Dr.Grass said:
"he's disrupting the class. Get him to a doctor. We can't deal with him if he's not taking his medication" I never encountered statements like these. Before I went to the prestigious High School where the cost is about R25 000 per year (2 500 Euro) I was at a fully state run school with a school fee of R400 (40 Euro!) per year. In both schools he overwhelming majority of teachers tried their best at helping children and never made cold-hearted statemtens like this. Moreover, even in the poverty-stricken schools there were many well cultured children, which shows that its not a financial consideration, but one that starts with the integrity and nature of the parents themselves. I see an almost one-to-one relation between the child's behaviour and the home he/she comes from, i.e. the home the parents have provided for their children. If parents are in a situation where, ''There's not really an alternative for 2 hard working parents, barely able to keep their heads above water'' The priviledge of raising and educating children is a tremendous responsibility and one that should only be undertaken when not in the situation where the 'head is merely kept above water'. Growing up in an environment like that is EXACTLY the reason for the erratic behaviour in most cases. So why don't you want me to blame the parents? They are the cause of the child's life and should therefore ensure that he/she is raised in a nurturing and loving environment. Getting children is selfish and spineless if you are not able to create a happy home. |
You are absolutely right, there is a lot of blame on the parents. The kid in question was part of a bad break up at age 6, the mother had to flee with the kids and live in a safe house for several months. Whether or not related to that, he developed slightly autistic behaviour and has adhd. The teacher has sent him out of class on several occasions because he was disruptive, and will not listen. The school then inquires whether he takes the right medication for adhd before coming to school. Currently he hides in his room after he comes back from school, not wanting to do anything. This after his older brother (teenager) ran away from home to live with his father that lets him do anything he wants. (eg drinking, playing CoD all night)
How to move forward. The newly married mother tries to do everything to provide a safe environment, order, discipline (chores, homework, the usual). But the law states he has to visit his father which is clearly the disruptive element. She's given up on alerting cps since they just won't do anything about mental abuse.
Anyway way of topic, I'm sure as a teacher you have seen plenty of stories like these. (My mom has been a teacher for 40 years and can't believe the reaction of this particular teacher either) But yes the blame starts with the parents. Or the grandparents, since this all started with a teenage pregnancy. At the moment they're hoping (mother and new father) that his teacher for this year will be engaging more with him. They don't know what to do.
