Alex Again

Remember Alex Barton, the 5-year-old with Asperger syndrome who was "voted out" of his class by his peers on the suggestion of the teacher. There is an follow-up article to this case here. The teacher is attempting to defend her poor choice by stating it was a "learning oppertunity."

I still find the story as disgusting as when I first read it. I wasn't the most easy child to deal with in kindergarten either (having temper tantrums and making my teacher's aide chase me down the hall). I did need expectations for behavior placed on me, but there is a difference between teaching a child appropriate social behavior and child abuse such as what was done to Alex.

This story also made me angry because I know many people (both online and offline) who have children with similar special needs to Alex. I know this could have just as easily been me as a child (not to say I didn't go through enough including cases where teachers openly encouraged bullying in attempts to correct some of my problems) or one of these children I spoke of above.