The problem I have with working in a SEN school, across a range of diverse learning needs, diagnosis, behaviour and health care plans is this...
I have to continuously question, why to the majority of mainstream education now.
Apparently secondary school pupils in some local schools are only allowed a certain amount of toilet passes. Really!? Why?!
On one hand we're trying to teach young people to 'trust themselves and listen to their body' as long as their toilet schedule can be trusted to neatly align with the 15 or 30 minute break they are allocated to. I understand that behaviour in toilets can be an issue, but surely that needs to be managed on an individual basis and not stop the majority of students, who quite naturally, may have not needed the toilet at 10.20am. Calculating toilet allowances and holding in a wee will take president over learning to locate rivers in Geography for that lesson. Also, I've yet to find an employer who only allows you to go to the toilet when they say in today’s society.
Wearing a wrong bit of uniform, forget a pencil, have an extra ear stud - isolation for the day. Really?! Why?!
Look, I understand appropriate attire and needing to be prepared, but when I rock up to class and can't find a pen, my colleagues help and support me and lend me one! If I've miscalculated the weather, someone can lend a jumper and I'm pretty sure schools have a supply of spare uniform. More embarrassingly - imagine you have no clean clothes or you couldn't afford the logo shirt - sending a student to isolation for a harmless uniform error sounds like solitary confinement - a case of let's segregate them more rather than support and find out what might be going on.
I said sit in silence and don't answer back or isolation
Again I get it, some students are disruptive. Firstly let's support and manage that on an individual basis, but when I hear stories from friends whose teenagers I know and I can confirm are respectful, kind, obedient kids, being told to leave class when they have tried to speak up or defend an action that goes against the teacher direction - all I can say is, don't work in SEN if you don't like being told you're wrong If a young person is respectfully or even frustratingly trying to communicate, it's our jobs as teachers to listen first and not bark them off to detention because it may undermine our instruction.
A lot of stories I hear about education today, mainly in secondary schools are out dated. The old age - "we are preparing the youth of today for work, " just doesn't cut it! None of the stories I hear would ever equate to how employers work today.
Yes I understand that we need rules, routines and consequences to actions - but I question this deeper.
Why is it so many of our neurodivergent children are mentioned in the above scenarios and could the oppression of school be impacting behaviour out of school and our young people's mental health? Why do so many neurodivergent children refuse school if schools are in fact getting it right?
I don't speak for all students, all schools or even all teachers - but I do know that in SEN, following a child led curriculum, questioning why and what is it the child needs and not squashing them into the box, promoting independence and life skills isn't a bad way to start!
