Well, looks like Port St. Lucie kindergarten teacher Wendy Portillo won't be named Teacher of the Year. According to the Treasure Coast Palm, she handled a difficult child, five-year-old Alex Barton (pictured at right), in what she probably thought was a creative manner: She encouraged the other children in the class to tell him why they didn't like him (e.g.: he's "disgusting" and "annoying") and then to vote on whether or not he should stay in class (they voted to kick him out, 14-2). And so he was forced to leave!
Why in the world would a teacher hand over control to a classroom of five-year-olds? If she thought he needed to leave the room, why didn't she just take the authority upon herself to send him to the principal rather than handing the decision over to an army of PlayDoh-eaters?
Alex, who has Asperger's, a form of autism, spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office. At home he repeated to himself, "I'm not special" over and over, and he now screams when he gets near the school, so he's dropped out.
An abuse investigation is underway and Alex's mother is considering legal action. Even if he was a problem kid, there definitely had to be a better way for the teacher to handle this.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 16)
31. What in th world was this chick thinking (I would normally say lady, as in this case it doesn't apply). I work with Autistic kids and don't get me wrong here, but Aspergers isn't even that "bad" compared to other types in extreme cases. I hope she gets the pants sued off of her big time!!! This kid will be damaged all his life because of what she did...seriuosly...and I'm not one of those people who give out trophies for losers out of fear of damaging their little ego...he will be damaged. UHHH!
shise at 6:58PM on May 29th 2008
32. Fire the teacher...sue the district.
tonja at 7:03PM on May 29th 2008
33. This teacher is lacking in classroom management skills. Asking the class to assist in a disclipline matter is indicative of a lack of teacher control.
I, however, can understand the teacher's fustration in dealing with a difficult child. Regular ed teachers are relatively untrained to deal with special needs children. The myth that there are paras in the regular ed classrooms sitting nearby waiting to assist is just that, a myth. A teacher can find her/himself with 6 mainstreamed kids in his/her class on any given day. Out of those six the disabilities run from LD, (learning disabled) to BD, (behavior disabled).
Ever disarm a diagnosed schizophrentic with 34 other children in a room and no para because of a lack of funding? I have. That's why I don't have it in me to want to hang this teacher out on a line and beat her with a stick. Honestly, this job isn't for her, and I think by now she knows it.
J. Corley at 7:53PM on May 29th 2008
34. While I have reservations about the decision to mainstream this little boy...I was in total disbelief at the actions this teacher took. If it was a lesson in "majority rule", surely she could have found a less hurtful issue to put up for a vote. She's damaged this poor child in ways that no one may ever know since he doesn't verbalize emotions well. She needs to find employment somewhere that doesn't require interaction with others.
Linda Lacey at 8:00PM on May 29th 2008
35. what kind of teacher does this i mean really! i may be 12 but i do know what cruel is and this teacher takes the cake! i am disapionted at the school district almost a much as the teacher. and the person who said that they should not expect any special treatment in a main streem school when were you last in a school? i go to a school do you?
taylor at 8:10PM on May 29th 2008
36. As a 28 year-old man with Asperger Syndrome, I'm a bit horrified by what this teacher did. As if childhood isn't hard enough, it's bad that individuals like this encouraged students to harass and exclude people on the basis that they're 'different.'I feel sorry for the little boy and hope that this situation doesn't scar him for life.
Yes, I too was considered a problem child when I was his age. People don't realize that children with autistic tendecies tend to be overwhelmed by sensory overload, or underwhelmed by immature empathy skills. With proper instruction and caring teachers, this little guy can learn to be an active, happy, well-adjusted person. I know this because I've had remedial education and worked hard to better 'learn' people's body language or signals. I am now a head librarian at a small Caribbean medical college and live independently and sufficiently.
I suppose all I ask is to give the so called handicapped or 'neurologically atypical' children a chance at education and a happy childhood. It's almost a universal must in this day and age.
I thank you for the chance to speak my mind, and invite anyone else with a constructive criticism to shoot me a message.
