(Read yesterday and the post before first.)

I know more today than I did yesterday. The special education teacher from yesterday’s post is a long-term substitute on her third gig as a long-term sub. Her references are sub references and she thinks she can abandon this contract and still find another long-term sub position elsewhere. She has discussed this with her husband who is O.K. with her quitting. The teacher’s aide for this boy has also dropped hints she may not finish out the year.

One of those two boys clearly dominates the chaos. He lives with grandma. I suspect he runs his house, even if he is only five. His tantrums are monumental in nature. I saw another one today — more shattered crockery, more thrown objects, more kicked objects (including me once) and more high-pitched screaming. The event was kicked off by ending a board game in favor of an academic activity. That kick-off could have been any transition from a more-fun to a less-fun activity.

I am sorry for all the players in this drama. I am also a little concerned for the other kids in the classroom. Chaos Boy is sucking up crazy amounts of learning time while he runs around at top speed shrieking and knocking things down. So far, the teacher has been the target of his wrath, but I don’t know that the other kids could defend themselves if he focused on them. I know one girl who would be just lost. I expect to be doing a fair amount of communicating this week. That kid’s a danger in my view.

Eduhonesty: The Principal wants to save this Freddie. I sympathize. But I have watched a couple of days of well-thought-out lesson plans die unborn as this sub tries to teach around the screams. I helped when I could. We taught like chamomile trying to emerge from cracks in the sidewalk. This kid is easily stealing an hour a day directly from learning. That does not include the indirect loss from Boy # 2 copying “Freddie.” The only highly productive periods occurred when Freddie’s teacher’s aide took him out of the room to instruct him individually. I can’t speak for what, if any, instruction occurred. I hope she is teaching Freddie. I know that the only time the rest of the class makes real progress is when Freddie is out of the room.

If I were a parent and I visited that room, my child might be in a charter or private school the next day.

Here’s my closing thought for today: Parents should visit their children’s classrooms. Especially if I had a child in special education, I would ask my child many questions about the school day. I would also want to observe my child’s classroom. That observation becomes even more imperative if my child struggles to communicate.

I believe in special education and in separate, special education classes. Too often, placing special education students in regular classrooms makes those students feel stupid, despite educator’s best intentions and efforts. Some students manage regular classrooms well, but others do not. Each child deserves to be evaluated and placed in the safest, most supportive environment available.

That said, while I have known some wonderful special education teachers, and have seen some special education classrooms that would benefit any child lucky enough to be placed in those classrooms, I don’t believe that parents should automatically trust a school district to do what is best for their child. In this case, students with behavioral disorders have been mixed with students with cognitive delays — a combination that is proving lethal to learning.