Thursday, April 14, 2011

Thank You for Your Help

Overall, Captain Chaos has made gains in speech/language thanks to your help as parents.
That sentence was written in our daughter’s draft IEP by her Apathy Elementary School speech therapist. The Captain attends the local elementery school to receive speech and occupational therapy.  The bulk of her academic instruction is accomplished at home.  I know that the comment was meant to be a compliment towards us.  Unfortunately, I also cannot help but think that it reflects the fact that the perspective of this particular elementary school employee is completely backwards.  She is thanking us for our help as parents, as if teaching my daughter is her primary responsibility.  We’re simply there to assist.   Captain Chaos spends 40 minutes each week in a group setting directly working with her speech therapist.  40 Minutes!  And we’re helping.  This woman must be one whiz-bang therapist if she’s doing the bulk of the work during a 40 minute group session, while our daughter is with us during the remaining 10,040 minutes in the week.  In reality, that was a sentence that we should write to the therapist.   Overall, Captain Chaos has made gains in speech/language thanks to your help as her therapist. 
Hey, public schools, can we please keep things in their proper perspective? 


Addendum:  Our daughter’s speech therapist doubled-down on her original comment, thanking us in person for “helping” with our daughter’s education.  It was amazing.  I kept my tongue.  Two years ago, I unintentionally reduced this woman to tears when I called her out publicly in an IEP meeting for her complete failure to communicate with us concerning our daughter’s progress.   I told her I was seriously considering having her removed as our daughter’s therapist.  Today, I didn’t feel like shooting a fish in a barrel. 

3 comments:

  1. ARGH! Don't you love being patronized? What's wrong with a nice pat on the head, Dad? Hehehe! They just don't get it, do they? Good job, you guys! And Cap. Chaos HIGH FIVE!

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  2. I have to wonder how much of those IEPs are just standard and rewritten for every parent. Let's face it, most parents hand over their kids to perfect strangers most of the week.

    Kudos to you and the Boss and the Captain for working so hard!!

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  3. This reminds me of a radio commercial that I have heard over and over again featuring the president of the Florida Education Association (the teacher's union).

    In it he points out that parents are "part" of the equation in teaching our kids. I always think to myself (and sometimes have said aloud to my kids), "Wow! Isn't that cool that the president of the Florida Education Association thinks that parents are 'part' of their child's education!"

    Sarcasm intended.

    It infuriates me actually. How dare he tell me as a parent that I am "part" of the equation. Exactly who died and made him God that he thinks he's actually doing me some kind of FAVOR acknowledging that I just MIGHT have something to do with my child learning...anything? I'm pretty sure he wasn't around when I was toilet-training and teaching manners and all the hundred-or-other things I taught my kids before age 5 (not to mention educating them through high school - which I have so far accomplished with two of my children)!

    Are the parents out there really that passive that they sit and nod and go, "Oh wow, I AM a part of my child's education. Thank you, oh-high-and-mighty union man, for telling me that!"

    Sounds like you and I think a lot alike in this regard.

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