When a School Gets Sick

[redcliffsw]

Comments from a gov't school teacher - good one for sure...

When a School Gets Sick

Being a libertarian, I have never been comfortable working in a government-run public school, but a PowerPoint presentation at a recent faculty meeting made me realize just how monstrous the system really is. The presentation was on something called RTI (Response to Intervention), and it began with a slide entitled "When a kid gets sick..." While RTI is hailed as a revolutionary new approach, it is really just an old practice dressed up in new jargon. With both RTI and its predecessor, nonperforming or uncooperative students are identified and treated as if they suffer from some kind of illness. In either case, the process typically ends with parents seated at a long conference table facing grim-faced teachers, administrators, counselors, social workers and perhaps even a psychiatrist all armed with file folders full of evaluations and test results. The remedy these "experts" prescribe usually involves placement in some Special Education program (i.e. low expectations dumping ground) and sometimes even the prescription of some dangerous mind-altering drug like Ritalin. Few parents ever object to or question these measures. Many parents even insist on them believing this special treatment is necessary to help their "ill" child. Supporters of RTI may protest that they are only trying to help and that Special Education or drugs are only last resorts. That may be true, but they fail to see the stigma attached to the child being labeled and processed like some kind of lab rat, and they fail to acknowledge the record of failure for all of their "interventions." Most important, they fail to even consider that the problem may be with the school and not with the child.

But it is not only the fate of the so-called "Speders" (a term used by a Special Education teacher I knew to describe his students) that concerns me here. The students we label as "gifted and talented" or "honors" are also being emasculated by our schools. They, in fact, are the more frightening because, unlike the "troublemakers" who at least show the spark of resistance, the "gifted" completely surrender themselves. Being labeled gifted means entering a fiercely competitive world of point mongering and grade grubbing. Honor students work extraordinarily hard to please their teachers and other authority figures. In academics, they fight for every point and are always looking for "extra credit."
rest of the story:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/kohn1.1.1.html

[srkruzich]

I have to applaud his decision to leave the system and live what he believes.  ITs tough to give up the security he would have in 6 years but like he said, he can't teach if he doesn't live what he teaches.

[twirldoggy]

One thing I have a problem with in the article:  social workers do not do  " interventions" .  This is taught in every school of social work. 

[redcliffsw]

The why did this teacher mention it?  Are you saying it's not happening?

[twirldoggy]

No I am not saying it is not happening.  I am saying that the portrayal of ALL the professionals sitting around with a list of interventions is false.  I have been a social worker in private practice for years and I have attended many school meetings with the purpose of addressing the needs of children. 

It appears to me that the author of this article is angry and upset at the public school practice that sets the medical model on child problems.  This model assumes that the child is sick, has behavior problems and/or is engaging in behavior which the teacher or other students find dangerous or disruptive.  The medical model approach is to find "interventions" which will change or eliminate the problems.  Sometimes the interventions work for a while.  An example:  the child is referred to boot camp.  The child really improves as long as he or she is in boot camp.  But the effects are not lasting.  Another common example is that the child needs medication so the intervention is to  refer them to a doctor for a prescription.  This may be very detrimental to them in the long run. 

A much better approach (and one that social workers learn) is to look at the strengths of the child and the family.  Then try to build on the strengths that are there.  This is a nonjudgemental approach that is helpful to children and their families.