More On "It Is What It Is"

In response to this post

After the 12 or 13 years I spent learning the ways of the HCDS and special education gimmicks, there are so many different avenues of concepts I could go down, I don't know which one to take first.

I will start with that I did all of the following except picketing. My trip to Washington D.C. to speak to legislators may substitute for that.

"We've yelled, picketted, written e mails, spoken at SB meetings, tried to get straight answers from ROSSAC....".

I fully understand that ESE issues are systemic and nation wide. In the last Report to Congress, not a single state was in full compliance with IDEA, with of course some states worse than others. I can find the link to the report if it matters.

In response to this statement, "Parents need to get togeter--LOTS of you and start showing some muscle-- and legal authority.", I will say this:
You may or may not be surprised how difficult it is for "legal authority" to be brought about. The District understands this fully well. They know exactly how to limit their liability, and it has nothing to do with dealing up front with parents.

I think I have used the word "obfuscation" a few times. "Smoke and mirrors" comes to mind, also. "The shell game" may be another apt metaphor.

Over the years, I have witnessed some school employees, some of who I knew in other settings outside of the school system, act in ways that were quite shocking when it comes to wriggling around ESE issues.

For the one's that end up with problems, parents, and teachers, simply have too much trust for the system until they get to the point where they become so angry they lose their ability to advocate. Another dirty secret is, "the system" understands that and relies upon it. I don't make this stuff up. I have lived it and studied it.

I agree that parents can bring about change. On one of my posts on this blog or over in the Motel Special Ed, I wrote about how parents and teachers together could be more effective, as teachers have the "inside information" and parents have the "right to be a fully informed participant of the IEP process" and they are (supposed to be) a decision maker regarding their child's Individualized Education Program. I emphasise the word "Individualized", one because that is the word used in IDEA, and two, because it holds more implications than just simply "individual". How many ESE classrooms have IEP's that all look the same?Or, maybe if the written IEP's don't actually look the same, the related services and supports are delivered the same to all of the students?

And then there is this: "Teachers just can't do any more."

The more and more that teachers don't carry the water for the district and instead be honest with parents, the quicker parents will understand the game. I have written before about how teachers, unwittingly or not, create a relationship with parents where the parents (metaphorically) end up "slapping the teacher" because the teacher is the "closest" one to the parent. I believe this was the statement almost at the end of the post that I used to try to illustrate the concept: "To make the metaphor clear, teachers are getting slapped by the parents because of what the administration is doing."

I believe you make my point when you said: "I'm sick to death of having to apologize and explain to parents."

Somebody once said "love is never having to say you're sorry". Teachers and parents may not have to love each other, but they should treat each other with respect. I have many times said I would trust a used car salesman as much as I would trust what I was told from some school people.

I am not sure if this mess can be cleaned up from the bottom. Time will tell. Because it is what it is.