First valid question: why hasn't the teacher been fired?

Second valid question: why hasn't the superintendent moron also been fired?

one word, UNION.

One simple answer UNIONS!!

Over and over and over we see unions keeping scum-bags in their jobs that clearly should be fired...

I think unions are necessary to insure workers have rights, but trying to defend a teacher like this is why the public opinion on unions as a whole is dropping. This petition shouldn't have been necessary; if these people who are essentially secondary caretakers after their parents are abusing their responsibility I don't want them anywhere near the next generation.

There is a quote from an old simpsons episode that pretty much sums up what unions have become:

Burns' Grandfather: Come on, men! Smash those atoms! You there, turn out your pockets.
[Two goons seize a waifish worker and turn out his pockets]
Burns' Grandfather: Aha - atoms! One, two, three, four... SIX of them! Take him away!
Waif: You can't treat the working man this way! One of these days we'll form a union, and get the fair and equitable treatment we deserve! Then we'll go too far, and become corrupt and shiftless, and the Japanese will eat us alive!

Unions are important to protect workers against exploitation by the employer, but they have too much power now.

The unions at one time where needed, NOT anymore! Now all they do is protect people like this so they can get thier MONEY!

Hate to play devil's advocate, but too many kids out there are spoiled, entitled little demon spawn.

In many cases, a child being a "special needs" student only feeds that entitlement complex as it becomes a go-to excuse to explain away any undesirable behavior, even if it's really nothing more than the kid being a spoiled little @!$%#.

No teacher can keep up with the idealistic mental image parents have of their children, and it's a lot easier to blame a teacher than admit that you are a bad parent.

If you read the article, the union hasn't been involved. While everyone is calling for the teacher to be fired, they haven't proven that she was directly involved. When that is proven, then take action.

What I don't see as reverent although MSNBC does is what was discussed by two uninvolved employees about their off school activities. Nothing suggests that the employee was drunk. Feeling lousy after a night out is now a reason for termination? Let's see that in the private sector.

One question I'd have is was the teacher assigned to this school of did she apply specifically to it? dumping teachers in these types of schools is foolish if that is the way it's done. It takes a special type of teacher to handle the issues faced in a school that has special needs kids.

Sorry Got but I have a niece that has learning disabilities since birth. Yes, the teachers have a workload I would NEVER want. There are a LOT of great ones. The media loves to paint the majority based on isolated incidents. But to say her parents gave her a sense of entitlement? that's idiotic in this case.

Quite frankly, after finding out Mr. Chaifetz job, I like him even more.

gpotts-1106111 and R. Scalzo

Tyler put a link up yesterday and you got to hear the tape!

Listen for yourselves she clearly talk about puking in the mrning from drinking the night before. Why don't YOU BOTH check out the youtube clip before you say what was or was not no it! These scum-bags have no place around kids! ANY CHILD for that matter

Do we know for sure it was the teacher? Teachers Aids are not even close to teachers. If teacher is guilty, she should be fired immediately, but the aids should be fired PERIOD!

anyone lays a finger on my little girl and they better have a way off of this planet because I'll stop my life and make them my number one hobby

I was a union man for over 20 yrs. Believe me, union members don't support this woman. Union execs try and justify their jobs by instilling the "you're next" fear. BS! fire this stain on education.

Bash the unions-- great idea! I'm sure teachers would be much better at turning spoiled-brats into intellectuals if they didn't have a union to make sure they had decent pay and benefits. The free-market would dictate who can be a great teacher and all our problems would be solved!

For those who are poo-pooing this incident or backing the teachers and their unions, you oughta be here in NJ. The aide was fired. The teacher was reassigned to another district (in same area). The superintendant claims issue is closed.

Everyone terrified of teachers' unions. NJ trying to change tenure rules along with other monstrosities such as free benefits for life. Benes instead of better pay? Yeah right. They're some of the highest paid straight-out-of-school employees around. Education is still a joke, and gets worse the more money they throw at it.

Teacher is very lucky this wasn't my child. This teacher wouldn't be capable of speaking in complete sentences let alone teach anymore. Sue the crap out of the school and the super for protecting this teacher. Protest the teacher at their new school.

It is B*****es like her that make people want to villainize unions. Her supervisor should be suspended without pay, and she should have her license revoked. No one that cruel should ever be teaching a child!

Unfortunately for every few awesome teachers there are always a few more that think their stressful jobs give them an excuse to act completely useless. There are teachers that are at school late at night and on weekends working hard on their lesson plans, tests and creative ideas for educating our children as best they can. Some teachers even care more than the parents about the well being of the child. And then there are scum like this sorry excuse for a woman. Who steal someone else's lesson plans, leave school before the kids are done for the day, and think berating children is an affective teaching tool.

Unless unions start to set standards for the protection they offer teachers, then I have to side with the conservatives that want to do away with them. There should be performance based pay and extra incentives for schools and staff that go the extra mile and ZERO support for women like this.

AND FOR THOSE GENIUSES ON HERE WHO CAN'T READ, I WILL SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU. SHE CALLED THE KID A "BASTARD". IN WHAT REALITY DO SOME OF YOU THINK THAT IS OKAY???? ESPECIALLY FOR A CHILD THAT IS ALREADY EMOTIONALLY HANDICAPPED!

The only way to know if the teacher was involved in the bullying is to have voice analysis.

The teacher is in charge of their classroom. I do not believe for one minute the teacher did not know what her aids were saying or doing.

I was a union man for over 20 yrs. Believe me, union members don't support this woman. Union execs try and justify their jobs by instilling the "you're next" fear. BS! fire this stain on education.

Agreed. The problem here isn't the union, it's simply the teacher (if in fact she is the one on tape). I bet there are many many fellow teachers in the union that want to see her @!$%#-canned pronto as well, as she makes them all look bad.

StrengthInNumbers, What your missing is this; a child with autism can't be verbally beaten into submission. An autistic child will scream in some situations. A special ed teacher is trained and paid to deal with that. The teacher is not paid to get frustrated and scream back. Even raising your tone of voice can cause a meltdown and make a situation worse. It doesn't seem that the person (I assume it was the teacher) recorded by the father knows how to teach or deal with an autistic child. I have an autistic child.

Yeah, send the teacher to another district. Isn't that what the Catholic church did with the priests that molested children? And how did that work out? Not so good. The bad behavior doesn't stop just because the perpetrator of the bad bahavior is moved someplace else.

Those who try and say that the teacher did nothing wrong obviously do not understand the job of a teacher. One of the number on responsibilities of a teacher is something called classroom management. If a teacher is not controlling the aides assigned to her and is oblivious to them abusing a student, then that teacher is incompetent and should not be in the classroom. This is not different than when you hold a manager responsible for not doing anything about a problem employee that they should have been aware of. You can not turn your back on your responsibilities and then claim ignorance of problems as a defense. At a minimum this teacher should never be allowed near special needs children or any class where teaching aides are used because the teacher has clearly demonstrated a lack of the required skills to manage those aides. As for the remarks about the outside activities, i.e. getting drunk and spending the morning throwing up, not being relevant I say bull!!! If I showed up at work with my ability to do my job impaired because of a severe hangover I would get fired. You are supposed to report for work in a condition to do your job. If you are so hung over from the night before that you can not deal with the kids and conduct yourself properly in the classroom then it most definitely is grounds to be fired, regardless of whether the drinking was on your own time or not!

If you read the article, the union hasn't been involved. While everyone is calling for the teacher to be fired, they haven't proven that she was directly involved. When that is proven, then take action.

The union is ALWAYS involved, if for no other reason than the school would be firing a union member. It's probably just simpler for them to reassign her than to try to get rid of her.

I wouldn't be at ALL shocked to read soon about the teacher suing the parent for his "illegal recording" of her in her classroom? Sound absurd? Remember Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinski? Linda wore a wire to gather incriminating evidence and more people were upset about the fact that she recorded Lewinski than they were about the incriminating things that Monica said. What a backward world we now live in.

Okay, I have heard the footage (even the ones on the website). I am the mother of two children with ASD (son, twelve, with classic autism and a daughter, sixteen, with Asperger's Syndrome). I, also, have ASD (Asperger's Syndrome). So, I am well-versed in SpEd. From what I have heard and from the little that has been reported, this was ONE SpEd teacher with a room full of autistic kids and aides. Now, here is the REAL problem with special education. The TEACHERS are the ones with the degrees and the training. The AIDES are people they hire off the streets, have NO TRAINING and they pay practically nothing. Now, the aides my son has are wonderful! But, these ladies have had no real training in special education, just hands-on training through working with special needs kids. My kids have had some no-so-great aides, too, that I have had to demand be removed. One aide washed my kindergarten son's mouth out with soap! Another one claimed my son was violent, though my son has never been violent. She threatened to report me to child welfare. Another aide was becoming too involved with my daughter and I had to tell her to back off and report her and have her removed. It's because IDEA (Individual Disabilities Education Act), a federally funded mandate passed by the Clinton administration, has never been fully funded. Which means that districts have to pay for special education out of their own budget with less than twenty percent from the Federal government. It WAS suppose to be funded eighty percent! So, districts cut corners by hiring unqualified people to be special education aides and not putting enough special education teachers in class rooms to deal with these kids. Special needs kids are entitled to a free and appropriate education but no one wants to pay for it. And then we, again, blame teachers. We have SO politicized education that NOTHING is getting done properly.....not for regular education or special education. If you want to blame something blame politicians who have instituted an atmosphere of fear and antagonism in the schools. Add slashed funding and it's no wonder we are seeing all this. We need to kick out the politicians, the standardized testing that just helps make companies that make these test rich but doesn't help our kids, dump "charter schools" that are turning into just free private schools for the wealthy (check out South Orange County, CA) and start refunding out public schools back to where they were.

