07/21/2026
Let me elaborate on this. When I took my son to public school, it was a struggle for us; they repeatedly insisted on defining my son's capabilities. For example, in pre-kindergarten, my diagnostician told me that a reasonable goal would be for him to count to 20, even though we were already counting to 100. Why stop there? I am his first teacher, and a 20-minute meeting with a diagnostician cannot accurately determine what my son is capable of learning.
Diagnosticians are strangers to our kids, and I’m not trying to be controversial, but let’s be honest: they need time to acclimate and build trust to truly assess a child's academic standing. I'm not criticizing diagnosticians; their role is crucial in understanding where a child is academically and cognitively, and they undergo extensive training to achieve this. However, it's essential to recognize that students are still children, and they need to trust whoever is evaluating them.
Moreover, special education teachers require substantial support to get to know each student and understand their unique needs for learning and growth. In my experience, our special education teacher became discouraged after the first month of the school year and wanted to pass my son on to another teacher because she felt she couldn't manage him. She had only one other student without behavior issues like my son's, and she expressed that she couldn't handle it.
This situation leads me to think that teachers have the option to decide they don't want to deal with a student at any moment. I want to clarify that my son was impulsive, non-verbal, and had difficulties following instructions. He was not violent or aggressive, although he did experience anxiety that sometimes caused him to bite. I’m sharing this experience transparently.
So, let’s talk about this. Have you had a similar experience? I invite you to discuss it openly here; there are no restrictions on this platform.
