Sept 16, 2018, Brisbane Times: Students as young as eight banned from classroom by teachers https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/students-as-young-as-eight-banned-from-classroom-by-teachers-20180916-p5044f.html Students as young as eight are being banned from classrooms and teachers in a Queensland state school have refused to teach one youngster for a month after violent, disruptive behaviour. In the latest incident, the Queensland Teachers’ Union last month issued a directive that members at a Darling Downs primary school “withdraw normal instruction” from a girl in year three. Eight-year-old girl taught on her own in the school’s library for five weeks after teachers withdrew instruction amid health and safety concerns. The girl’s mother, who requested anonymity, said the move came after a series of behavioural issues, which caused her daughter to “push the teacher”. After the incident, QTU members held a ballot and decided to withdraw instruction to the student. … The girl’s mother told Fairfax Media her daughter had depression, anxiety, an undiagnosed form of social communication disorder and below-average learning capabilities. “She doesn’t understand social cues and she doesn’t understand things like metaphors or jokes,” her mother said…. The mother admitted her child pushed the teacher, but denied it was assault, claiming it was her daughter’s response to five or six staff crowding around her, the removal of her fidget spinners, and losing access to her "quiet space". But sources with knowledge of an investigation into the incident said the class teacher was on the receiving end of disruptive behaviour for nine months, and had since gone on stress leave. … 11 prep and year 1 students suspended from Queensland schools every day … “There’s got to be zero tolerance for violence or assaults towards teachers.” Ms Pidgeon said it was more common for special education teachers to be assaulted than colleagues in mainstream classrooms. “But even in those cases, it’s not OK for teachers or teacher aides to be punched or kicked or bitten or have their hair pulled when they go to work,” she said….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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