Thursday, May 29, 2008

ALEX (Barton that is) Is SPECIAL

This story really disturbs me, you can hear it on The Early Show as well. I cannot fathom an adult who would think it o.k. to stand a 5 yo up in front of a class, let all his peers say the things they don't like about him, and then VOTE on if he should be in the class. She meant it as "discipline".....um....I have to say that if this is the sort of socialization the "experts" are after, I think my children will fare just fine in their home. Of course, before the mama bear in me completely takes over I will admit that I still believe this teacher's lack of discernment is the exception and not the norm.....and I AM woefully uninformed as to current trends having never seen any of the reality shows that are all the current craze. I do know children; and this appears cruel to me.
Since the incident in class Alex has been saying over and over, "I'm not special". Barbara, at Mommy Life, has started a campaign to collect cards from children and adults that specifically tell Alex he IS special. You can click either the photo of Alex or the link above to get the address and read more about this drive.
While I do not think this treatment is appropriate for ANY child in ANY school , at least not elementary school, I find this even more unthinkable as the young child is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrom and the teacher knew this.


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