If you ever wanted a reason why teachers should never be given permission to inflict corporal punishment on children, just reflect on this sickening case. An autistic child who threw a ball across the classroom instead of putting it down as instructed, was subjected to a most unorthodox form of punishment. He was put in a duffel bag with the drawstring pulled tight.
The mother of a nine-year-old autistic boy who was placed in a duffel bag with the drawstring pulled tight has called for the teacher responsible to be dismissed and for the practice to be banned.
Sandra Baker, from Harrodsburg, Kentucky, said that her son, Christopher, has been withdrawn and uncommunicative since the incident at Mercer County Intermediate School two weeks ago.
Baker, who was told her son had been placed in the bag as “therapy” for his autism, in a practice that has been used on other students, said she has had no apology or further communication with the school, despite promises to the contrary.
She said: “You do not put a child in a bag like that for any reason. If I did that to him, I’d be put in jail. We have not heard anything from the superintendent and we have not had an apology.”
What kind of barbaric form of “therapy” is this school handing out? Name me one medical practitioner that suggests time in a duffel bag is the perfect fix for insubordinate behaviour.
And don’t get me started with the schools response (or lack thereof). In these litigious times a school cannot even apologise to rightly disgruntled parents, without the apology seen as a possible green light for a lawsuit.
Even with the apology it seems as though the school hasn’t broken any laws:
Kentucky is one of several states in which no laws exist preventing the use of restraint or seclusion in public schools, according to a document on the Department of Education website.
If we give the teachers the permission to metre out punishments of a physical nature we will see abuse all the time. When teachers (or in this case aides) are capable of this type of ham-fisted reaction, who knows what they will come up with should the parameters widen.
Tags: Autism, Christopher Baker, Classroom Management, Corporal Punishment, Dennis Davis, Education, Emily Halcombe, Kentucky, Law, life, Mercer County Public Schools, News, Parenting, professional conduct, Sandra Baker, Therapy
Topical Teaching 
December 29, 2011 at 10:03 am |
The perception of an autistic child is different from “normal” children and very likely different from that of each other. Therefore any behaviour consequences need very carefully considered. In all my years of teaching I have never seen a child put in a bag. What stupidity!
On the other hand schools are afraid to do ANYTHING for fear of possible litigation. This is why there are schools where children are chronically out of class and nothing happens. This is why many principals will not back up teachers in a discipline matter. Instead of having a school wide plan to deal with behaviour problems teachers are left on their own. When the class gets out of hand the teacher is put on an “improvement” program. So the teacher gets punished for being poorly trained and having a difficult class.