The "Special Desk"

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-29-2005
The "Special Desk"
2
Wed, 02-14-2007 - 11:47am

Okay, I am mostly a lurker and post when I need advice or support and today I am needing both! Here is my story and if anyone has any suggestions please fill me in. Sorry if this is too long....

My DS is 12 and in the 7th grade. He has been having problems in his math class, he usually gets B's in Math but actually failed last quarter. His teacher is this young guy in his early 20's who has taken to call the kids all by nicknames etc....Nathan has accepted his nickname which was a big milestone for him. But I got an e-mail on Monday from the principal saying Nathan is leaving his math class and getting into trouble for leaving. (They know he needs to take his time outs and get himself together) and he always comes back. Well I find out from nathan that on Monday he came to class late because he was in the office but the principal was with him, and the Math teacher looked at him and said "I'm not dealing with this go sit over there" and sent him to sit at this desk. This is desk is facing the wall and is separated from the other students! This puts Nathan in great distress because it is singling him out from the other kids and therefore will make him a victim of teasing and he knows he will lose his cool. He has no idea why he has to sit at this desk, so after e-mail the school counselor I find out he is putting him at this desk because he is disruptive. well I never knew that, and if he had told me I could have addressed it with Nathan at home and it would have been fine. So this morning, I ask Nathan to just please try it and offer him a reward at the end of the week if he can just get through this week in that stupid desk!! Well sure enough I just got an e-mail from the principal, Nathan did really well and went to sit at the desk but a few of the students made some snide comments to him and he got upset and told them to go to he$$ and flipped off the class. I replied that I wasn't suprised and knew this was going to happen. So now he has an ISS (in school suspension) for swearing. Okay, now I understand all of that but why single him out from the class and make him a victim of teasing by doing this??? the kids all know he is an easy target and cries easily as it is! I have had no contact from this teacher, my e-mails go unanswered and I have to go through the counselor or prinicpal, which is probably a good thing because If I talked to him directly it probably wouldn't be pretty! I'm thinking about requesting a teacher change?? Has anyone had to do this? is this reasonable? This guy is just not getting it. So I am at a loss, I have put in a call to my autism advocate and he has an IEP which we can change and the school is working on a behavioral plan for Math class but I think if he changes teachers he won't need one. He doesn't need one in any of his other classes and is getting A's and B's. So you would think they would get a clue and realize it may have something to do with the teacher!! sorry this is long, I just need to vent.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2005
Wed, 02-14-2007 - 1:39pm

OK,


I can take this from a few pov.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-29-2005
Wed, 02-14-2007 - 2:16pm

Thanks Dee you are always a great help to me! I took notes, I think mentioning the IDEA/ADA is a great idea, I forgot about that. I just get so flustered with this whole school thing it sends me right overboard! you would think I would be used to it by now as I have been fighting this fight since he was in 3rd grade. I know my poor Nathan is "labled" as the bad kid as he is in every school he goes too. I am in the process of working with my local autism chapter advocate to see what we can do. I was told Nathan was the only kid on the spectrum at this school. Oh there is one other kid but he has no behavioral issues....