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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A Teacher Can Make All the Difference









Teacher
Image credit: Photo by
Temari 09 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

A year and a half ago, I posted a story about an autistic boy named Alex Barton, whose teacher had asked the other students to vote him out of his kindergarten class. Periodically, people write and ask what's up with Alex and how he's doing now. Well, word has it Alex is at a new school, where, thanks to a supportive staff, he is very happy and has even made the honor roll.

My son had behavioral problems in first grade, but did spectacularly well in second grade. Did all those phone calls home and disciplinary measures in first grade do their job?  Nope.  The difference? His teachers.  Having a teacher who is compassionate, willing to work in partnership with parents and students, and above all, properly trained and experienced in working with autistic students can make all the difference in the world.
Posted by at 3:19 AM
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7 comments:

  1. Thrilled for both Alex and Austen. It's SO true: good teachers make all the difference in the world. Although Luigi doesn't have any behavioral issues beyond the normal snarkiness of a neuro-typical 8 yr old, he's very shy and was bullied in Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. After butting heads with his 1st grade teacher who never followed through on the measures on which we agreed to keep Luigi safe, I revolted and kept him home from school until the principal relented (I went ballistic about the disregard shown to Luigi and the lack of enforcement on the zero tolerance for violence policy) and put him in a different class. Within a week of being with his new, and totally awesome new teacher, Luigi was more relaxed and rededicated himself to his schoolwork.

    It sucks slug snot that Alex had to go through what he did. I hope that stupid teacher didn't do any permanent & irreversible damage on his psyche. Speaking of the teacher: whatever happened to her?
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  2. And it's the most we can be for one another.
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  3. It's so wonderful when good teachers are given some kudos, because I think they're often taken for granted. My mom is a teacher, and a seriously awesome one at that. But she often has her work cut out for her when she has a student who was treated poorly by the teacher(s) from the year before. It takes a while to work through the damage, but she often does have parents tell her that they can see a huge, positive difference and that, for the first time, their kids actually want to go to school.
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  4. Wow, vote a child out of class...that is just unfathomable to me. Great post, mine today was all on compassion and the manner in which we forget that it is an important tool for us; since we are all connected.

    Thanks for the update!
    G
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  5. Amen, sister. Teachers make all the difference. At the end of last year my #2's teacher was at the end of her rope. You may remember that she even went as far as to suggest that my son should be evaluated? Anyway, his teacher this year is fantastic!!!!! And he is thriving, getting all of his work done, getting homework done without a problem, and quite the teacher's pet. BTW, he's in second grade, too!

    I'm so glad that you're having a better experience this year! It makes such a big difference.
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  6. I couldn't agree more! I have boundless respect and appreciation for the good teachers of the world.
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  7. I'm glad to hear Alex is doing well. I've thought of him a few times over the last year and always meant to look into it but then forget.
    We've been lucky to get mostly wonderful teachers for Owen. One half-year of his preschool special ed he had a rotten one. It's was a hopeless and helpless feeling sending him off to her room every day! I've daydreamed how I'd tell her off if I ever were to run into her one day.
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