment media and, increasingly, in their homes and communities. All these forces affect the temperament of children, and each child expresses a unique set of responses to potentially inflammatory situations."(Preventing Violence) But no matter whose fault it is, it is important that teachers and other faculty do what they can to prevent it. The obvious reason is to keep students out of harms away, but another reason is that students learn better in environments where they feel safe.

Apparently there has been a substantial rise in elementary school suspension recently, but pschycology professor Irwin Hymen says ""It's a stupid, stupid, stupid policy," he says. "When a 5-year-old comes in violent, where does it come from? It comes from his home. And you're going to send him home?"(School Violence Hits Lower Grades). So then what do we do?

I don't think there is any straight forward answer on how to completely prevent it, but there are steps to take and procedures to follow to help deter violence. Teachers, faculty and school officials need to set a good example. What kind of example would we be setting if we lost our temper with the children daily? We also need to implement strict rules for violence. This includes bullying, fighting, bringing dangerous objects to school. But like professor Irwin said, sending them home might not be the best option. How about taking away privileges? Loosing out on a special or recess? Depending on the grade level a disciplinary action could be an assignment about violence in school. For many student's, sending them home is not much of a punishment. It could also be the source of their violence. We need to think of more creative ways to deal with it.

I also think it could be beneficial to include anti violence in our curriculum, we could start by teaching acceptance. Another step to take is to help students they know are in dangerous situations at home. As teachers if we see children coming in bruised, or even just very sad or angry everyday we should be reporting this. If we can help get children out of violent situations maybe they will be less violent.

As mentioned before there is no way to completely get rid of school violence, even if we searched students bags, put metal detectors in, installed video camera in every room, violence would still occur. That doesn't mean we should stop trying, or working on new techniques.

When I become a teacher I hope to have a classroom where students feel safe. I'll do my best to provide that atmosphere by telling my students my expectations, and helping them understand there are people here who will listen to them if they need to talk about something or if they need help.

Hey! My name is Kelly and I live in Methuen. This is my third semester at Salem State and so far I really like it. Along with school, I work as a part time nanny in Newbury Mass. I absolutely love what I do. They live about a 5 minute walk to the beach, and about a 5 minute drive from Down Town Newburyport. I had a great summer with them!
When I'm not working or doing school work I'm usually hanging out with my boyfriend Steve. We like doing little projects around our apartment. I also spend a lot of time with my family, most of my family lives in Mass so I get to see them a lot. Hm..what else. I spend a fair amount of time in my car, I commute to school and have a decent commute to work, so my goal is to hopefully have a new car by the time winter comes. My explorer bit the dust this spring luckily we had an extra car hanging around, but I really need something with four wheel drive before it starts snowing! Well I guess thats it for now. Hope everyone has a nice Weekend!
Kelly