Klarinet Archive - Posting 001119.txt from 1997/10

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: I agree
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 11:29:15 -0500

No problem with getting a bit off the clarinet topic.....it did start out
as a clarinet topic...kind of! It is a serious educational topic, and one
that definitely has some barbed wire to it.

It is difficult to circumvent laws that are designed to protect special ed
students, and the others you mention. However, if those students cannot
be controlled in an elective course, the district does need to find a way
to remove them from the classroom and still allow some form of
participation. Not only is this costly and unwieldy, it is a hassle for
the administrators.....so, rather than deal with that, they give you the
directive to handle it. With some advance planning, some meetings that
involve agreements before the fact, you may be able to have such
behaviorally challenged students monitored/controlled/removed from Band.
Many districts will throw teachers to the wolves if they smell a lawsuit;
few will stand behind any but the most popular or strong-willed educators.

Regarding the school board.....they are elected. Concerned parents need
to become more vocal and attend more meetings.......rallying together is
difficult, time-consuming, and costly (personally)......so it is often
simply avoided and the politicians continue to do what they wish to do.

Your posting contains excellent considerations and issues that all
educators need to think about.....these issues are some of the reasons
students elect NOT to teach. I hope you can survive the mess.....if not,
a different district seems to be the only recourse doesn't it? That would
be sad.

Roger Garrett

On Sun, 26 Oct 1997 pmedina@-----.net wrote:

> I agree with your elective statement, Roger. Either there are laws to
> protect the special ed, 504, BAC kids or my district doesn't have the
> backbone to stand by their teachers(I know that's the case). I am thinking
> of moving because this is a trend I have been seeing in this district over
> the past few years and it looks like it is going to get worse. For example,
> a new school was built. The parents wanted it to be a sixth grade campus.
> The school board made it a middle school campus(6,7,8). The board memebers
> are good at getting things pushed through that their kids want to do(we now
> have a swimming pool at the high school) and hurting any other program.
> Sorry to get off clarinet topic.
>
>
>