We hear about this on local news, though. Too bad it is not on national- doesnt fit the liberal gun control template of course.
We have had several similar robberies here in the Houston area in the last few weeks. The shop owners shot the robbers in two of the cases. In another, a customer who had a concealed carry permit held the robber at gun point until the police arrived. It is really sad that the shop owner here did not have the same protection available.
I taught for 30 years and had enough training and support to handle the autistic, Down's Syndrome, Asperger's, ADD,ADHD, and OCD children in my classroom. I had help from support people at the school, of course. Most of the children who would need a safe room are not mainstreamed all day. A regular classroom teacher should not be expected to act as a trained psychiatrist or psychologist, but that does not mean they should not be given the basic tools to use. When they DO try to act as psychologists and psychiatrists, they are often faulted, criticized, or sued. They are damned if the do (and someone does not like what they do), and they are damned if they don't( and people expect them to be psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral experts). So much time can be spent trying control unsafe, disruptive behavior that education for all the children is compromised. Methods used to calm outbursts and tantrums that include physical violence can not be rushed. In the meanwhile there are other children to teach and keep safe as well as other problems to handle.
Not true! Have you read the posts about how some children are calmed and comforted by the lack of stimuli and interaction with other people. Hopefully those in charge would know which children are helped by such a room as would the parents. There are meetings where individual education plans are developed with parents present to address the needs of each child.
i agree with you totally. The children with Asperger's I taught had high IQs, and they were NOT cheating. Their vocabularies were far above grade level Their problem solving skills were awesome. They were experts in some areas of science, knowing far more than even their parents, who were educated people, since those with Asperger's tend to fixate on certain behaviors or interests.
Not all teachers are suited to work with special needs children. Are we to limit teaching degrees to only those who feel this is something for which they want to be trained and are well-suited? You are asking each teacher to be a special needs teacher as well as a psychologist/psyschiatrist. Can you imagine how few would even become a teacher, how long so much training would take, and how much it would cost?
I am really sorry for your experience. I have had several students with Asperger's. I worked closely with the parents to learn what worked best for each child. Each one was quite brilliant. I ignored behaviors that were not too distracting for the other kids and tried to substitute less distracting behaviors for those that really did make it difficult for others to learn. For example, instead of picking the nose and eating it, which really grossed the kids out and distracted them, the parents and I got a child to focus on picking at an eraser. When a child obsessed on the electric pencil sharpener, his mom bought an extra one for the classroom that made him much calmer. Like everything, though, there are degrees of Asperger's. I have followed up on one child in particular (he and I really bonded. Yes, he was extra trouble, but I found him very lovable and didn't mind the work). He is very successful and has actually outgrown much of the Asperger's.
What would happen to an employee who suddenly started throwing furniture, biting, and hitting those around him/her uncontrollabley on a regular basis? Would the employer just let him/her keep doing it when trying to reason with the person or calm him/her verbally just didn't work, when other employees were injured and on edge never knowing when another incident would occur? Employers can fire such an employee. Schools are required to educate children, even those with special needs that sometimes lead them to be out of control and violent. They can't fire the child, nor do I think they should.
If the child is out of control, the teacher could be kicked, bitten, hit. The whole idea of the room is to calm a child in a place where the child cannot hurt himself or others.
So it is fine with you if a child seriously injures himself or someone else? Are you aware that some students cannot be calmed by words or even actions?
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Medley