(no subject)

[the_rck]

Today was a peculiar day in the library. There was to be a substitute. That's not unusual in itself. Well, it is. It's just not a particularly noteworthy kind of unusual. What made the day really unusual was that the principal came in and reassigned the substitute. The third grade teacher, I think it was, had called in sick, and the district was out of substitute teachers. As the principal said, she could cancel library. She couldn't cancel third grade.

I started checking books in and shelving them anyway. I thought I could do that much. Then one of teacher consultants (I think that's what she is. I recognize her but don't know her name, so I can't look up her actual title) came in and said she'd run library time for the classes scheduled to come in. She had the kids pick out books and read quietly. I think her main goal was to give the classroom teachers the planning time they usually get while the kids are at library.

She did the fifth graders and the second graders but declined to take the special ed kids. I don't think she realized that their teachers come with them to supervise. There are always at least two adult for the four to six kids. Some of those kids do have behavior problems and difficulty staying on task, but that doesn't seem to me to be a reason to deny them access to the library. My opinion of this teacher dropped when she said that.

School policy prohibits leaving kids with me to supervise. I'm not sure if it's a matter of credentials or of not having had a background check done (Scott had to have one in order to coach Science Olympiad because he'd be with kids without staff supervision). If I were able to supervise, I'd have offered to take the special ed kids. I don't see much of them because I leave right as they're coming in, but I have the impression that they value their library time. Or they could have had their teacher to supervise and me to check things in and out. I could do that.

I do wonder what will happen to the special ed kids next fall. The district intends to fill every classroom, and I'm not sure all of those kids are from within the school's attends area (kids in the attends area are guaranteed spots in the new program). The district may simply bus them to some other school. It seems to me a pity-- Those kids are constantly pushed aside and left out of the general activities of the school.

Comments

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

My special ed kindergartner adores the library!!

I haven't heard anything about what will happen to the special ed classrooms from Cordelia's school next year. That is an interesting question. I can ask the special ed parents e-mail list if you'd like.

[the_rck]

I am curious. I have a dreadful suspicion that they're going to be shuffled aside, forced out to make room for the new program. They're going to want to fit as many kids as possible into the building, and having a class with less than ten kids doesn't further that. Of course, they'll have some extra room for the first two years because they won't be K-8 until the current fifth graders get to eighth grade.