Quote:
Originally Posted by deafbajagal
I usually can handle challenges and pressure. My first two years I taught hearing children with severe behavior problems (for example, kids who are repeat sexual offenders, killed their parents, blow up cats, etc. Most of them show up in my room in shackles where the guard takes the shackles off and gives me this strange look before he tells the kid to come into my classroom). Needless to say, by the end of that semester my students were behaving like - well, students. I was able to control and maintain control within the perimeters of my classroom. They respected me. Many of them were able to go back into regular public schools with their futures a little brighter.
But this current situation is beyond my control. The difference is the first school gave me whatever I needed for support. One time I needed a cow (a real live cow) because regs wouldn't allow some of the kids off the campus to learn about dairy life. So I brought the farm to them. I was able to find creative ways to teach and work with these kids. With my current situation, they are basically telling me, "You're the teacher. Deal with it. Go in your room and don't come out and ask questions." Is this about me? No. It's about THE KIDS. They are the ones suffering because their teacher is not able to provide them with what they need. SUCKS. Thanks for YOUR support though. Hugs.
|
I saw a similar thing like that at a mainstreamed program in Phx, AZ where I worked as an aide for a short time. The deaf/hoh unit constisted of 14 kids ranging from kindergarden to 8th grade and the teacher was a strict oral-only advocate for all of them. It didnt matter to her that more than half of them relied on sign language to communicate. She said that they have to learn to speak and hear her or they will just fail in society. I was appalled and sick to my stomach by that attitude.
Not only that, all 12 kids were put together in the same class for language arts. The 8th grader boys would act out and she would say that they have behavior problems. Well, duh! I dont blame the kids! What 8th grader wants to be in the same class as kindergardeners or 1st graders??? That is not healthy and it hurts their self-esteem so of course they are gonna act out!
All day, all of the kids came in and out accoding to their schedules which can be like every 10 mins or every hour. Due to that happening, it created chaos and distraction throughtout the day.
It was just the oral teacher and myself managing this program. I quit cuz I tried to offer ideas for improvement only to be brushed aside. I was told that I didnt have the knowledge due to my deafness.
Basically the adminstrators of that school sounds like the ones you are dealing with....shut up and just deal with "these" kids and dont cause trouble. I quit cuz I was broken hearted to see these kids suffer and I had no power to do anything cuz I didnt have my degree in Deaf Ed yet.
That experience plus a few others turned me off about mainstreaming programs.