@JS; you said it well. You can't blame a union for this; it's a failure on the part of the teacher in the classroom for not properly managing the aide and the situation. And it's an even bigger failure of the superintendent and the local school board for not placing said teacher on administrative leave while a proper investigation is completed. The vast majority of teachers and admins do a great job, and I'm sure they are as appalled by this situation as anyone.

to the union bashers--get real. as the parent of a child with a disability who is now grown, and having been involved for years with advocacy organizations as well as govt advisory councils, what I KNOW is that rarely does an issue even get to a union rep, especially in cases involving special-needs kids. Administrations, starting with principal, do their best to bury these issues. School district fears of liability lawsuits provide teachers with considerable protection. Schools and school districts (including teachers) have a natural tendency to want to maintain all control over their turf.

@ Gotnorice

You've got to be @!$%#ting me! Under no circumstance is a teacher allowed to call a student a bastard, especially at that age.

“My understanding is the board did that because they wanted to avoid any further contact between parents and her in the class because this guy has stirred up concern among parents," he said.”

Really, that’s the NEA’s position. This guy “stirred up concern” so let’s play a shell game with the truth until the unwanted attention dies down. Let’s issue glib and nebulous statements, then refuse to clarify them, hoping the scandal will be eclipsed by something else in the news cycle?

You all realize, that the Teacher’s Union help elect the people to serve on local school boards who are supposed to monitor the school’s leadership. And the Teacher’s Union also has some of the most dense and byzantine processes to fire a teacher. Where was the leadership and supervision of this teacher?

If you haven’t watched “Waiting for Superman” you have NO IDEA how broken our school system is for the majority of our children. Something MONEY can’t fix, but accountability can.

Thank goodness for this man shining a spotlight on this matter. One saving grace is, I'll bet Gov. Christy is monitoring this situation.

.

Here in NJ, the teacher's union is very strong, but I am not blaming the union for this teacher still being on staff. The school’s website said that the staff involved was no longer employed in the district, but it turns out that the teacher IS still employed in another school within the district. The Cherry Hill School District should have taken this situation more seriously, and terminated all concerned or at least place them in the “rubber room”.

I'd like to take this opportunity to point out some misconceptions that people are posting. It is so apparent that people don’t have a full picture of what has happened.

1. Autism - is not mental retardation and certainly not a curable disability. You can make it better with therapies such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Being on the autism spectrum (AS) can span from being lightly afflicted (terms generally used Asperger's Syndrome or PDD-NOS) to being fully incapacitated by the disorder to the point where the person doesn't communicate and cannot take care of him/herself. ASD children can learn best and model their behavior after typical peers, so many high-functioning autistics do attend regular ed classes along with an aide, or classrooms with two teachers and an aide.

I have a 12 year old son who has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS and Asperger's Syndrome (at approx. age 3.5 years) along with ADHD from various doctors. He is sweet, bright (IQ 142), creative and can be painfully blunt and honest (no filters) and has trouble making friends among his peer group. He has been in regular ed classes since Kindergarten and now is in Middle School. He does require an aide to be with him in class to keep him on task.

2. The child Akian was in a self-contained autism classroom. Teachers should have a Special Ed degree and be experience in dealing with SE children, however, it is not a requirement for aides. Aides receive very little training in SE. They receive direction from the SE teacher in the classroom.

3. Yes, the aide who was talking about her drinking and telling Akian to "shut up" was dismissed, but what happened to the other aide and where is and who is this SE teacher teaching? Hopefully not in a classroom full of kids who can't communicate again!

4. Listen to the 17 min. video posted on YouTube.com before you go off saying the kid is spoiled rotten. And obviously you don't know enough about AS disorders if you think you can tell an autistic kid to "shut up" and expect him to obey. Plus it’s really inappropriate for an aide or teacher to speak to a student in this fashion.

5. An example of bullying is when someone who is in charge of you (teacher, boss, supervisor) makes fun of you, berates you, and in the case of the aide, agitates and then ignores the child, intentionally causing a meltdown. I don’t know why an adult would treat a child in this manner, except that aide must really have horrible self esteem and she takes it out on the kids.

I am glad this father is strongly advocating for his son. I hope that the boy is receiving the appropriate therapies in the proper setting. I wish them luck!

For years people complained about the Catholic Church moving abusing priests from one parish to another even while they knew what happened would only continue.

What the school system is doing is much of the same.

FIRE HER.

Why aren't the teacher and the aide in jail?

Sorry folks, this is not about unions per say..this is about our education system only. Granted,,,unions have a tendcy to protect when they feel it is the correct thing to do...but with this kind of proof brought up by the parent in this case..it is the education system of the state or county or city that protects teachers...I feel that those in power in that school system knew what was going on...and did nothing. If, unuons too are protecting any teachers of this type then..that union has a bigger problem to deal with...and that is their own moral codes.

also re the aides, the teacher, and whose responsibility-true the fed does not provide much funding but most states have provisions for catastrophic special ed costs where local districts get state reimbursement. why is special ed a fed responsibility instead of OUR responsibility? in addition, the building admin (principal) has a huge influence in the extent to which classrooms are closed fiefdoms (or islands of anarchy) or part of a community. you can't limit the responsibility to the aides (I've worked in similar situations and people who work in those jobs can be idiots, meanies, marvels--all over the place), or to the teacher--you have to look at the school community as a whole.

When she calls the student she is responsible for "a bastard" is about the time she should lose her job. End of story.

I don't agree with revoking the teacher's license but should fire the teacher though. Especially in this recession, she will have very difficulty getting a new job especially this bad PR. She shouldn't eliminate her livelyhood over a stupid move.

@GotnoriceRestored

Hate to play devil's advocate, but too many kids out there are spoiled, entitled little demon spawn.

In many cases, a child being a "special needs" student only feeds that entitlement complex as it becomes a go-to excuse to explain away any undesirable behavior, even if it's really nothing more than the kid being a spoiled little @!$%#.

No teacher can keep up with the idealistic mental image parents have of their children, and it's a lot easier to blame a teacher than admit that you are a bad parent.

As a parent of a special needs child I can say without hesitation you:

1. Don't have a special needs child

2. A clue as to what the eff your talking about.

I don't care if a teacher is tenured or not. If they are guilty of this kind of abuse, they should be fired instantly not shuffled to another school where they can continue to abuse children. The NJ board of education are low life scum for not firing her and the aid in question on the spot. No more questions. They were in the room. They deserve to be fired not shuffled.

THE teachers Union protects incompetant teaching,it's happening all over the country ???? Maybe it's time that teachers need to be recertified every 5 - 10 years to get rid of the bad ??????????????

I can not believe that they just moved this teacher or teachers to a different school, I do know about Unions and how they work, but wrong is wrong, and this was so WRONG, and come on I read one post that said to many kids our spoiled and they called them Little Demon Spawns, now that was uncalled for, these teachers should not be in any school, I know schools are losing money and funding but that doesn't give a teacher or teacher aide the right to be like this, What really has become of our country and why have we so many HATEFUL people in it....FIRE THEM ALL.....

"Even if she said nothing, she should be fired because that room was her responsibility," he said.

Would he still have this attitude if one of his staff screwed up?

Check out his organization and wiring everyone is there common thread in fact they violated private property rights in an attempt to video a hunting group. As a anti-hunting group, they are opposed to any hunting.

I'd love to see the comments if someone were stopped for say, DWI and at that point judged guilty. Impound their car, revoke their license. Why wait for a investigation? Clocked speeding...,.GUILTY. Take that car and start walking.

And AK, when you can prove those employees were connected to this event, then I'll listen. Until them what i do on my own time is my business. First time someone was sick at work? Call in sick and stay home and get paid for it.. There was more made of this than other parts of the video. was this just to get interest?

Keep wiring up everyone and snooping and the teachers will stop communicating with the kids. That will be great. Cut off all communications. Address them in limited terms. No un-needed contact.

Maybe he can send in the SHARP drone. Wait, it was shot down over private property. This is far from this guys first posting on YouTube. In fact it's his normal mode of operation.

When the proof is found proving the TEACHER guilty, then they should act without hesitation.

Can you people read? The article clearly states the Union is not involved. They are not protecting the teacher because she has not been charged with anything. it is the school department which investigated and found that the teacher was not involved. Teacher's Aides are generally paid minimum wage and have little to no training. You get what you pay for people!

hrmmmm...not sure if i should make a comment on this story, i mean i want too but maybe i shouldn't...CRAP! i just did...DAMNIT!!!

@Gotnorice

You have got to be kidding me. Did you listen to the audio? The aide calls the student a bastard, and someone tells him "no" when he asks if he's going to get to see his dad again after the weekend. They also mock his manner of speaking.

And you think this is the result of bad parenting, and not the fault of the ones who did it?

I too had a child with learning disabilities who had great Special Ed teachers, and not-so-great teachers too. Children with special needs usually have behavioral issues. Even if you work very closely with the school and the teachers, bad things can happen. I almost had to hire an ACL lawyer for my daughter in middle school, that's how bad the Principal was. Special Ed/Needs kids need advocates who monitor the classroom setting. Other students in the school can volunteer to help in Special Needs classrooms (my younger daughter did this for 4 years in elementary school), or aides are hired who don't necessarily know what they're getting into. My older daughter who had learning disabilities is now a an aide in a classroom for at risk kids. She too gets frustrated, but name calling and punishment outside of logical consequences like not allowing the student to participate in free/fun time events, is not the correct way to handle the situation. I don't know whether schools don't have the resources, but I feel my daughter was cheated out of a good education because of her disabilities. Often the schools put regular teachers in Special Ed classes. These people are not qualified to teach Special Needs kids. My best advice is to sit in the classroom with your child, maybe not everyday, but stay involved with the teacher and the Principal and the District. It's the only way to truly know what's going on. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

To the vast majority of posters on this thread......your posts sound like the Trayvon Martin case. Look at what you are saying, many without proof.

