Student voted out of classroom!!!

[Nanners52674]

PORT ST. LUCIE - Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex -- who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism -- out of the class.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...,2574622.story

I think this is one of the most cruel despicable words that don't exist things a teacher could do to a 5 year old child.

[RaggedyAnn]

This is sad-especially if the child has Aspergers. This will have him fixated on what happened for God knows how long. That teacher should retire from the classroom permanently.

[WinniBug]

I would never DREAM of doing that to a kindergartener!!!
Now, if it was an obnoxious 15 year old doing it on purpose, that would be another story....

[Senusret I]

I don't believe it's true, not to the extent the parent said.

<----- has been the victim of false parent complaints before.

[AOIIalum]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

This would be traumatic to a "normal" child, let alone a child who may be high-functioning Autistic/Aspergers. Besides, asking five year olds to vote a child out of their classroom is cruel in and of itself!

Does anyone know if this is a public school?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

I don't believe it's true, not to the extent the parent said.

<----- has been the victim of false parent complaints before.

Yeah, there's got to be something more to the story - the teacher would have to have a non-functioning IQ to allow something like this.

[Nanners52674]

I dont really think there is anything more that would change the basic facts

When Alex returned to the class, Portillo said she and the class were not ready for him to return.

Portillo told the officer she asked Alex to join her at the front of the class.

"She said she then asked him to listen to what the children didn't like about the things he did, and she asked him how it made him feel," the report said. "She said at this time, 'We polled the class' to see how his peers felt about his return at that time."

Alex was voted out, 14 to 2.

Alex told the officer Portillo called his classmates' names out and they said "disgusting" things about him.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/...052908.article

[RU OX Alum]

that teacher deserves to be fired, and that is the nicest thing i can say about her

[FSUZeta]

it is a public school. i can think of few things more cruel than what this teacher did.

she should be fired.

[nate2512]

that school district better prepare their legal defense to settle, they can't possibly win this one.

[MysticCat]

As the father of an Aspie kid, I can't even begin to describe how utterly mindblowing and saddening this is. Fortunately, I can say that the teachers in our public school experience have been the polar opposite of this ignoramus.

I found this line in the second story linked particularly interesting:

"She said she then asked him to listen to what the children didn't like about the things he did, and she asked him how it made him feel."

Clearly she is not only clueless about disciplining kindergarterners in general, but she is clueless about Aspergers and how kids with Aspergers think and process information. I understand as well as anyone the challenges that these kids can present (though, again fortunately, our son never had these same kinds of discipline problems and frequent trips to the principal's office), but she's supposed to be the adult in the situation.

Just beyond sad.

[33girl]

ok, I read this over again, and what I get is he isn't "officially" diagnosed yet - he's in the process? MC, how long does that take?

I mean, it almost sounds like he's been having disciplinary problems and they are trying to find a disability that goes along with it.

Here's another article - while the voting was a bad idea by any stretch of the imagination, this article clarifies that it was only for the DAY - not forever.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasur...id=inform_artr

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by 33girl

ok, I read this over again, and what I get is he isn't "officially" diagnosed yet - he's in the process? MC, how long does that take?

I mean, it almost sounds like he's been having disciplinary problems and they are trying to find a disability that goes along with it.

Here's another article - while the voting was a bad idea by any stretch of the imagination, this article clarifies that it was only for the DAY - not forever.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasur...id=inform_artr

it doesn't matter how long it was for

[33girl]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

it doesn't matter how long it was for

Yes it does - the first article makes it sound like a teacher and 16 5 year olds are allowed to in effect expel a student! That just makes no sense but it does make the article more sensationalistic.

[Leslie Anne]

No, it really doesn't matter that it was only for that day. How long do you think that kid is going to remember what was done to him?