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Video shows teacher taking mic from boy with Autism at school play
- Thread starter Dalek
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That's what we do here
it's horrible to watch his expression and your heart breaks for him but there's so little in that short video you can't assume malice. i teach special ed kids mainly with autism - while everyone i work with is desperate to help each child be as confident, engaged & happy as possible, it's a challenge & mistakes where kids get upset are made all the time. i wish we could be 100% but it's not possible. proper scrutiny is important but please don't take short videos out of context and demand sackings when you know so little.
Well, it looks like you guys were right about that update. I don't know who to believe anymore, but one thing's for sure. That kid wasn't at fault. I think I'm more bothered about the fact that the crowd laughs as the kid cries and says 'Oh no' while the teacher takes away the mic. That's just fucking heartless. And tbh, it does look like she DID know he was going to say something. Even if she didn't know... if the kid starts to cry at least go back and give him the mic or something, woman. Jeez.
I don't know. I don't like any part of this whole thing.
He just wanted to be a turkey, god damn it.
I don't know. I don't like any part of this whole thing.
He just wanted to be a turkey, god damn it.
Sandy Hook truthers are known to be very reliable people that you should completely trust, after all.
If this is true then it makes the teacher look even more evil.
'Im gonna make your son look like a fool because he didnt come to practice.'
Some of y'all wouldn't last a semester as a teacher by trying to be "nice" in these kinds of fringe scenarios. You'd either burn out and fail or become bitter and hate the job.
Teachers have to be mean sometimes. Not overtly rude or hateful, but mean all the same. What I see in the video is a teacher being mean, but still professional, and taking control of a situation that had broken the agreement she had made with the mother. The same way I'd expect a boss to ask a worker to leave a meeting if they tried to interrupt with unsolicited talking, I'd expect a teacher to take a microphone from a kid who has no business being on it.
That's an important part of our job. We teach self-control through rewards and punishments. Self-control allows kids to have greater control over their decisions, which in turn helps them succeed in progressively harder situations. Having autism does not excuse you from the need to learn self-control. Will kids fuck up, feel bad, and cry sometimes? Yeah, sure. Very few of us made it through school without crying, though, and crying does not indicate any kind of permanent damage or abuse having been inflicted.
Teachers have to be mean sometimes. Not overtly rude or hateful, but mean all the same. What I see in the video is a teacher being mean, but still professional, and taking control of a situation that had broken the agreement she had made with the mother. The same way I'd expect a boss to ask a worker to leave a meeting if they tried to interrupt with unsolicited talking, I'd expect a teacher to take a microphone from a kid who has no business being on it.
That's an important part of our job. We teach self-control through rewards and punishments. Self-control allows kids to have greater control over their decisions, which in turn helps them succeed in progressively harder situations. Having autism does not excuse you from the need to learn self-control. Will kids fuck up, feel bad, and cry sometimes? Yeah, sure. Very few of us made it through school without crying, though, and crying does not indicate any kind of permanent damage or abuse having been inflicted.
Risible
Member
So you read that article and THAT'S your take-away from it? WTF.
DragonSworne
Banned
It's about integrity in elementary school plays.
depths20XX
Member
I don't even get why autism needs to be mentioned. If he wasn't supposed to be up there on the mic then he shouldn't get to talk. Simple as that.
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I can't imagine a school play of that sort where you would have out of school practice so I would take that blog post with a grain of salt. I still don't think the teacher did anything wrong though.
On a side note my son with developmental delays got to say the "thank you for coming to our show" part in his play. Made me so proud.
On a side note my son with developmental delays got to say the "thank you for coming to our show" part in his play. Made me so proud.
PhantomZone
Member
This, hope she feels piles of shame
PAULINK
I microwave steaks.
True, there needs to be order.
GhostWriter24
Member
Fire her. Put her out on her ass. Let her know what it feels like to be so alone in the world.
MarkMclovin
Member
Treat the kid like what? She took the mic off him.
She didn't fucking kick him in the belly and spit in his face.
Everyone on gaf does the 100% correct thing on the fly and makes no mistakes ... especially ones that can only be seen by rewatching video over and over.
I'd agree it's sad how the kid responded to the mic snatch, but I'm not sure how you think malice immediately.
.