1. If the school felt the Teacher could be brought up on charges, or the school sued over this, she would have been dismissed, tenure or not. Obviously, they've reviewed the tape and acted accordingly. These is no school in this country that is going to keep a Teacher who will give a parent the chance to sue the school.

2. There is a big problem here overall since the parent "put a wire" on the child. It is very likely this evidence could be thrown out in court. Honestly, this Dad screwed up. There are other ways to check on children in school. In the end, the parents could end up with a counter-suit from the Teacher for defamation if they continue to persue this without concrete proof the voice on the tape IS the Teacher. There are times when Teachers leave the room, and that's one of the reasons there are Aides. In Special Needs classes, there are, in some cases, multiple aides present.

I think this article is lacking in information, and way too many of you are filling in the blanks, fueling your emotional outrage. For one, Union involvement. I personally am very anti-Union, yet I'm not going to "assume" the Union forced the school to keep this Teacher. And,if it cannot be proven the Teacher is on the tape, there is no reason to pull the Teacher's license. Believe me, the Administration is going to be keeping this Teacher on a short leash.

Let's try sticking with the facts.

There is nothing wrong with private sector unions. Public unions on the other hand are akin to a monopoly and what ever outrageous benefits or salary they demand are footed by us the taxpayer. The teachers union is especially bad in this regard as they actively stamp out competitiveness for federal money ie voucher programs or charter schools.

@TheOverlord

When you attack unions you are attacking Americans right to organize and protect their interests. Sure, we may not like the fact that unions may at some time give protection to someone that has abused a child... once the teacher is convicted of a crime then the unions will be no protection at all.

So let me get this straight, you don't think any teacher should be fired unless they've actually committed a crime and been convicted of it? Really? That makes sense to you or are you just willing to make any sort of lame assed excuse to defend unions?

Take a look at the list on the bottom of this page and tell me you'd want any of these people anywhere near your children (when you're actually old enough to have children of course)-http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_hillsborough/i-team-investigation:--bad-teachers-are-not-always-fired

Most were not convicted of anything because those of us who actually understand the legal system realize that often charges are dropped after the completion of a court ordered counseling program. The lack of a conviction on their record does not mean they are not guilty of whatever they were accused of.

Willowbrook,you said there are other ways to check on children in school! Why didn't you tell us the OTHER WAYS!!? You probabely DONT KNOW!!

@willowbrook

These is no school in this country that is going to keep a Teacher who will give a parent the chance to sue the school.

Wrong. Any school in this country would be MUCH more afraid of a lawsuit brought by a fired teacher with the full backing and support of the union than they would a parent with limited resources.

There is a big problem here overall since the parent "put a wire" on the child. It is very likely this evidence could be thrown out in court.

Very likely? I thought you wanted to "stick to the facts"? Well the fact is that in NJ you can record a conversation without the other persons consent so the facts would indicate that the recording could be used in court.

There are times when Teachers leave the room, and that's one of the reasons there are Aides. In Special Needs classes, there are, in some cases, multiple aides present.

In which case there would be multiple witnesses to verify exactly whose voice is on the recording making any defamation counter suit unlikely to be successful.

This isn't anything like the Trayvon Martin case. There you have one mans word with minimal additional evidence. In this case you have an actual recording with multiple witnesses able to confirm exactly who had done what. If she had done nothing wrong there would be no grounds to move her to another school and you can damn well bet the union would be fighting tooth and nail to get her reinstated in her old position.

@ model railroad man - Talk to the Teacher, the Principal, the head of Special Education department, ask to observe the class room. All of these were appropriate before "a wire." The staff of the school is on your side, not an adversary. It may have been there needed to be a unified (used at school and home) behavior plan put in place for the child to extinguish undesired behaviors. But we will never know because due course apparently was not taken. There are too many "could be's" not enough facts.

@ Backcountry - in our State, the wire evidence would be thrown out. I did say it could be thrown out, not it will.

The responses on this thread are EXACTLY like the Trayvon responses on the vine. That's what I was talking about.

@Willowbrook,

A parent may observe a classroom, but you can bet that it would not be a typical day in that classroom as everyone would be on their best behavior. As a note, if you read the news article thoroughly, it stated that the father had already approached the school about his child's problems in the school, and I'll go out on a limb that the father probably DID observe the classroom. I know my husband and I did before we placed our son in his special ed classroom at age 3. HOWEVER....

I dropped in the classroom while volunteering at the library, and SURPRISE - it was totally different from our observation PLUS my son was in a restraint chair strapped in, crying.

Do you understand WHY this father took the approach he did and hid a recording device on his son? And as I've seen cited on several stories in my state of NJ it is legal to record as the father did in NJ.

All of you -

Enough with the ranting and wanting the teacher fired, hung, drawn and quartered, etc. etc. Unions this, unions that. If the dad feels that strongly about what happened to his child, then SUE the district, period. What he is doing now is showing just how "dedicated" he is. Put your money where your mouth is. Sue the district, file charges. Go the legal process don't try and back door this. (Why is he going this route BTW? Doesn't he have irrefutable evidence other than his dog like acute hearing?) If he has trouble getting the monies needed to sue the district, he should contact each and every single one of you that wants the teacher fired, hung, drawn and quartered, the unions dissolved, etc. for donations, because you too should put your money where your mouth is.

If I wasn't the teacher speaking on that tape, why isn't she horrified by the actions of others in that room that day? So I was the teacher and had stepped out and this abuse transpired I would speak out to clearly explain that particular day. So I would want to get to the bottom of the issue. So instead she is moved by the school with the blessing of the unions? I don't know but were they contacted and help make that decision?

Back many years ago, I was a cub scout leader. We had one boy with a mental disability. The kids were fine with him, but he seemed upset one day and so I sat down and spoke with him. Come to find out the teacher was habitually leaving the room for HOURS going to the lounge to smoke, eat etc. and leaving the kids alone in the room. Now these kids were really good kids and just sat, and sat, and apparently worried. The mentally challenged by was scared when the teacher left the room. So when he admitted how long the teacher was habitually gone, I asked the other kids in his class including my own son that had been sworn to not tell by the teacher was it true? They say it was. I just went nuts. I called all the moms together to let them know and one on the school board just shook her head. She said there was no way we would ever get rid of her especially since she was close to retirement. I refused to accept that nonsense and went into the school to speak with the principal and then super. I made it clear I would never get over it. She was MOVED out of the classroom and became a music teacher until she retired. The school didn't care a darn about whether she was in that classroom or the danger to the kids while she was sitting smoking in the lounge.

That event changed how I see teachers, which btw most of my family are teachers. I still remember how frustrated I felt, and frankly helpful because the system, meaning teachers, are protected by unions no matter what they do.

@AtomAnt

Enough with the ranting and wanting the teacher fired, hung, drawn and quartered, etc. etc. Unions this, unions that. If the dad feels that strongly about what happened to his child, then SUE the district, period.

He wants the teacher to be fired and lose her license. You can't sue the school district to force them to fire someone. Also the school district has no authority to revoke her teaching license so he'd also have to sue the NJ Dept of Ed and, again, he could not force them to revoke her license by doing so.

I'm not at all surprised that someone who doesn't seem to understand how the legal process works would believe a lawsuit is the solution to everything.

Teacher's unions are so corrupt. There is no way a public employe of any kind should have a collective bargaing agreement. It is a conflict of interest!

This teacher needs her license revoked and fired! Period! Her class room. She was in charge. You are done!

Especially in light of the socioligist and the teacher colaborating on framing the father for the behavior of his son.

Now, I wonder where ol' Al or Jessie is in this incident. Would be a good time to rally the people to fight for justice of this child! And where is the reporting of msnbc? Come on boys... show some equality in this situation.

It is too bad this dad could not put a camera on the child some place to see a video of what was going on... this would have dropped a lot of jaws!

I wonder what the unions would have said about that?

SUE them!

@ C NJ Mom No where in the article does it say the Dad had contacted the school, but it does say this:

Chaifetz decided to put a wire on Akian after staff repeatedly complained the child was hitting them and throwing chairs around. He could not understand why his "wonderful, happy" son would act in this way and decided to find out what was going on in the class. Akian's autism meant he was unable to explain.

Obviously, the staff was communicating with the Parent. Had the staff also talked about a plan of action to stop the undesired behavior, let alone if the parents would agree to support a plan? We don't know, it's not in the article. So much is not in the article.

Have you ever had to restrain your child? Sometimes that is necessary so they don't hurt themselves or others. No one likes it, but the alternative is even worse. You know that, but I wanted you to know I am aware of that as well. I know you have a lot on your plate raising your child.

I don't really want to argue with you, but the bottom line is the same for me. We cannot make concrete decisions based on one short article. More and more MSNBC has gone out of its way to post articles like this to generate an emotional, rather than an intellectual response.

This is why tenure is WRONG! Does she talk to her OWN kids like that?

willowbrook - In the comments section of the article last night, Tyler posted a link to the father's website, which not only has more of the audio available to listen to, but also copies of the e-mails Chaifetz had sent to the teacher and her replies to those e-mails.

Some of the people here read and listed to all of that, so don't assume that the opinions here are based on just this one article.

