Feel free to ignore this post. I’m having a very anti school week. First week back in Term 3 may be part of this. Or maybe it’s just the fact that some kids (SN or not) seem to get treated poorly by the system.
The school Boy and Girl go to is the local Public (government run for those not in Australia) school. Boy child has never received assistance at school because at the time he functioned slightly above the cut off line and the school refused to send his paperwork in. Okay, I’ve had a while (5 years in fact) to get over that and I have mostly. If I felt he really needed assistance I would have fought harder but I didn't.
However, this week I have been told by a few different people that Children have been losing their Aide time. For one child who has had an aide since Kindergarten or Year 1, so at least 4 years, the powers that be decided the child depended on it too much. WT?
Today’s pearler was that the students in Girl Child’s class who go to the Learning Support Area for part of the day 4 days a week and have an STA (Special Teacher’s Assistant aka Aide) for that time on one day they don’t go, have now lost that aide. This is a double WT? for me. How can someone suddenly decide that this is a good idea? It was probably the person who decided to put the Learning Support Unit / Centre in an open plan building with other classes, moving the class from the building that had closable doors and no other classes. Now that had worked for years. Why mess with something that works? Oh I know, just to stamp your authority on it!
So why are they now giving aide time to kids without diagnoses, with exactly the same issues as at least two of the kids in Girl Child’s class? It makes no sense. Unless it’s because that parent actually helps at school and the others don’t. Is it possible someone could be that petty? Maybe I’m wrong here but I am considered moving Girl Child next year. Because for me this is the last straw.
Part of it is is attitude certain people show towards the children. As an adult I wouldn't want to be spoken to the way I have heard some of the children being spoken too. I would have hoped that being in education you may have actually liked working with children. Another part is the different rules for different people which may or may not be based on who the powers that be like most at the time. Yes I am very jaded this week.
So am I over reacting? What would make you change schools? At the moment the attitude of certain school staff is doing my head in. That and the fact different rules seem to apply to different children and classes. Obviously I’m not in the in crowd at school at the moment.
Note: I’m not debating whether aide time is beneficial or not, just the fact that suddenly taking it away can cause issues.
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4 comments:
You are so NOT over reacting! did you know evertime teachers in Qld get a raise it is taken out of the SN budget? I was told this by THREE different sources with the system.
It makes me so MAD! We fund an aide for Boy 1 - and it is our choice as to how long and how necessary it is. Would friggin well tear legal strips off anyone who attempts to not help my baby cub. ROAR!
I've heard nothing good about the situations with Aides and the goal posts being changed all the time.
The poor aspies really fall through the cracks because of their language skills....
If it were me, I'd be finding the reason behind this switch around though - that's NOT cricket..
I've already been disappointed by the education system having my daughter go right through (and she is a gun student) and I really worry about my Cyclone..
We've watched our local school change from one we loved, to one we hate over the 12 (OMG, twelve) years we have had children attending.
Change of principal, change of staff, change of attitude, change of P&C president - you name it, all have had effects, and for us have been a slow and steady decline in what *we* value in a school.
For other parents, the changes have possibly been welcomed.
It came down to a situation last term, where I actually thought about pulling Curly out of there. It had all gone too far.
Very maturely, but sadly, Curly decided to stay. He only has 2 terms left to go at the school and decided he'd ride it out.
Thanks everyone.
Wow, MM. SN budget shrinks for teachers pay rises? Who's idiotic idea was that? That really sucks.
Lulu - Funnily enough I feel the education system (or maybe just our school) has let both Boy and Girl down. And she is only in Year 1 (second year of formal education). Luckily (or not) he is going to High School next year. We have applied for a school where they actually seem to do what they say.
The teacher of Girl Child's class doesn't know why the aide has been taken away. And that is very scary. Another decision made by the powers that be with no explanation.
Lisa - by the time Girl Child is finished at Primary school it will have been 12 years for us too. So far we have had 3 principal, 4 Deputy Principals (including 1 acting) and at the end of last year most of the teachers who I had great rapport with left.
That is a very mature decision for Curly!
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