Teacher being too nice?
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Teacher being too nice?
| Sat, 10-06-2007 - 9:28am |
I have a weird situation. I wanted to know your thoughts. Max's (6, AS) special ed teacher just stopped by our house last Sat. unannounced. She said that she gets her hair cut by a lady that lives on my street and knew that we lived on the same street so thought that she would come by and say hello. Needless to say, I was shocked and invited her in. Of course I had no makeup on and the house was a mess. Max was happy to see her and I learned a lot about what was going on in school since Max tells me little. In the back of my mind I was wondering if she was coming to check us out or something.
Last night she e-mailed to ask if she could take Max to his favorite restaurant, Boston Market,

It sounds very odd to me.
Are you invited to go along on these outings as well? To eat and to buy hermit crabs? That's the only way I'd let Henry go--if I was also going.
I agree... that does sound strange. Haley's previous special ed teacher lives within walking distance of us but she's never paid a personal visit before.
I don't know your son's teacher of course and her intentions may be completely innocent but I would be a little leery about her taking such a personal interest in my child. There should be boundaries there I would think.
If you aren't invited on the trip to the restaurant or any other outtings, I would politely decline and talk to the principal. That doesn't sounds right at all to me.
Mom to Erin (19) and Haley (10yo Asp
I say go with your gut instinct. If the situation feels weird, there's often a reason. If you're wrong, you can always allow your ds some special time with teacher later when you know her better.
We have friends with an autistic girl. A lady at church who was a special ed teacher took a special interest in the autistic girl. The teacher was a single woman and really enjoyed children. The teacher would regularly take the girl on special outings. It ended up being a really good arrangement for the family because they'd get a break from their high-needs child while still knowing their child was in experienced hands, the teacher was able to do some "mothering," and the child got extra attention. The teacher has since married, moved away and had a child of her own, but the families remain wonderful friends.
Even if your ds teacher is someone good like this teacher, your ds teacher is not following proper safety protocol in letting the family get to know her and assess whether she's someone you should trust. There's no way I'd allow my NT kids to go off with their teacher like that when I didn't know them, let alone my AS children. I think you're wise to be cautious.