Hey backcountry -

Obviously you missed completely what I was trying to put across - If he feels that strongly about how his son was treated, SUE THEM! You think that you can't sue someone or entity to get someone fired? Really? You think the district or the NJ Dept of Ed won't cut that teacher loose or revoke her license if a lawsuit was initiated. But all that aside, what I really was saying was stop this back door brand of justice this father is doing. He wants to raise such a stink (without doing anything himself - i.e. - lawsuit, talking to a lawyer, going thru the legal process) that other people will join in and do the dirty work. If the teacher is wrong, prove it. Bring your evidence to a court of law or even just a hearing but bring it. Have the teacher face her accuser vis a vis's. This trial by media going on in this country has got to stop. Innocent lives are being destroyed, people lives are being laid wide open for comment and dissection without any responsibility as to the end result. It has to stop.

Willowbrook:

And to all defenders of this reprehensible teacher: If the teacher was present at all, she is just as guilty as if she had said it herself. She is a mandated reporter of abuse, physical or verbal; and there is zero tolerance for either behavior. In fact, when in school it was stressed to use that if you see or strongly suspect abuse and do not report it, if it is determined you were aware and did not report the incident, you are responsible for that.

In the state where I live, these excuses for teacher/teacher's aid would be put on a Child Maltreatment Registry; and this teacher would no longer have a license with which to torment other children. Hopefully, this teacher will have to face something like that, and will never again be in a position to torture another child. How miserable must these two have been to have inflicted such pain on an innocent child.

New Jersey has no such provisions in place? I've seen numerous references to unions, and perhaps that is the reason. There have been articles about inept, underperforming, or abusive teachers who sit idle all day long in New York drawing over $100,000 per year plus benefits. The "Rubber rooms" were done away with (supposedly) in 2010; however, there are still 500 of these "Teachers" at a cost of $30 million dollars a year to taxpayers. Hardly a "Conservative publication, read what the New York Times says about these union "Teachers": http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/nyregion/16rubber.html?_r=1#

Shandril - a) FAPE rights, google it. My child has a legal right to be in school.

b) autism does not mean mentally handicapped. Many with autism have MENSA level IQ.

My 7 yr old with autism is smarter than you. Go back to school You obviously missed a few grades.

Willowbrook, this is the 2nd article on MSNBC and as other have said there is more info out there. Read, broaden your mind and grow as a human

And last time I looked the spec ed teacher is in charge and RESPONSIBLE for all aides who work in that class with them. She IS responsible for the actions of the fired aide Jodi and should be fired with her since she at very least did nothing as this was going on. At worst (and probably true) she actively participated in this child's civil rights being violated and abusing him.

@Willowbrook,

I actually listened to the 17 min video of the edited audio tape, and the father describes contacting the school. The article doesn't mention that.

C NJ Mom, I did too, and in the original article it tells how the school transferred the teacher to another school, to remove her from the care of these children. They got to hear the entire tape too, not the version we got because the students names had to be protected, so I am sure the school board hustled her out asap. If he can get this into a criminal court there will most likely be some sort of harassment charges filed against those who called that child names and possibly abuse charges. No one in a position of power should be allowed to slide in a case like this.

@AtomAnt

Obviously you missed completely what I was trying to put across - If he feels that strongly about how his son was treated, SUE THEM!

Obviously you missed completely the story, he said he doesn't want money so why would he sue?

You think that you can't sue someone or entity to get someone fired? Really? You think the district or the NJ Dept of Ed won't cut that teacher loose or revoke her license if a lawsuit was initiated.

I "think", by which I mean know, that the district or dept of ed CAN'T fire her now because of union protection so what on Earth would make you think that would change in any way because of a civil lawsuit brought by a parent. The school would still be sued by the teacher backed by the union. You think their going to garantee a second lawsuit just because they already faced one? Really?

@upright1,

I don't think this is going to be a criminal case, but the father would need more evidence than the tape he made to sue the aides & teacher. The father originally said that he is not interested in the money and wants an apology from the teacher/aides.

@Willowbrook,

Actually, I haven't had to restrain my child since he was a wee little one. At age 12 he is up to my eyes at 5' 3" with mens size 10 feet. Yikes!

Unions, everyone cries for them singing their praises. Um, yeah ... so they can keep horrible teachers in a job? Or nurses that shouldn't be nurses in work? Pfft.... Got to love those Unions!

I want this woman fired, and anyone who was an ADULT in that class that is employed for that school. None of them stopped the abuse, so none of them should have a job! How dare they do this. Crap, let me go in there and teach. Bet I'd be sweeter and get the job done right. Their crap pay is better than what I make too =)

Anyone forming an opinion from the one sided snapshot provided by the tape and some emails hasn't a clue, period.

Second, while I agree there are abuses by unions; try working in the IT field where unions are virtually non-existent. Employers label you a salaried worker then work you as much as 60-80 hours a week with no overtime in clear violation of the law (salaried doesn't blanket mean no overtime). I routinely worked 10 hours a week overtime with no compensation, often having to use my vehicle to travel to a job site with no compensation and I am one of the lesser abused. A friend of mine routinely worked 60-80 hours a week and would at least once a week be called after midnight often requiring him to get up and travel an hour away or more for a trouble ticket. None of this resulted in overtime or reimbursement for his vehicle expenses. When he tired of it and gave them notice, they told him they wanted him to stay and offered him a job with less hours that he could do from home and they didn't care where his home was located. He moved several hundred miles away to be nearer family and then they told him "sorry, we can't do that now, you now need to do not only the new job but a huge chunk of your old one". The old clients were now a couple of hundred miles further away so instead of things getting better they got worse. He did it for a couple of months until he found a new job then resigned. To keep others from quitting they suddenly found the money to pay 4 years worth of deferred bonuses and he got none of it. We won't even go into the services they are charging their customers for that they aren't really providing. Or how about another friend who was told he was moving so his wife quit her job only to later be told "no, we're not going to move you now". They put stringent social and financial restrictions on them but make life difficult to get along with while working for them. Pension, you get a 401k which is now worth nothing unless you strike gold and work for a Google or something. You have to spend thousands a year on training to keep your skills updated but even then it is common for them to dump you for a younger, cheaper employee who won't ask for his kids birthday off. Spare me the rif about how well employers treat employees, they milk them for what they are worth and laugh all the way to the bank. 25 years in IT proved that to me....

@chris-335678

I routinely worked 10 hours a week overtime with no compensation, often having to use my vehicle to travel to a job site with no compensation and I am one of the lesser abused

Just out of curiosity, do the shackles leave scars? Are they heavy and hard to work while wearing?

Give me a break, if you spent 25 years being abused who the hell do you think is to blame other than yourself? No one is forcing you to work for a-holes. And why don't you tell us all just exactly how much your salary was so we know how much sympathy you deserve.

To C NJ and others....when hanging out on these threads, I go by the content of the article not other sources. If you are making comments based on other sources, you need to reference it in your comment. Otherwise you get reactions just like mine. Today there is a new article that says the Teacher was not in the room at the time of the recording and stated exactly where she was. This is an example of the "missing pieces" of the puzzle that put a totally different light on this story. Even in the new article, the Father says he is going to continue to pursue this despite the new information. So, if the new information is correct, he is going to lobby to pull this Teacher's license because he feels she is responsible for the actions of Aides even when she is not in the room/building. That thinking gives me pause, as do people who would support his campaign.

Actually Willowbrook the new information states that she was only out of the class for an hour, the tape is 6 hours and 15 minutes long. You can listen to the 17 minutes of it that are specifically about Akian, the father had to cut out the parts that had other children's names and or other parent's names involved, but you can hear the name calling and the talking about drinking, vomiting, calling Akian names and so on. It's rather sad and truth is any job that has a floor manager of any kind and something like this comes up, that floor manager is responsible, put them in a room this small and there really is no excuse. Ask yourself this if you had a room with 15 or so children in it and what 5 aides? Do you think you would let this go on? I don't know who's voice is who's but she was in the room and it is her job to protect those children and even if she is just too nice to call her aides out for their behavior she let those kids be abused so she didn't do her job.

This is a collision of a frustrated, exasperated public school teacher with too many kids to tend and a disabled boy who doesn't yet belong in a classroom setting ... as well as dad who doesn't realize his son's needs are a bit too steep. Little boys that age are hard enough to handle, but one on the autism spectrum who might also suffer from oppositional defiance syndrome ought be in a private setting or homeschool co-op specifically geared for those issues.

My wife knows of a child that is a genuine card-carrying spoiled (very wealty parents) monster. He cannot be moved to a special class or to a different schoool without permission by the parents who, of course, use the school as baby sitters and that all.

Maybe people with "special needs" need to be in special institutions where their behavior won't drive everyone else out of their minds.

Shandril, why have special needs children removed from schools,because they will grow up and have to learn how to endure posts from special education failures like you.

Shandril you are the one who needs to be institutionalized.... now go take you meds and stop posting your mental diarrhea here. Newsvine is for humans and you lost your membership card about 4 posts ago.

Having seen news stories in the past detailing what an impossible task getting miscreant teachers fired in neighboring NYC and other states - for example a teacher who was found with porn & cocaine in his desk who was subsequently kept on payroll for over a year while the review system dragged on - I imagine this teacher will probably retire from the school district before any meaningful action other than "reassignment" takes place.

Unions have played a significant & positive role in protecting workers' safety and advocating for them when confronted by abusive management in the past. However, in many instances union behavior has morphed over time to a point where current union practices are relatively indistinguishable from the "organization above all else" group-think mentality that often characterized the corporate robber baron attitudes that led to the formation of unions in the first place.

Give this woman her due process and if guilty of these acts, against this child, kick her behind to the curb!