This shouldn't be news and people should show some restraint in their moral indignation over the viral du jour.
Audioboxer
Member
When all you have to do is type up some sentences online on social media to get a morality high is it any surprise such instant gratification is a tempting chalice to drink from? Virtue signaling is the lowest form of a morality play to either feel good about yourself, or try and signal to others to feel good about you. It requires next to no actual effort, as I said it's just about mashing your fingers on your keyboard and hitting post. This isn't to throw everyone who's ever taken a stance online under the bus, but it's a loose attack on some of the hyperbolic insane behaviour witnessed online when people lose their minds, demand blood and/or act like moral judging God's.
As I said earlier in this thread it's both possible to realise it's not been a great experience, but still remain neutral enough to wish for more information and also criticise the video uploader for going after viral "fame". Especially when most should know once you open the lid to the internet there is no trying to cram everything back inside.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Eh. Eeeeeeh. Still a shitty thing to do.
Spikematic
Member
LOL! Well done!
Anyway, those of you who think she should be fired over this are ridiculous. Before passing such knee-jerk behind-the-keyboard judgments maybe take a minute to think about the scenario. Others have already summarized much more eloquently why she may have been in such a hurry to snatch the mic from him. She definitely needs to be educated a bit on how to deal with special needs children in a more tactful way, but thinking she should get fired is just hilarious. I hope you guys are never in a position to make decisions like that at your workplaces.
LookAtMeGo
Member
Poor kid. Probably the last time he will want to be part of anything like that or be on stage in front of people in the future. Being embarrased like that in front of a crowd will stick with you for a very long time.
Cant help but feel that the whole situation was handled quite poorly no matter what the circumstances were.
Cant help but feel that the whole situation was handled quite poorly no matter what the circumstances were.
Muppet of a Man
Member
The teacher shouldn't be fired. But she should be educated on how to interact with autistic kids. You don't sound like you know much about autism at all. This boy is high functioning. He is a person with feelings. Most people with autism have normal higher-order brain function, and a good amount are very intelligent due to their inherent advantages in working memory.
Autism is a sensoriperceptual disorder centered primarily in the lower brain/brain stem that hinders a person's ability to filter and process the raw sensory information coming in from the environment via their senses.
This child is likely very aware of how he is treated by others, including adults and his teachers. It seems he knows he's been left out and wanted to add something to let people know he has a voice too. Something that small could mean a lot to him. And for the teacher to snub him like that to maintain appearances is really shitty.
I have a son who is 3 years old. He has moderate autism, but he is making good developmental progress with early intervention therapies. I've known from a young age that he is very bright, and that there is more going on upstairs than even many typical kids his age. He is very attuned to how people treat him, and gets extremely frustrated due to his awareness of his limited ability to verbally communicate since he has a speech delay. Autistic people have it difficult enough. People need not be so shallow as to conform strictly to the standards of what's considered normative behavior if it's going to deny kids like my child their voice and their chance to participate.
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
At the very least if the child is going to participate then he needs to go to practice, autism or not.
Baron Aloha
A Shining Example
What a fucking bitch! Totally on purpose. Totally malicious. And you can hear folks laughing. Sad.
Jesus Christ whatever happened to critical thinking and presumption of innocence?
You guys need to chill out and wait for more details to come out before jumping to conclusions and being aggressive like this.
I'm a special ed teacher. What good does it do to allow any student, disabled or not, to do whatever they want? Rules and schedules are in place even when parents are watching. Guess what? When that kid gets a job, there will be rules and procedures to follow. And if he doesn't follow them, he will be fired. We have to stop coddling in the elementary years...yes, be loving and kind, but stand firm on expectations. It's hard enough as it is to transition to employment.
That said, there is nothing that infuriates me more than a teacher who has no idea how to interact with students with disabilities. That teacher needs some education for sure. That situation should have been avoided altogether. I don't know the specifics. I'm thinking he could have been sent off the stage with the beginning of the group, or given a job to distract him such as lead everyone off stage.
That said, there is nothing that infuriates me more than a teacher who has no idea how to interact with students with disabilities. That teacher needs some education for sure. That situation should have been avoided altogether. I don't know the specifics. I'm thinking he could have been sent off the stage with the beginning of the group, or given a job to distract him such as lead everyone off stage.
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