Stuart Chaifetz also posted this 17-minute video on YouTube, explaining what happened to his son on this particular day, with actual audio recordings from the teachers' very inappropriate and hurtful conversations.
This is an extremely vile story about a few teachers who thought they could get away with inappropriate behavior in a classroom full of autistic boys, because they knew the boys could not relay the information back to their parents at the end of the day. Chaifetz, a concerned parent, wanted to figure out why exactly his son, who had never acted out before, was recently misbehaving, and acting violently. In his YouTube video, Chaifetz is clearly upset (and rightfully so) that people who were supposed to keep his son safe were, instead, verbally abusing him. It's a shame that teachers like this work in public school districts, but as future educators, we should take this as an example as to what NEVER to do in a classroom.
Hi Justyna, I was introduced to this hideous behavior through various news reports last week. Sadly, I have also seen some ugly teacher and aide behaviors in three different schools in the past two years. Bottom line, educators have to continuously think "would I want someone to treat a child I love this way?" (offspring, younger sibling or cousin, niece/nephew, neighbor, etc.) It is equally disturbing that the aide was let go but the teacher was simply moved to another classroom. If my child was in that teacher's new class, I would be furious and publicly so. This father used technology advantageously, by planting the recorder on his son and then publicizing the event via YouTube to educate anyone willing to watch and listen. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteI also love that Chaifetz's knowledge of how to properly use this medium to display his message made his story so moving and effective. Most parents would be tempted to just go and sue the school or, if posting to YouTube, would put forth an immature rant. Because Chaifetz constructed this presentation and expressed his points in the manner that he did, he established himself as reasonable, informed, and worthy of our attention and respect. He also made sure to primarily defend the dignity of his son above all else, and to do this so professionally and intentionally in such a heartbreaking and infuriating circumstance is so incredibly admirable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian. The fact that Chaifetz knew that youtube was a perfect stream for him to put the video on made me very happy. I am proud to see Youtube being used for things other than "Look at what my dog did last week" (although, I do love a good dog video every now and then).
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed with the father's actions; not only does the love for his son get prominently displayed, but he also made a point of making this video and the teachers' actions count. He took this video, his son's pain, and his own pain, and channeled it into a great cause.
-Joe