I Can't Believe this...

9:50 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
Poor Cara from To Whom It May Concern , I just met her yesterday and I went completely off my rocker over this. I swiped it from her site because I needed more space to rant! This case is about a 5 year old girl being handcuffed for bad behavior.

Um...excuse me? What'd she do? Stab another child? Shoot a teacher? Something so inexplicable there was no other solution? You'd think this was the case, but no. She ripped paper off the bulletin boards in the Vice Principal's office oh and slapped the teacher or whomever was trying to grab her and keep her from doing so.

I'm sorry, I watched this video SIX times!!! If this is what they are basing the "handcuffs" on, I've got news for you all, there will be some hell to pay in St. Petersburg coming up here real soon.

I taught students with emotional and learning issues. In most cases they came from dysfunctional homes, or some sort of abusive situation. Others, had specific dieseases or chemical imbalances that caused them to act the way they did, such as Turret's Syndrome, or Autism or bi-polar disorder and in some cases Attention Deficit Disorder. All of which come with their own set of rules and of course every single case needs to be treated individually. Some kids were violent, others would draw into themselves. Some kids were just maladjusted and needed stability and structure...it's amazing what a child with no rules is capable of.

I have been kicked, punched, scratched, cussed at, spit on, shoved, all in the name of teaching. And by kids 3 times this little girls age! But you know what? This is what I signed up for. I have taught self-contained classes, regular education classes and classes with gifted students. All had issues of some sort and all had kids who acted out at one time or another some worse than others. If you go into teaching these days and expect 1950's behavior...you are living in a dream world. Even the best of students have bad days and moments of disrespect, but that's why we teach. Lord knows it's not for the money!

It's certainly not the norm, nor do I deam it acceptable, but it's real and it happens and you deal with it accordingly. It's part of your job. There is no reason for handcuffs. Police, yes I think that could be warrented. In some cases, it would show that the school is serious, but handcuffs? On a 5 year old? C'mon! I could even feasibly say, understand, explain it, if it were an older boy of say 12 or 13 or older. I'm a big woman, but I've been hit square in the jaw by a 15 year old boy who saw nothing but red on the kid behind me. Completely accidental, can you imagine if it were on purpose?

Somebody's got some explaining to do. I need your all's input on this one. Am I the only one who see's the horror in what's happening here? What are we coming to? Is this a case of bad parenting? Will we ever really know? What would you do? What if it was your child? What would you have done differently.

Again, my passion is kids. I know no matter what kind of trouble they get into, they need your respect in order for you to get it in return. Even from a 5 year old. What is this teaching them?

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