Without unions the quality of teachers would diminish. There needs to be a balance between teachers and administrators. The principal has every reason to want to eliminate the teachers with the highest salary and they are usually the most experienced teachers. That is why the quality of NYC teachers is getting worse each year. Blame Bloomberg.

"Without unions the quality of teachers would diminish"

If you remove the abusive useless incompetent teachers the average quality of teachers would go down.... really? That's your argument?

That most teachers are so bad that if we don't protect completely useless incompetents like this well lower the average quality? These people are ABOVE AVERAGE for teachers?

Hey if all we want is useless incompetence we don't have to pay more than minimum wage in order to get that...

I think people need to change their perceptions a bit : this is not just bullying this is CHILD ABUSE! Report to her to child welfare. I have a child with Aspergers and a communication problem which has resolved, that being said he was in a classroom with other a variety of learning differences. I found out that she had verbally been abusing my son on a regular basis. Yes the school knew about her behavior and covered it up! My son as a result crashed emtionally and was placed in a psych hospital.... The worst place for a child who is on the Autism spectrum. We filed a complaint to the school ,later on we discovered that she was having an affair with the janitor while being married to another teacher..... She wasn't wearing panties half the time as other parents informed us..... NO ONE ever should have the right to abuse anyone, There is no excuse for her behavior. If she has done it once she will do it again.... Just like a pedophile!

You don't know that. You also don't even know if the tape is admissible as evidence. Even Mr Chaivetz admits he isn't 100% sure who he heard was the teacher. Are we firing people now, based on assumptions and guesses? Do you want to pay the bill for voice recognition analysis? Should the taxpayer? There are so many loaded questions here. Before you go bashing the Teacher's Union, maybe you should consider there's more to the story than what you're reading from the Lazy Boy.

The bill for voice recognition analysis is far less than the bill for keeping this disgusting human being around anyone's child. Period.

Yet the union isn't involved and has no standing in it. so your comment is totally uninformed. God forbid that they wait for proof of guilt. So much better to gun the gun and pay back a few years of back pay and legal expenses.

This child is in a public classroom where there are aids and the Teacher. No matter whose voice is whose on the tape NO WHERE on the Tape is anyone condeming the person who is ridiculing this child or stopping it. The teacher who supposedly should be in charge of the class at the least is doing nothing. That alone makes her guilty in my view.

What makes you think anyone beyond the teacher's aid was in the room at the time when the comment was made. As the faster himself cannot state for sure it's the teacher's voice, where's the guilt? How about an investigation? Or is the teacher deemed guilty on a hunch? Sounds like a great setup for a civil suit down the road if handled improperly.

R Scalzo,

Who else would have been in the room? The Easter Bunny? Wouldn't the teacher have told the principal if someone else was there? This is the lamest ass line of thought i have ever heard. And those of you who claim teachers do not make enough...how about 100K a year for less than 10 months work! How about womb to tomb bennies including almost fully paid insurance coverage UNTIL THEY CROAK! How about 70% of their salary when they retire.... forever! If you do the math you will see it would take about a 1.2 million dollar 401K for you to retire with 70K per year. Because the press including this blog site refuses to inform the foolish citizens who believe all the BS they hear from unions and lefties(same thing really) the taxpayer has no idea how big a screw job the unions and dems are giving them. In New Jersey teachers are overpaid, underworked and unprofessional..this is the tip of the berg! I challenge someone to publish the actual wages and bennies paid to Cherry Hill teachers...no names just the salaries for years of service plus step raises for any Cracker Jack Box degrees teachers might have. Wake up citizens you are getting screwed!

Abuse is illegal no matter what! Even if the teacher wasn't in the room - she should have realized her staff couldn't handle these kids. If it was a class of autisic kids, they are lucky all the kids didn't have melt down.

The father wired the boy, if this hadn't happened often.

I agree the system no matter how well meaning has done many kids, their parents and the school disservice by having these kids in the classroom.The upside, my kids learned a great deal by helping such children. Teachers should have additional help available on a bad day,even if a union rep is called in or the school nurse or a principle.

My boys were normal active boys. The principle had no tolerance for a hands on learners. Medication was her solution. My boys were not treated well, but had I caught wind of this type of behavior I would have been on the war path. Kids need to be encourage and treated with respect. This was abuse. Yes, the unions are at fault to a degree- they've protected many teachers who have no business in the class room. Teacher Unions are one of the most powerful in the US. They affect many election and are constantly harrasing our congressman - threatening to take away votes.

Remember friends, it is our duty to report such behavior. Any kind of abuse.

Mike I agree with you. But even when I was bully and told the higher ups . nothing was ever done, No one beleive me. Even as adult I became weak because of my childhood. I had to quit my last job because I could not bear anymore bullying. So I agree remove these teachers. Don't become a teacher if you can not handle all chores and homeworks comes along with it. Do our kids a favor stay away. If you become a bitch and for ones past that were bitches ,you need to be fed to sharks.

someday - I left my last position because of bullying. I was also relentlessly bullied in middle school. You can bet they affected my social development, and how I see the world today (a bit neurotically, for sure). I am very sensitive to bullying of any sort - it sends me into a rage nowadays, one that of course, must be supressed, because raging about is not very helpful in position-retention either. Heres the harsh facts of life. We are all vulnerable, fragile human beings. If you just lay down on the side of the road and say - its all the fault of the bullies - well guess what. They won. They did exactly what they were doing to you all that time. Beat you down.

And they DO win, sometimes. But you pick yourself back up, brush yourself off, and get back on that horse and ride. To do otherwise is to be the victim they zeroed in on in the first place. Theres more than one way to be the victim of a bully. One is to not fight back, to be meek and retiring. The other, is to speak up for what you believe in. If you dont have a veritable army backing you up, that can get you into trouble too.

Heres the thing - We ALL are operating in this same world of bully / victim. Eat or be eaten. Rare is the person who goes through life without some interpersonal strife which could be defined as bullying.

So you are weak because of your childhood? Grow a pair. Put on your big girl panties. Its a rough world out there.

And because of that hard, immutable fact, children will continue to be bullied - by their peers, and by adults. Same as it ever was. Especially vulnerable children are in a very bad situation in this harsh world. For loving parents, the best way to protect them from the barbs of the callous people of the world, is to keep them safe at home. But plenty of children are most bullied - by the very parents that are supposed to give them loving support.

There is no good answer to this age-old problem. If you were to wire-up every autistic child - I can guarantee you that you would hear much more frustration and disdain -and also find.. sadly - that it is widespread. People with infinite patience and boundless compassion - are infinitely rare. Most that have existed, have been beatified.

Its just the hard facts of life.

I also have two sons who are classified as special ed. I was forced to remove them from the New Jersey public school system because they were clearly seen as a problem in the regular classroom. The effort was not in helping my kids but more "how can I make it the parent and the kid's problem Most teachers have not been trained in special ed. Basic knowledge should be a requirement to get a teaching degree. In my districts I asked what qualifications a resource room teacher had and I was told that they did not have to tell me. In other words, even special ed teachers are not required to have formal special ed training. They should be required to have a special degree and be paid at a higher level. I have been told that at least 20 percent of all students present some form of a learning disability. Many of these disabilities are not diagnosed due to lack of an educated teacher. Some are intentionally missed due to lack of funding. Many kids grow up thinking that they are stupid, which in turn makes them angry and isolated. Which often results in criminal activity. Our prisons are full of learning disabled people. Left behind by a system that can only handle the average. Until things change, I think that children with special needs should not have to endure regular education. They are excluded and made to feel very different. Most public schools do not help these special needs kids, they warehouse them. They do not make an effort to integrate them into the classroom. These kids are isolated and ostracized. When they are bullied it is viewed as the childs problem and they need therapy. Making sure the rest of the students understand and hopefully care is never addressed. Shunning is very common. I have found that the overall attitude towards special ed starts at the top. If the principal doesn't get it, then why should the teacher. My question is this. Who hired the Aide? What kind of screening does this particular school do when hiring? Who is supervising the teacher and the aide? This situation will only get worse if education does not address the need for qualified teachers. The standards for teaching should be higher. Training for aides should be required. We are becoming a nation of very ignorant people. Education should be our governments top priority. How can we be employed if we are not educated. Clearly making sure the public purchases health insurance was more important. I would gladly pay more taxes if it was for education. But even my tax dollars that go to education end up in a bureaucrat's pocket. Our politicians need to wake up and do their jobs. Please

Strenght in Numbers there is more to my story besides bullying. I was molested twice by 2 members of my family. I was made fun because I could not speak English, since I was born in Europe. My mom died when I was 13. I had a step'mother just like Cinderella. My family was hard core old European. No one was allow to show any emotion. Kids were just a mean to me as teachers. The teachers really enjoy making me break down. My parents knew I hate school, but they try talking to the school, They must laugh at my parents because nothing change.

I had such low self esteem, I marry a jerk that cheated on me a few times, I can't afford a divorce. There is so much more I really don't want say it. So when you say put my big girls panties and grow a pair of balls, Don't you dare judge me, you never walk in my shoes pray that no girls in your family ever has to live life like mind.

From all bullsh*t from bullies and rotten teachers I suffer more then for 2 life times. So when I read how teachers treat kids like that, I'm pissed off. Looks like these teachers never left. I wish these people burn in hell forever.

In light of recent media coverage over Mr. Stuart Chaifetz’ allegations that his son, Akian, was "bullied" by teachers and aides at Horace Mann Elementary School located in Cherry Hill, NJ;

A recent flood of media coverage, wholly instigated by the boy's father, has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

In the today’s society, with so many social programs and entitlements, it comes as no surprise the amount of attention this story is receiving. Bleeding-hearts hearts across the country are rallying behind Chaifetz’ very biased, one-sided story of allegations that his autistic son, Akian, was “bullied” and “humiliated” by staff members at Horace Mann Elementary.

