Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Haters Gonna Hate

Well, it appears that this lil ol blog of mine must show up on some Google searches somewhere in the world!  I am quite confident no one was searching for this blog, merely they happened to search far enough within Google search result listings until they saw my kicky little title and thought they just couldn't move on for the evening without reading further.  I know what you are thinking, "Someone ELSE also reads this teacher's random and greatly insignificant thoughts on the state of education?"  Well trust me, I was equally surprised myself!  As much as I was hoping for the great praises of a complete stranger (or a well known acquaintance who is too shy to post under any name other than anonymous), it turns out they were not completely pleased with the work of art you see before you!

Our nameless friend chose to read A World without Autism and Civil Rights Education.  Very little can be said about their thoughts on Civil Rights Education.  They think homosexuality is wrong, it is a sin, and I am a monster for thinking otherwise.  Such a hotly debated topic right now and I do not feel like wasting more energy on it if I do not have too.  However, their response to my thoughts of Autism have to be shared!
U should not be allowed to teach..their has been cases of recovery..that is a lie saying autistic people do not have the capacity to love..just shows how little u understand autism..U can recover autism thru chelation, detoxing,and diet and intensive aba programs but we all know how shitty the programs are here in the states..teachers lack work ethics ..there wouldn't be so many autistic people if they would remove mercury from the vaccines..there is your cure a no brainer. If a child fails a program its not the childs fault its the program and teachers fault..wish they would supervise special education teachers better they Need cameras in the classrooms because some do not have a voice and get abused and neglected in these programs. 
First things first, if you EVER choose to comment on a blog with an author by the name of The Teacher, PLEASE proof read your typing, your spelling, your grammar, and for heaven sakes spell out ALL of your words!  Without differing opinions I could still rip this anonymous friend apart simply for missing all English classes after third grade and feeling to make the word need a proper noun!  I am, however, a bigger person than some, so I shall choose not to pick on petty things such as the letter U rather than the word you.  So lets move on shall we?

A cure for Autism, well I'll be damned!  Seven years of special education training, a Master's degree and an additional certificate in Autism Studies and not one professor at my university let me in on the secret that we can cure Autism.  So many dollars spent on my education and they kept me in the dark...I find this hard to believe!  Just incase I had been lied to all these years, I went to make sure I was up to date on all research at hand.  Yup, still no "cure."  Can people receive treatments and early interventions in order to become more socially appropriate and more successful in school and workplaces, absolutely!  As far as I know, this was never disputed.  I surely never mentioned it.  These treatments in which I speak though are limited.  Current best practices with in the school system are based on ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis.  Sadly, detoxing your child and restricting the diet apart of ABA and really have little to no effect on the matter.  In fact, to date, controlled scientific studies have not proven this true.  So, even if people claim to see improvement in their child due to a diet that is gluten and casein free, it is not a cure, and not scientifically proven.  Well, what about chelation therapy?  The act of removing heavy metals from your body has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Autism.  This is often believed as people feel mercury used in the preservative thimerosal, which is used in vaccines for childhood shots have caused Autism.  The Center for Disease Control has kindly reminded me that Mercury has not been used in childhood vaccines since 2001...however the surge in Autism has taken place since then, leading me to believe that everyone who jumped on the anti-vaccine band wagon has been taken for a ride.  12 years of Mercury free vaccines and Autism is still around AND no one has been cured.  Would you look at that.
  
Let us not forget that even though we can cure Autism, our profound reader also knows that while a cure is available, a child with Autism still needs programming.  As far as the claims of the "states" knowing nothing about appropriate programming, I will with hold the information about the year I learned to speak Turkish in order to provide a young child from across the seas therapy as his parents preferred treatment in the "states" to ANYTHING provided in Europe.  Won't even go into that topic.  And as a teacher I do agree, every time a student fails at programming it is ALWAYS the teachers fault.  I would never presume that perhaps the programming that is obviously being carried over at home for the other 17 hours in the child's day as well as 48 hours on the weekend would ever be implemented wrong.  It is strictly the 30 hours spent in my classroom that has failed the child....dammit, why do they even let me keep my certification?!

Wow, even I surprise myself with how witty and sarcastic I can be!  Such a well thought out blog and I bet anonymous never comes back to read how wrong he is!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Summertime, and the Living is Easy...

One of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher is the assumption that our job is easy as we get 3 months off in the summer.  I do not know how the wool was pulled over my eyes, but I have been out of school for five weeks and three days and get the joy of returning to school tomorrow morning.  What happened to my other seven weeks of freedom???  Sadly, the three months off is a grave misconception that I often have to explain.  Yes, I worked summer school so my "summer" did not start until July.  The real kicker, I had to have a part time job in the summer to make up for the lack of funds, as I normally tutor during the school year, and need to supplement that lost income in the summer months.  Also, The part time job allowed for me to enjoy my vacation a bit more, albeit short, as my regular income is used strictly for bills with very little left for play time.  What irks me the most is that while I work two jobs year round, the people who complain about my time off usually make double my salary and get between two and six weeks paid vacation every year!

So needless to say, I do not get three months off.  Do I enjoy the short time off I do get?  Absolutely!  I had a blast this summer, as it has been my FIRST summer working for a school that is not year round.  My apartment has never been cleaner and more organized, I was able to really focus on my workout routines, and yes I lounged by a pool a few times.  I even took the most amazing vacation with my boyfriend to Montana.  The whole trip was so wonderful, that I must devote an entire other blog post to it at a later date.  As for now I am laying in bed, hoping my body will be ready to rock and roll as my iPhone will start its obnoxious chiming at 5:30am tomorrow morning.  As rough as it will be getting back into the swing of things, I can't wait to get this new year under way!  Summer, you have been great, I will miss you dearly, but for now I must pack you away until we meet again next July!