Rodney’s Case :(

Blog Entry #3: So I mentioned about the little boy who has autism in my class. His case is sad unfortunately. It was time for the kids to go to special and Mrs. Hogarty and I had free time in the room. We were having a conversation and she decided to tell me about Rodney’s case. He used to attend a public school where he received the necessary services that was helping him with this social skills. According to my teacher, he tends to shut down and not interact with people. He can work by himself and is very intelligent, but there are times where he would be in “his own little world” when Mrs. Hogarty’s teaches and she would bring him back to the lesson. So Rodney was doing well in his other school but his mother decided to place him in St. Paul’s so that he can learn religion. Really? My teacher and I both agree that that is a very dumb choice. In the words of Mrs. Hogarty “Anyone can learn religion at home. She can teach him religion but Rodney needs the services for his well being! He is suffering because we don’t offer that here.” I agree with her. When she told me that I realized that deep down she has a heart for children, even though she comes off as a strong woman. She really cares for Rodney and so do I. My heart and focus has been on him. Mrs. Hogarty had meetings with his mother and has been fighting that Rodney transfers to another school but it has come to the point where she just can’t anymore. Rodney’s mom doesn’t want to. And another sad thing is that Rodney has a brother who also has autism. This mother is probably struggling. There are different viewpoints to this situation, but at the end of the day I just want what is best for Rodney.

This made me realize that as a teacher, you always want the best for your students even if it means that he or she is not in your classroom. Mrs. Hogarty tried her best and she can only do so much. As teachers we need to fight for our students’ case, whatever that might be (drug/sexual abuse at home, effect of divorce, maltreatment from parents etc.). What sucks is that we cannot force parents to make a choice. The consent comes from the parents (depending on the case). We need to know how to deal with parents. How to communicate with them that shows professionalism and integrity. Let us pursue to be effective communicators and teachers of integrity!