As with all stories, there is more than one side. Please read this in its entirety before you comment.

As he stated in his over-dramatized, well-staged YouTube video, entitled, “Teacher/Bully: How My Son Was Humiliated and Tormented by his Teacher and Aide¹,” Chaifetz begins by painting a parentally “rosy” view of his autistic child. Akian is said to be, “…this wonderful, happy child. And he always has been.”

Now, beyond the basics, I have a somewhat limited understanding of autism. That being said, I did a little research.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine², autism or pervasive developmental disorder in both typical and atypical (PDS-NOS) forms carry specific behavioral attributes and indicators. Among the most common are:

• Have unusual distress when routines are changed
• May treat others as if they are objects
• Prefers to spend time alone, rather than with others
• Shows a lack of empathy
• "Acts up" with intense tantrums
• Has a short attention span
• Has very narrow interests
• Is overactive
• Shows aggression to others or self
• Shows a strong need for sameness

Medicines are often used to treat behavior or emotional problems such as:

• Aggression
• Anxiety
• Attention problems
• Extreme compulsions that the child cannot stop
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsiveness
• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Outbursts
• Sleep difficulty
• Tantrums

Mr. Chaifetz would have us believe that it was so, “…shocking…” when he received reports of his ten-year-old son acting out and “…hitting the teacher and hitting aides and throwing chairs over. And none of it made sense because he had never been violent.” Chaifetz goes on to say that he had never seen him [Akian] hit anyone.

Interesting. Doubly so due to the fact that a “normal” child would be disciplined for this behavior. But, Akian is, “special.”

The fact that the reported behaviors are quite common in autistic persons - especially children – make me doubt the truthfulness of this statement. On the other hand, Chaifetz may not have observed these behaviors - as we all know, children will act differently, in different environments. But it is understandable. What parent wouldn’t try to paint their child in the best possible light?

Chaifetz also downplays the fact the he and Akian’s mother live in separate households and Akian is with him most of the time but visits his mother, “every other weekend.”

This would be a difficult and stressful situation for a normally-developed child and, in particular, one with autism (refer to autistic behaviors above). Chaiftez also goes on to say that he [Akian] has “anxieties about the transition back and forth” but that it is “natural” and “no big deal.”

No big deal? Seriously? Yes, it is. It can also be a HUGE contributing factor causing a child to act out. Reading between the lines, it would seem that Akian was anxious about going to his mother’s - and on the very same day his father attached a recording device, or “wire” as Mr. Chaifetz referrers to it. This would have been an additional deviation from Akian’s routine which most likely only contributed to his anxiety and acting out.

Mr. Chaifetz stated that he was notified of the behavioral issues during the first week of school. Assuming Akian began school on September 6^th, 2011, Mr. Chaifetz allowed this to go on for approximately one month.

In a written statement Chaifetz wrote that he , “…had a meeting with the IEP team (the teacher, school social worker, occupational therapist and speech teacher) to try to figure out what was going on. From that meeting, a behaviorist was called in who wrote a report.”

In the YouTube video, Chaifetz says, “We had an IP meeting. For those that don’t know what that is, um, it’s when the parents sit down with the teacher and staff and you try to plan out your child’s educational program. Well, from that we brought in (pause) or the school brought in a behaviorist. To try to find out what’s going on.”

My first thought was, what kind of educational program? The child will very doubtfully ever learn basic skills such as speaking, reading or writing let alone advanced skills. It is sad, I know. I will come back to this later in the article.

My second thought is that the two accounts, while similar, are not the same.

Apparently, the “behaviorist” is a very slow report writer or Chaifetz was not very aggressive with his fact finding as it was not until February 8^th 2012 (almost four months later) that Mr. Chaifetz, “…sat down with the behaviorist… to review the findings.”

As a parent, I would like to think that I would have been much more aggressive in determining the issue. I also most definitely would have taken a hard look at the school and his living situation with mom.

I would like to stop here to touch on Mr. Stuart Chaifetz’ potential illegal action in attaching a recording device to his child.

According to his YouTube video, this potentially illegal recording occurred on Friday, February 17^th, 2012 and consisted of approximately six and a half of hours of recorded audio.

In most states, audio recording laws require at least one party directly involved have knowledge that an audio recording device is being used to record a conversation. Some states require that both parties agree to the audio recording to make it legal and admissible as evidence.

New Jersey State Wiretapping Law [Title2:156A, 2,3]¹ operates under the former, one-party rule. To paraphrase, the law states that you may record a conversation or phone call if you are a party to the conversation or you obtain permission from one party to the conversation in advance.

Chaifetz was not a party to the conversation as he was not present.

Chaifetz’ son, being both a minor and mentally challenged cannot grant permission and therefore is not culpable.

Thus the vicarious liability falls on Mr. Chaifetz - qui facit per alium, facit per se - the one who acts through another, acts in his or her own interests.

Quite obviously, the staff and students at Horace Mann were unaware of the recording-in-progress.

Why is this important?

Well, for starters, it is illegal. In the State of New Jersey, a violation of Title 2A, Section 156 A-3 is a Crime in the Third Degree and is punishable by three to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000. Civil penalties may also be sought.

In most instances, audio recordings depict only one part of an incident and are difficult to interpret as you cannot see either the physical environment or the parties involved. Body language, location, actions of other individuals, etc… are omitted from the equation. Audio recording can also be edited or sections omitted (as in this case) to skew the perception of the conversation.

On the other side of the coin, audio recordings can capture information that was not intended as part of the original purpose.

You may have heard the saying, “Children say the darndest things.” How would it make you feel to know that the audio recording may have captured something that your child said at school while passing Mr. Chaifetz’ son on the way to class? Most likely it would be innocent, childish conversation. Perhaps it would be something personal as it relates to your family. Perhaps the recording captured the teachers and aides discussing confidential matters as they relate to other students, staff, or District Policies.

Were I the parent of another student or a staff member at Horace Mann, I would be outraged that this was allowed to occur. In my opinion, upon learning of the Video, the District should have filed an injunction to have it removed until such a time as the allegations were investigated.

Much like when adults have discussions around very young children or animals, the verbal filters are off as there is no expectation that the conversation can or will be repeated. By his own admission, Mr. Chaifetz’ son, Akian, falls into this category being both mentally and vocally challenged. Likely, the other students in the classroom also fall into this category to the same or varying degrees.

Being a parent myself, I respect Mr. Chaifetz’ concern for his child.

However, and in my opinion, a responsible parent would have addressed the issue differently and not use his or her child to commit a potential criminal and emotionally harmful act. Instead of following the law and morality, Chaifetz went about his entire “investigation” like a vigilante.

Mr. Chaifetz could have requested to visit the classroom himself or alternately requested a District official to act as an observer. He could have spoken to District officials to obtain permission for audio and/or video recording of the classroom. He could have moved his child to another school.

Instead, Mr. Chaifet’s own, personal brand of raison d’etat was not only illegal, but it also violated the civil rights of the staff, students and parents of the students. By suspending morality in favor of a sneaky, under-handed tactic, Mr. Chafietz shows his true colors by focusing more on media sensationalism and potential personal gain. Mr. Chaifetz would have us believe that this is not the case.

At the beginning of the audio recording, and before class begins, you can hear one staff member speaking to another and under that, an inarticulate child’s voice at the same time. The audio would indicate that the staff member was attempting to finish a conversation before the class began. There is then is a loud “whack” sound and you immediately hear one of the staff members say, “Shut up!” Then more inarticulate sounds.

Initially, I was shocked by this outburst but then went on to listen further - replaying the audio several times. This is what I heard directly after.

“But wait a second. Do you have any idea how painful that is? As a grown up? I told you what happened to me. I said I was dying and took myself to the hospital for a spinal tap.”

I can only surmise from the audio (as we are unable to see what actually occurred, that the teacher was frustrated at being continuously interrupted. The child became angry because it was being ignored and struck the teacher with an object. The staff member expressed the pain that had been caused.

There is no evidence to support that this was Akian or another child, but I guess we are to assume it was, in fact, Mr. Chaiftez son, Akian.

According to the YouTube video, shortly thereafter, the bell rings and class begins. Again as we have no visual and no reference of time.

The tone at this point is entirely different. The staff member’s tone is happy and jovial.

Staff: “Hey what’s up guys? What’s to – day!?

Students: “Friday.”

Staff: “Yeah, it is. And what do we have tomorrow?”

Students: “No school.”

Staff: “Woohoo!

Staff: “And what about Monday?

Staff (echoing): “What about Monday?”

Students: “No school.”

Staff (singsong, accompanied by taps): “No school on Saturday and no school on Monday.”

Student: (unintelligible)

Staff: “Yep. I’m doin’ the happy dance. I’m so very happy. Do you know why?”

At this point the tone changes and it is apparent that the teacher is no longer speaking to the children. The staff member tells the other that she had a bottle of wine with her girlfriend last night. Now in today’s progressive society, that may have meant friend or it may have meant significant other. If it was the latter, did that individual wish for that to be public knowledge on a viral YouTube video?

Mr. Chaifetz would like us to believe that this behavior is “alcohol abuse” and that the staff member was “under the influence of alcohol.” Did the individual wish it to be known that she had drank alcohol the night before? That was private information. It occurred while the staff member was on her personal time. His statement was, in my opinion both invasive and slanderous.

On, the other hand, that is not a discussion to have in ANY classroom whether or not the children can understand. Save it for before class, the teachers lounge or on a break.

Since when does a couple of drinks constitute alcoholism? It may in your world Mr. Chaifetz, but it does not in mine. That is complete and utter tripe.

