If you think there's anything I should do about this let me know, but basically I'm just sounding off here. Also I'm wondering if I'm just being oversensitive and lacking in humor. I work at a large city high school of about 2000 students and we have one main principal and 4 asst ones. The other day I was taking one of our sped students to class after lunch. She is a very cute and sweet girl of 16, but she takes some getting used to b/c those who don't know her perceive her as being rude, when actually she has been taught to say "sassy" things by well meaning adults. She says these things in a very cute and funny way, like, "Girl, ya wanna piece of me?" She also giggles a lot. She is very low, but she picks up on these little sayings like a trained parrot. I don't contribute to teaching her these things, and if she gets too rude I try to stop it, but otherwise, I just let it all roll off. After all, she is funny and it seems to be the only way she has of making conversation. So the other day when we got out of the cafeteria, we saw 2 of the asst principals in the hallway talking to some other people. One of them called my student over and said, "Hey Lakesha, go over there and tell Mr. M that he's hot!" Of course she repeated it. I was so embarrassed, for my student, but even more so for the principal. The other principal thought it was very funny. It felt like they were using her for their own entertainment, or like they were treating her like a dog or a parrot. It kind of reminded me of the time last year when some kids encouraged one of our downs boys to "break dance" and when he did they threw coins at him hard enough to hurt him. Those kids got in trouble though. Thoughts?
What the Assistant Principals did was not only unprofessional, but also completely demeaning to the student, even if the student wasn't aware of it. Students with special needs have the right to go to school without being the butt of people's jokes. If a student had done that to another student, they would be spoken to about how that was inappropriate to do, and that just because the student didn't really know what was going on, that doesn't make it "okay." If it happened more than once, the offending student would be consequenced. As teachers, we should be teaching our students social skills, which include treating others with respect. These APs are not modeling that kind of behavior, which makes it okay for others to follow. It's not surprising that other kids picked on a student with Down's Syndrome, they may simply be following what may be a culture at the school... one that starts at the top. Personally, I don't find anything funny about the APs behavior.
I think I'd have to make a report to the principal. That was absolutely uncalled for, and deserves a written reprimand (IMO, not that you can do anything about it). Our jobs as professionals are to make sure that our students (ALL of them) feel safe and are safe at all times. What if other students witnessed such behavior and repeated it? They would get in trouble, what a horrible example of modeling behavior. I'm just shocked. I feel bad for your student as well. She'll now be more likely to repeat that comment, and not know any better. Shame on the adults...
I had to read and re-read your post because I didn't think I could possibly be understanding it correctly. This is horrible! You didn't mention whether the AP was a male or female. If the AP is a male, this sounds like sexual harassment. I mean, could you imagine a coworker telling you to say "you're hot" to your superior and not getting into major trouble over it? Whether the student is special ed or not, I think it's totally unacceptable. I agree you should report your AP.
You guys are right. I had a chance to talk it over with the girl's case manager and she reported it to the head principal. I didn't mention that I'm a TA, so this puts me in a majorly awkward position and if I don't lose my job over this it will be a miracle, but that could happen whether I mentioned the incident or not. The AP who started this was a female and the AP she sent the student to was a male. It is sexual harrassment for sure and it made me look really bad b/c the male principal didn't have any way to know for sure whether I had sent the girl to him or the other AP had, so it would be my word against that of the female AP. (and you know who'll lose that round!) I tried to pull the girl away to class when I heard the AP tell her to deliver the message, but the girl knew that the AP had authority over me and insisted on delivering the message. What really makes this whole thing stink is that we had a huge blow up last spring when a female teacher got caught sleeping with a student and the next day 9 teachers were missing over it just because they might have known something. All of them were from our department. It was horrible and our students were so angry over the whole situation and trusted all the teachers that much less than they already did. Yes, this one is wrong on so many levels.
Golly! How can these kind of people get away with stuff like this? It is sad that they think that just because they have the power they can do whatever they want. She needs to be put in her place AND you can make that happen! Rebel1
Stepka, I applaud you for stepping forward and talking with the case manager regarding this incident. I know it must not have been easy for you. Especially when you feel that it is possible that it may cost you your job. I hope that it doesn't, because that would be a terrible way to treat someone who is only speaking up for those who can't. You DID do the right thing. Good luck, and please let us know how it ends up.
It sounds like it might be time for a new school anyway....in your position, I'd think about requesting a transfer. There's no way the AP should ever have thought that was appropriate. She was basically sexually harassing both the student and the principal. Combined with the fact that a teacher at your school slept with a student last year....it sounds like kind of a toxic environment. Is there away that you could transfer without loosing your job? Is there a TA union in your area you could talk about this with? You did do the right thing though. The student was clearly being exploited.
Wow, I certainly have a lot to think about. My saving grace may be that I don't see the APs very much since we're such a big school and our dept is pretty isolated from the rest of it. Also, I don't work for the school, I work for the special district. We'll see. I do love working there though and would miss my kids and coworkers if I had to go elsewhere, though that would beat losing my job. This one has been nuts though--had a kid attack me with a knife last year--no real harm done though. I know it sounds like a really bad environment, but for some reason these things only seem to happen to me!
sigh. . . not out of the hot water yet, but I found out that they believed me. Apparently there has been a lot of kidding going back and forth among this particular group and some of the higher ups were thinking it was starting to get out of hand. My boss didn't take it seriously though, and that concerns me. Found out the the perpetrator used to work in special!
