I read this over at Cynical-C
NAPLES, Fla. -- A 6-year-old special education student who kicked a Naples teacher's aide and spent several hous in juvenile jail is facing felony battery charges.
Speaking as someone who has been attacked and bruised by angry children over the years, I'm thinkin': It's about time.
Sound harsh?
I know a lot of people take the tack that charging the child is excessive.
Perhaps, but, I'll bet cash money that this has happened more than once with this child.
Over the years, while dealing with students who have had behaviour and anger issues, I have been kicked, punched, slapped, spit at, called names...and yes, when you go into a field that deals front line with children who have special needs, you know there's a possibility of getting hurt on occasion.
The problem is, there comes a time when enough is enough.
Funding in the area of behavioural problems is pretty tight fisted.
Often children with huge anger issues are "housed" with agencies who are not properly trained to deal with the severity of some children's problems.
they're "housed" while they wait on waiting lists for agencies who do have trained staff to deal with them.
Waiting lists for agencies that very well may never have room for that child.
You deal with parents who are in denial about the asperity of their child's behaviour.
So, while people can jump up and say "OH MY GOD!! The child is only 6 YEARS OLD!"
...I'm here to tell you that there are 6 year olds out there who outweigh me (and some of you).
It's also something that is easy to say from a job that doesn't require you to leave your desk very often.
It's one of the reasons I worked so hard to get off the front line.
I often asked myself years ago, how long I would physically be able to do it...
But then, sometimes...like this Teachers Aid, you find a loophole:
"It's possible she will enter a program that includes counseling. If she completes the program successfully the charges could be dropped".
A means to an end, people...a means to an end.
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