I think that we also have to realize exactly how stressful being a teacher can be. Especially a Special Needs teacher in the Public Education System dealing with difficult children (as Akian sounds to be).

At this point, Mr. Chaifetz made a snide remark about how it is, “…fun to talk about the fact that you go out and get drunk in front of a room full of ten year old boys with autism, isn’t it? That’s what they did.”

Never, at any time did I hear the staff member state that she was “drunk.” She did indicate that it made her feel ill in the morning. She also said that she hadn’t eaten. Wine contains sulfites. A great many people have allergies to sulfites in varying degrees. On an empty stomach that effect may be intensified. The “heaving” may have been an allergic reaction or it may not have been.

Mr. Chaifetz comments on the subject are subjective and skewed toward his personal agenda with the video. By his own admission, the children in the class, including his son Akian, would not have understood the conversation. He would like us to believe that these children are being treated as sub-human.

Chaifetz would also like us to believe, as indicated by the text portions of the YouTube video, that “The only time during the day that Akian screamed or cried..,” was when he was mistreated.

Listen to what follows. There is as series of sounds as if from a barking dog. The staff member then says in a low tone, “Oh boy. Knock it off.” Which is followed by a scream. Then a staff member telling the child to, “Shut your mouth.”

Was that Akian, barking and screaming? Mr. Chaiftez said it was.

However, I wholeheartedly agree that an educator should never tell a child to shut his or her mouth. I have heard this before in public schools and absolutely do not condone that behavior. In, my opinion, “knock it off” in response to barking and screaming is a mild response.

The audio continues, purportedly, with one of the staff stating, “Oh, Akian. You are a bastard.” The audio is very muffled and almost imperceptible. The first part, “Oh…” and the second part, “You are a…” can be heard clearly through audio enhancement. The final part sounds more like “mess” than “bastard.”

My biggest concern on this issue lies not with both the Staff at Horace Mann Elementary or Mr. Chaifetz but with the children. Both parties participated in wrong-doings and two wrongs do not make a right, Mr. Chaifetz. Additionally, Chaifetz is actively filtering out negative commentary and posts from the sites he has control over – leaving only comments in support of his case.

Chaifetz is guilty of many of the offenses he has accused the staff at Horace Mann Elementary and takes no responsibility for Akian’s autism or his broken home and the impact it has on the child. Instead he seeks only to blame the educators for his child’s behaviors.

Ultimately, Akian is Mr. Chaifetz’ responsibility. Chaifetz displays very mild facial archetypal characteristics commonly found in mongoloid down syndrome. Studies of autism show that genetic factors are important. Language abnormalities are more common in relatives of autistic children. Chromosomal abnormalities and other nervous system (neurological) problems are also more common in families with autism¹.

That being said, potentially, Mr. Chaifetz and his (ex?) wife conceived Akian knowing that he may be born with a developmental disorder?

The harsh reality is that people like Mr. Chaiftez use the Public School Systems as a baby-sitting service for a child that they have neither the means nor desire to take care of themselves.

People like Mr. Chaifetz will shout about what is fair and right for their children while the normally-developed children are crammed into classes with a 30:1 student/teacher ratio. As the proud parent of a 4.0 GPA student, who will go on to be a productive, healthy tax-paying member of society, this sickens me to no end.

Walk into one of these “classrooms” sometime. I think that you’d be shocked. I once saw three staff members attending a diaper change on a high school student who could neither walk, speak or take care of him/her self.

Growing up, I remember a time when the School District I attended shut down bus service due to budgetary constraints. I lived fifteen miles out-of-town. Guess what? The special needs children were still transported.

Children like Akian have no place in a Public School where they consume staff resources and building space. The sad reality is that Akian, and children like him will most likely never be productive members of society. Their flawed genetic material is allowed to propagate through the gene pool.

I know, I know, I’m a bastard (or a mess depending on how you hear it) for saying that. I will most likely be branded as uncaring, heartless, mean and my comments and posts filtered out. The fact is that I do care – about the children who will grow up and give back to society. I would like to say that the parents of these “special needs” children not be allowed to enter their children into public, tax-pay funded schools but, in deference to the liberal bleeding-hearts, I won’t.

You can say that those parents pay taxes also, but compared to the cost of a “Special Education Program”, those contributions do not even begin to cover the cost. Thus, the rest of the taxpayers bear the brunt. At what point did the good of the few began to outweigh the good of the many?

The Public Schools were never designed to handle these cases. The environment is wrong for them and it is cruel to think otherwise. Loud bells, other children running and playing, teachers who have neither the training nor the disciple to baby-sit are just a few reasons. As an educator, how thankless is the task of caring for Special Needs children knowing that your efforts are entirely wasted and would have server a better purpose – like, say, teaching.

Take a look at other countries like Japan who place their Special Needs children in schools separate from the normally developed children.

And now to my final point:

I propose that the U.S. Taxpayers challenge the Public Education System to follow suit and create separately funded and specially staffed schools were the needs of children like Akian can be met in a safe, comfortable environment.

Then, maybe, our teachers can get back to the task of educating…

If you agree with this, please sign the following petition:

Ref.

1.

#!

2.

N.J. Stat. §§ 2A:156A-3, -4. (link is to the entire code; you need to click through to Title 2A, Article 156A, and then locate the specific provisions).

3.

Uploader Comments ( StuChaifetz )

• Hi everyone - due to the large amount of inappropriate posts, I had to begin to "approve" comments instead of letting them through automatically. I really apologize for that - it's not what I want to do, but after seeing some of the posts I felt I had no choice. Unfortunately, I can't keep up with the comments that are pouring in and I need to get to sleep. I will begin approving comments first thing in the morning. Thank you all and again, sorry for having to do this.

StuChaifetz 3 days ago 8041

Maybe he doesn't understand what happened. Even he admits he's not 100% sure the voices on the tape are the teacher. Have you ever considered that there's another side? The offending parties SHOULD be punished. But first they must be identified. The full story in investigations like this matters.

You're right Mountain Earth. It's really hard to understand what is going on when your child is being called a bastard by the very people there to educate him, and then further tortured by those very people and it's on an impromptu recording that neither knew about. /sarcasm

The kid has TWO teachers, there are TWO women's voices on the recording. Doesn't take a real genius here.

He's NOT a genius. He's a moron!

Before proved guilty. What a GREAT system. When teachers are judged guilty based on a audio recording that even the father will not state without reservation is a specific individual they should simply refuse to teach. A total walkout and let the parents educate their kids. Teachers have to be concerned that every word can be taken out of context and they are hung out to dry. PROVE them guilty. This You Tube crap is BS.

Teachers should start recording the kids in secret. then let's see parents start their bitching. A kid gets violent and strikes a teacher, have him charged criminally. This works both ways. Kid is disruptive, throw him out of school. then it's private school or home school. I'd love to see some of these parents teach even a first grade subject.

Over reaction usually gets a school system a huge civil settlement paid out. I can see that coming here if handled incorrectly.

The kid has TWO teachers, there are TWO women's voices on the recording.

And yet the father who has spoken with this teacher several times in his own words cannot say FOR SURE it is the teacher. Sounds like he's covered his butt just in case he's proven wrong and a civil suit comes about.

Before calling for anyone to be fired, he better be POSITIVE and be ready to back it up. Or wait until the investigation is done. I wonder if his son's new teacher speaks to him at all?

The father ALWAYS has the option to home school his autistic child, but he's sending his child to others to teach. His answer is "Let's wire the kid and see what's going on in the class?"

I'm married to a teacher and have a special needs child, so I see both sides.

My only comment to all parents is 'get involved, and go to your childs class and see what is occuring on a daily basis'. Classes sizes are overloaded and children that have behavior problems in addition to special needs are in the same class sitting right next to your kid (yes, my kid is next to yours). Yet we blame the teachers. How about the parents look at themselves and see how they can do what's best for their own kid.

The father may have addressed one issue but going national demanding the teacher's livelyhood without positive undeniable proof, is not going to endear any other teachers to reach out beyond what they must to assist his child.

I wish I had a dollar for every time parents have demanded, treatened, or cajoled the school and my spouse when they have approached the parents with difficulties with the child or educational progress. The system is setup to do the best you can with what you have, nothing more.

Get involved personally if you want to make a difference in your child's life .....

Penny his child was in a special autism only class not mainstreamed. Listen to the first video. Many of the facts are laid out in the first 4 minutes.

AND I'm surprised an educator or one married to one would be so ignorant of FAPE. I suggest you and your spouse study that law as your ignorance could lead to violating it.

Not everyone is capable of teaching even in a homeschool environment but every child is entitled to a free adequate public education. To suggest otherwise is a violation of our children civil rights.

Do teachers have control of what aid is assigned to them? Where was the teacher? Maybe the bathroom. Maybe discussing business with the administration? What good are aids if the teacher cannot leave them with the students?

Wow. So, the teacher notices aggressive behaviors from a special needs child that always begin in her absence and thinks nothing of it? It is difficult to believe that this teacher couldn't put two and two together.

While she may not have had any say in who is assigned to her...she should have say over who must go. Unless this type of behavior from aides is acceptable because the children can't 'tell' their parents or anyone else for that matter what is going on.

They should.. My son went to a daycare that had a camera system set up that I could log into and check up on things online..

It may even help children behave better to know their parents could be watching them..

The surveillance system would be great. record both the teacher and student actions. but when it is shown that the child is unruly and uncontrollable and disruptive, he or she is OUT. let the parent pay their kid's way. While this is news today, their are more than a few kid's that are an outright danger to the staff and other kids. Why do they stay in the system? Now you would have proof. No tax dollars being spent to keep these kids in the system.