How unbelievable and just terrible. I cannot believe all this is happening in our schools and the leaders are the worst ones. yikes. You did the right thing to get it reported- that school needs new leadership, a whole revamping. It would be a great loss for your students if you were to get fired, but perhaps alright to be out of such an environment. What a terrible place to be. I hope it turns out okay for you and your students.
Actually I really love where I work--I'm sorry if I made it sound so terrible. The AP is brand new this year. It is a rough neighborhood, that's for sure, but it seems to be a good fit for me and I love the kids and they love me (most of them anyway) so I really don't want to be fired. Also, I just got certified to teach so I don't want that on my record when I"m looking for a teaching position. Well, I don't think the AP's will be teasing my student any more and that was the main goal. Now I've got to fight to get the diet sodas out of the cafeteria--they only sell diet, and aspartame lowers the seizure threshold, so not good for my kiddos with seizures.
Oh lord... didn't the AP go to the sexual harassment training?! You're so brave, but definitely did the right thing. What an awful situation, though, for your student and for you! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the right people hear the story and take care of it appropriately... and that you get to keep your job! Surely... SURELY you will!
I hope that the caseworker informed the parents. The school could have a lawsuit on their hands, for corruption of a minor, according to my boyfriend. And the woman could be putting your student at risk - what if she repeats this to the wrong person? The student could get reported for sexual harassment, or be taken advantage of in a much worse way. I'd talk to the caseworker, and a union rep if you have one. Since you work for a different district, you may also want to let your supervisor there know what happened. I strongly believe that this cannot be allowed to be just swept under the rug. The AP needs to at the least be reprimanded for this. If you have no union rep to go to for advice, perhaps you can talk to a rep for the teacher's union unofficially for guidance, and/or the NEA is you are a member. You need to have some legal guidance with this, especially if the parents are as-of-yet uninformed. There may be some legal requirement somewhere that they should know about what happened, and regardless I feel that they should know. Hopefully, they will be notified officially by someone other than you, but if the school is trying to look at it as a bad taste joke, I doubt that they have informed the parents. I know that if I was the parent, I'd be pissed...it was so inappropriate! I'd want to know that the AP had an official reprimand, in her file, and a guarantee that she would stay away from my daughter. This sort of behavior should not be accepted from any school employee, much less an administrator. It's unacceptable to do to any student, but even worse to do to a student who is special ed and does not understand the inappropriateness of what she said. It's no different than if the AP had told a first grader to do that. And how much would everyone be up in arms if that had happened! In fact, it's possibly worse, since this is a young lady who probably has physically entered puberty. Kudos to you for reporting this, good luck, and please be strong!
Stepka- You did the right thing in reporting this event. What this AP did is abuse of power, bullying and harassment. I'd love to know if what the consequences were for the APs involved but in any case, you did what was right for the kid involved.
This is disgusting. I'm glad you reported it. You did the right thing. It's nice to know that at least one person is looking out for this student.
Thanks for all of your support. This has been very stressful for me and it leaves me thinking, "What next?" Another can of worms--mom is looking for a lawsuit. The caseworker does not want her to know and I'm guessing the school won't be passing on this little tidbit to her.
Pass it onto her. The school district deserves a suit if they condone despicable behavior such as that.
Stepka- you need to protect not only this child but yourself. The parents need to know (and they WILL find out one way or the other)...since you have knowledge of what happened, you could be named in any legal repercussions.
As a TA, you should not be the one passing on information to a parent. That should be up to the teacher in charge. Has that teacher been notified about the incident? You also need to have everything documented while it is still fresh in your mind because when that lawsuit happens, you will be called to testify. Make sure you have your documented proof that you reported the incident to a person in charge. That will protect you and possibly protect your job. We have a rule in our district that no assistant can be left alone with children. That protects them from liability if something happens. It doesn't help the ESE self contained teachers (who can't leave the classroom even for a rest room break) but I would never want my assistant to be put in the position of jeopardizing her job. I hope you get to keep your job as long as you want it and keep on protecting those innocent children. You are worth much more than money can pay!!
You're right, and I won't be. I reported it to the girl's case manager and she took it to the principal. He took it seriously. Unfortunately, my boss, who is like a principal, did not. We have no such rule in our district about leaving TA's alone with kids b/c we are all qualified to be substitute teachers. I am very concerned about the legal repercussions with this, but I will not be going to the girl's mother--I will document it though--good advice there. I was also alone with kids when I got attacked with the knife and the teacher was not where she was supposed to be.
That was so unprofessional for that Ap!! And to think she has the power to recommend someone to be hired or fired. It just amazes me how some people fall through the crack when it comes to educating our children What was on her mind? She suppose to be the authority figured, but yet she is carrying on like a middle schooler.
