Tuesday, December 9, 2008
I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read and comment on my blog site. Our time in class is coming to an end but I would like to continue my blog site about special education. I think that it is very important that we have teachers who are passionate about helping our students with special needs. I will try very hard to be one of those teachers.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The day of the whipping :(
When the grandparents made the decision to take Armond off of the medication. That was when the real terror began in our class and any other class that Armond was part of. We worked as a team to try and come up with strategies to keep Armond on task at school. It did not seem that anything we tried was working.
The grandparents were very loving and seemed to only want the best for their grandson. The grandmother (Miss Caroline) would quite frequently visit the school and follow up to see how Armond was doing. She was aware that he was having behavior problems after being taken off of the medication. She often would stand at the door and look in without his knowledge to find out for herself what his behavior was like. One day she had just had enough out of him. After his early morning class she was waiting for Armond. The other students had not left the building for their next class when we could hear his crying. One of the teachers quickly ran outside to see what was going on. She just as quickly came back inside and informed us that Miss Caroline was giving Armond a whipping. She made him take his leather belt off and that is what she used to whip him with. Some of the boys and maybe a few of the little girls snickered; they knew what was going on.
Well let me tell you that for about a month after that whipping we did not have any problems out of Armond. Now do I believe that corporal punishment is right, probably not, but it sure helped out in that particular situation. I later found out that it is also a cultural thing in Louisiana. I had some very close friends that are African American and they explained to me that it is very acceptable for a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle to come to the school and whip a child who continues to have behavior problems. The little school was in a rural area and 97% African American. I will say that I never saw or heard of the principal spanking it was always a family member.
The grandparents were very loving and seemed to only want the best for their grandson. The grandmother (Miss Caroline) would quite frequently visit the school and follow up to see how Armond was doing. She was aware that he was having behavior problems after being taken off of the medication. She often would stand at the door and look in without his knowledge to find out for herself what his behavior was like. One day she had just had enough out of him. After his early morning class she was waiting for Armond. The other students had not left the building for their next class when we could hear his crying. One of the teachers quickly ran outside to see what was going on. She just as quickly came back inside and informed us that Miss Caroline was giving Armond a whipping. She made him take his leather belt off and that is what she used to whip him with. Some of the boys and maybe a few of the little girls snickered; they knew what was going on.
Well let me tell you that for about a month after that whipping we did not have any problems out of Armond. Now do I believe that corporal punishment is right, probably not, but it sure helped out in that particular situation. I later found out that it is also a cultural thing in Louisiana. I had some very close friends that are African American and they explained to me that it is very acceptable for a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle to come to the school and whip a child who continues to have behavior problems. The little school was in a rural area and 97% African American. I will say that I never saw or heard of the principal spanking it was always a family member.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Corporal Punishment
Corporal Punishment - Is there a place in the public school system for Corporal Punishment?
If you would have asked me this question prior having an opportunity to experience this, my answer would have been absolutely not! There would never be a reason to whip or paddle a child at school.
I moved to LA three years ago and was part of a conversation about the spankings that were going on in the public schools. I could not believe it, I thought that is terrible to publicly humiliate a child with a spanking at school. I was told a story about an Aunt of a little boy who would come to school about once a week and take this child into the bathroom and spank him. That just made my stomach turn, I thought that has to be very frightening to the other children. And that poor little boy what was going on in his life that was causing this. Another puzzling part of this to me was why was it his Aunt? Where were this little boy’s parents?
About a year later when I had an opportunity to teach in the LA Public School system, I had an opportunity to experience firsthand the public spanking of some of the children.
I had a little boy in my reading class, his name was Armond. This child could be so loving and caring or he could be an absolute terror. There was a lot to learn about Armond. Armond was being raised by his Grandparents due to his mother being drug addicted. The child had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The doctor that was treating Armond had prescribed a medication that would help the student to better concentrate and do better in school. The student went on the medication and it sure seemed to work. The student was attentive in class for the first time all year. Armond started flourishing with his school work, he was able to sit still and pay attention to the teachers. The problem was that the Grandparents did not like how the medication was affecting his personality at home. Armond went from a free spirited little boy to what they described as quiet and reserved. The Grandparents made the decision to take Armond off of the medication. That was when the real terror began at school for Armond and the whole first grade class. The Grandparents were very loving and seemed to only want the best for their grandson. The Grandmother very frequently visited the school or called to check and see how Armond was doing.
Stay tuned for the rest of the story, the paddling does finally come around for Armond.
If you would have asked me this question prior having an opportunity to experience this, my answer would have been absolutely not! There would never be a reason to whip or paddle a child at school.
I moved to LA three years ago and was part of a conversation about the spankings that were going on in the public schools. I could not believe it, I thought that is terrible to publicly humiliate a child with a spanking at school. I was told a story about an Aunt of a little boy who would come to school about once a week and take this child into the bathroom and spank him. That just made my stomach turn, I thought that has to be very frightening to the other children. And that poor little boy what was going on in his life that was causing this. Another puzzling part of this to me was why was it his Aunt? Where were this little boy’s parents?
About a year later when I had an opportunity to teach in the LA Public School system, I had an opportunity to experience firsthand the public spanking of some of the children.
I had a little boy in my reading class, his name was Armond. This child could be so loving and caring or he could be an absolute terror. There was a lot to learn about Armond. Armond was being raised by his Grandparents due to his mother being drug addicted. The child had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The doctor that was treating Armond had prescribed a medication that would help the student to better concentrate and do better in school. The student went on the medication and it sure seemed to work. The student was attentive in class for the first time all year. Armond started flourishing with his school work, he was able to sit still and pay attention to the teachers. The problem was that the Grandparents did not like how the medication was affecting his personality at home. Armond went from a free spirited little boy to what they described as quiet and reserved. The Grandparents made the decision to take Armond off of the medication. That was when the real terror began at school for Armond and the whole first grade class. The Grandparents were very loving and seemed to only want the best for their grandson. The Grandmother very frequently visited the school or called to check and see how Armond was doing.
Stay tuned for the rest of the story, the paddling does finally come around for Armond.
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