I wonder how it would be received if a teacher secretly recorded the classes and showed a disruptive student? I wonder if the parents would raise a stink?

ONLY the aid was fired. The teacher was..reassigned.

If I blew it or if a team doesn't do well who gets the axe - the coach. Who sets the tone of a class room?

Who is suppose to make sure ALL students are respected?

I've worked in classrooms. Some teachers are able to put aside their feeling to make sure all kids get the respect they deserve. Many didn't. Handicap kids can be a challenge, but they deserve the support needed to reach for the stars. This obviously wasn't a one time deal. The dad felt strongly enough to wire the kid (Good for you,Dad).

The union or a stupid school board is keeping this teacher employed. Who will be her next victim in her dislike for or her lack of control over those under her charge. BUT then again, teachers don't except the responsibilty in the handing of any kind of abuse - do they? Whenthe abused kid stands up for himself, he's thrown out of school. But I have to ask, Is this like move a priest to another church? To be fair, this doesn't belong on Youtube.

scalzo, the law does not allow that. education is a right, not a privilege. if a child with a disability is expelled (which can happen) the district is still required to provide an education.

R. Scalzo, in answer to your questions, there are normally set steps that allow a school to remove a student from the classroom that is overly disruptive. My mother has taught special ed across 3 states now, and while the exact procedures vary, they all generally follow documentation of severe disruption, witnesses and on occasion police and hospital reports. Once a child is removed they will either got to a residential facility for children with severe problems or be put on what's referred to as "homebound". The residential facility normally has a teacher on staff for the students education (actual staff or contracted from the school varies by area). Homebound students remain in their home with their parents, and have a teacher come to them for 1-2 hours per evening through the week.

Not speaking in terms of only Special Ed. Any classroom setting. teachers start secretly recording the classes. Will the school system be swamped with demands to remove students? Will it result in the same demands? Removal with no investigation or review?

Homebound students would in many cases totally disrupt the lives of the family. Employment is now difficult to impossible.No one ever said it's easy on any level to educate these students. I know what family members went through. So in your case (Monkey) if your mother was accused of making a comment deemed inappropriate, You'd be fine with no investigation or inquiry? simply terminate and removal of any certificates to teach based on a recording that has not been subjected to any investigation? Knee jerk reaction is acceptable? I doubt it.

The teacher has been removed from the setting. Has anyone said that the incident is now closed? I haven't heard that. Now as Mr. Chaifetz is said to be an investigator with this animal group, are his investigations done in this manner? No proof? I'd have to wonder than if he's as incompetent as he claims the teacher is said to be.

the law does not allow that. education is a right, not a privilege. if a child with a disability is expelled (which can happen) the district is still required to provide an education

So you're saying that a child cannot easily be throw out of the system without some proof of being disruptive to the point of causing a detrimental effect on the other students? A simple statement by a teacher or a aid couldn't accomplish that? Odd as that's what many are demanding.

Maybe the teachers should demand a safe workplace (as required under the law) so why not throw out the kids based on a comment or action reported by someone, namely the teacher. Why not just call it what it is...Due Process.

R scalzo is your REAL name Jodi or Kelly by any chance? Married to either one of them? Cause you sure seem to be defending them for all your worth. They dont deserve it. What they did was cruel and violated this childs rights. defending them is DISGUSTING.

When the improper actions are verified, then take action. As the child's father will not say for sure the teacher is on the audio, maybe actually proving the action is warranted. Love these losers who want to jump the gun with no positive proof.

I'd like to see her picture splattered all over the media with a caption saying "This is the heartless bitch that bullies helpless autistic kid"

You mean do what Rosie O'Donnald did making an ass out of herself. Good move.

Put away your torch, please, and stop inciting a lynch mob mentality. we don't have any proof that hte teacher named in this article did anything wrong. Some parents really irationally hate certain teachers sometimes, and get nutso about it. Believe me, I know -- I have friends and relatives who are teachers, and I've seen it happen.

I refuse to tar and feather this teacher just because this guy keeps screaming about her. It's pretty clear that the district determined that she wasn't the one saying mean things on that tape.

It's funny. If one of my employees royally messes up, guess what? I get fired along with them because I'm responsible for them.

What makes this woman so special? Her classroom, her responsibility, her ass on the line regardless of whether she was aware or not.

Emanualle, the teacher cannot hear every word uttered by every aide in her room -- they may be across the room out of earshot. Also, the aide GOT FIRED. So maybe the teacher DID do something -- reported the aide's inappropriate before, and got the aide fired. Doesn't that sound plausible?

So you still want the teacher fired for something that a now-fired aide did in her classroom? That makes no sense.

Considering this went on for who knows how long, and it took the guy wiring his child and exposing these individuals for any action to be taken, I'm fairly certain the teacher did nothing to abate this. The firing of the aid is directly correlated to the exposure, not the teacher doing a thing.

And to your point, yes, she should be fired. Ignorance is no defense.

MisterHippity, the aide got fired after the entire 6.5 hours of tape was delivered to the school board. On the tape is the teacher colluding with the aide and the school social worker (Jody) to tank an emergency IEP meeting. Also on the tape is the teacher instructing the aides on what to tell the parents and other staff when the teacher doesn't show up for a Field Day that she is REQUIRED by her contract to attend. The teacher did NOT report the behavior and was complicit in the atmosphere of neglect and abuse of the autistic students in her classroom.

How was that conversation related to the treatment of the child? Were either of those parties aware they were being recorded. NJ can become the wiretap capital of the world. Start planting recorders to entrap unsuspecting people. This father took what was a serious incident involving his kid and expanded it to private conversations having no connection. Even on a court ordered wiretap those areas would be required to be excluded. That part of it is simply a means to increase interest in his efforts.

If the employees are violating terms of their contract, let the school, address it. Maybe next time I'm out, I'll start recording people's conversations in hopes of catching some embarrassing comment. Great way to live.

The IEP meeting was DIRECTLY related to the child since it was the child's IEP meeting.

John,

Not everyone has believed in the same god since history began being recorded, so, your 1st condition is a non issue.

!. God was taken out by the Founders...go dig them up and complain

2.Tell me the difference between a nun using rulers and her sisters condoning it and taking up themselves and a Union?

So they took god out of the school and that caused the woman to instantly become a bitch ? Great reasoning !!!!

Go to the website that has additional audio from the 6.5 hours of tape. She did a LOT wrong and there are points where she is clearly the one talking.

I come from a family of teachers. My uncle was a special ed teacher for 12 years, my mom is still a special ed teacher after a brief stint in administration. Let me be VERY clear on this fact: The FULL responsibility of a special education classroom lies with the licensed teacher. If an aide acts out of line, the teacher is responsible for catching the indiscretion and reporting it immediately. It does not matter if the teacher called the child a name herself or not, unless she can prove without a doubt that she was out of the classroom each and every time it happened, she is responsible. This is the policy of every district and state that my family has had contact with and seems to be universal in the US school system (it may be a federal regulation, but I'm don't know). The father stated that the child's behaviour was cited as an issue since school started and that he made the tape in February. The teacher would be hard pressed to provide credible evidence that over the course of 6 months she was completely unaware of the types of abuse her aides were demonstrating. Yes, she should be immediately removed from her position.

I'd have to say as a teacher you should as least know the rights afforded everyone in this country. You ARE correct when you say the majority of teachers are fine and try their best. The NJ educational system has shown the result with high ratings.

As the father himself will not say with certainty that the teacher was even recorded. 99 percent sure? How did he rate that? Is he sure or not? If the school; administration goes ahead at this point and fires the teacher and it's later found that she was not in fact on the recording, does the taxpayer simply walk away after the six figure settlement? Does Dad simply hand over the award when he is sued? Or does the school remove the teacher from the element and find out some facts?

In fact I'd like to know if the two employees discussing their private activities the night before were in any way involved? Were they two unrelated employees? If so, I'd be pissed that i was secretly recorded and private affairs disclosed. Let Dad prove they were intoxicated or simply have a headache from wine. Many get the same effect from the sulfates. The media is grabbing at anything. In this case, he could be looking to make a splash. Does an employee with a migraine looked at by him in the same manner?

That would be unfortunate because he does have a valid concern. Too bad he looked to the You Tube form of justice.

I sofa king we tall ed.

These kids shouldn't even be in school. They are dangerous.

rrgorge:

sofa king what???

Mike (Post 25.2)

Your ignorance is amazing !

How many school kids have been injured by autistic kids in this country ? How many school kids have been hurt by NON autistic kids ?

You know nothing.

How does it FEEL to have everyone here KNOW you're a fool ?

Heya there Mike are you a troll or are you just that stupid?

My Lord Mike. Think about what you said. You actually had to spend the time to write the words which tells me there is virtually nothing between your ears.

To everyone else- my son is has autism. It's hard us on from so many directions. PLEASE take the time to reach out to a child, adult, or family impacted by autism (we like to call it awesome-ism as there are so many great things our son teaches us). Now that I think about it, not just people impacted by autism, but any disability or just person in need of a helping hand.

RoseCarolina-SPAM ALERT!!! MODERATORS????

Two points to the ignorant trolls Mike and Tahoe

A) his child was in a special autism only class. This WAS NOT A MAINSTREAM CLASS ROOM

b) FAPE rights. google it if you can understand big words like legal, federal etc. This child and every child is ENTITLED UNDER LAW TO AN EDUCATION AND HAS EVERY RIGHT TO BE IN SCHOOL.

Mike Filmore should be deported back to the sleazy place he came from.

He is not American, he is a sociopath with Nazi tendencies!

You should have gone to school to get an education Mike... Your ignorance is disgusting to all Americans.