Travis at 8:30PM on May 29th 2008
37. I think the teacher did a disservice to teachers everywhere , most of them would have handeled it different by going to the principal and talking to the parents . I can't believe sometimes what some of the teachers do? where is their mindset at . Children of 5 are like sponges and absorb everything they see and hear. What this teacher did was to weaken the childrens thought process by having them judge another child when they are children themselves . It is too sick to even imagine listning to what the teacher told them . Thank God the teacher didn't believe in physical discipline , maybe the children could have applied punishment on him with a paddle or something . This takes on the picture of insanity ??????????????????????????????????????????????
Diane Mitchell at 8:49PM on May 29th 2008
38. Morningside School contact info.
The school officials may or may not see the posts here. I for one emailed Mrs. Cully and expressed my views.
Mrs. Marcia Cully- Principal cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
E. Gemm at 9:01PM on May 29th 2008
39. This is why we are a republic, not a democracy!
Mike Sanders at 9:32PM on May 29th 2008
40. I have worked with children on the Autism Spectrum in full inclusion for the past 12 years. I am disturbed by the actions of a "teacher" in this situation. This is an age where children including neurotypicals all must learn social skills. There are far more positive and unique traits each of these children could have learned about each other. I am also upset that someone violated this student's right to privacy.
Ro at 9:31AM on May 30th 2008
41.
You can reach the school
@http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/mse/staff/kindergarten.html
Principle-Mrs. Marcia Cully-cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
Alex's teacher-Mrs. Wendy Portillo-portillow@stlucie.k12.fl.us
E. Gemm at 11:08PM on May 29th 2008
42. HAVE A SON WITH ASHBURGERS. I was discussed by this teacher's behavior. So glad the public is aware of her damaging actions. What a pity for this child. And those children who were made a party to this cruel abuse. The teacher should be listed on a "Child Abuse" list forever.
JOYCE WASHINGTON at 11:36PM on May 29th 2008
43. Hmm...yet another negative, one sided story about an educator in the media. I take offense to this story for two reasons, first, if what happened to this little boy was so bad, why does the mother keep going on tv WITH HIM and repeating it over and over again so that he can be sure not to forget it? If she makes a big deal out of it, he certainly will too. Second, have we even bothered to ask about the teacher's side of the story? Talk about biased reporting. Unfortunately, she has already been tried and convicted here in the media. Even if she didn't do this, or if what she did was misunderstood, or if she didn't know any other way to handle it, now her career and her reputation are shot to hell without a chance to speak up for herself. Very unfair. As you can probably guess, I am an educator and I am sick and tired of these negative stories about teachers, when most teachers that I know make personal sacrifices day in and day out for their students. Whether it's the money they spend out of their pockets on supplies or the 60-80 hour weeks that most of them work or the personal time that they spend bettering their own education to keep up to date with current research, none of that ever gets reported. We are not just teachers, we are counselors, nurses, referees, advocates, and sometimes the only parent a child knows. Most of us don't care about being noticed for what we do because we do it for our students. Then a story like this gets reported and all teachers have to endure the resulting criticism. I absolutely don't agree with the way this teacher handled this problem, but maybe she felt that there was no other way, maybe she had tried other things that didn't work. This teacher was probably never trained to handle this student's particular disability because she didn't intend to have children with special needs in her regular ed classroom.If she wasn't given specialized training to deal with this child, is that her fault? But do we hear that side of the story? Of course not. That wouldn't attract readers. We do know that the teacher had sent this child to the principal's office for disrupting the learning of the other children in the class and not just once. Why is it fair for one student to be allowed to disrupt the learning of 20 others? It sounds like none of the students in this class were having their needs met. That's typical of classes where special needs students are mainstreamed into regular classrooms. This child's placement was wrong for him and for the other students and for his teacher. If he had been in a classroom that was geared for his special needs, or if the appropriate training was provided for the teacher, this probably would never have happened.
Julie at 12:29AM on May 30th 2008
44. Shameful behavior on the teacher's part, no matter the level of her frustration. It seems fitting that she will likely endure group taunting about how disgusting, annoying, and disliked she is. Karma works that way, even with the woefully ignorant.
Rodney at 7:16AM on May 31st 2008
45. As a parent of an autistic I,m outraged.Kids are cruel and for the teacher to encourage that is not acceptable.She should have notified the parents and principal.She should have voiced her concerns.To have him voted out by 5yr olds and for them being allowed to say why they didn't like him she should be fired immediately.
D at 11:58PM on May 29th 2008