Do you think there should be camera's in special needs classrooms?

Denikka - posted on 07/10/2012

I am personally all for cameras in all classrooms.
I don't have special needs kids, and am not special needs myself, so that has never been an issue for me. But in elementary school, specially around grade 3, I decided that cameras should be in every classroom, no matter what.
A few of the teachers in my elementary (K-grade 7) school should not have been teaching. One got physically abusive after not being able to handle a specific child. She had always been short tempered and yelled a lot. I was not in the classroom at the time the incident happened (I had already moved up a grade) but I was in the classroom next to hers and we could all hear the yelling and the banging. We were told later, by students in her class, that over the course of a few incidents, she had broken multiple rulers over this boys desk and had thrown both a trashcan (empty) and a chair in his direction. Neither object actually hit him and the rulers were used only on the desk, not him.
Now, this was a kid that could probably have used a good wack upside the head. He was a constant trouble maker, and to an extreme. He was uncontrollable and daddy was always there to defend him. Dad had enough swing with the higher ups that nothing could really be done with him. The child was pretty much non verbal at that age (which only slightly improved as he got older) not because of a disability (although he was deemed to be slow), but because he had never been forced to use words. His parents had accepted grunts, screams etc as communication and given him what he wanted. He COULD talk, not well, but he could. He just chose not to even attempt to express himself in anything more sophisticated than grunts.

I would have loved to see this teacher fired. But no one could ever do anything about her (and oh man, there were attempts!!) The teachers of that school closed rank and that was it. Video proof of this psycho behaviour would have done WONDERS!
And I think that may be one reason the schools aren't installing cameras/are against it. I think they fear the repercussions for a teacher having an off day. Many parents are WAY over protective as is. Can you imagine what would happen if a parent went in every day, demanding to see the tapes...just in case something may have happened? Chaos.
Not to mention that teachers are unionised. I know how hard it is to get a teacher off active duty WITH pay. I can only imagine the amount of red tape and crap you'd have to go through to actually get them fired. I have found that teachers tend to protect one another, even when they're in the wrong. How can they do that in the face of video proof.

Cherish - posted on 07/10/2012

I recently had issues with my sons school last year and the year before that.
I think they SHOULD have cameras in the class where children that are non-verbal are...

Children that can not speak and/or are not mobile are at a higher risk for abuse.Especially emotional/verbal abuse and neglect.
If the school is not doing anything wrong,than they would WELCOME cameras in the class.I think it would be a helpful teaching tool for non-verbal children with difficult behaviors..(to go back and see what happened and how it can be handled differently)

I will not babble on about this but the treatment of children w/special needs is at times appalling.I am thankful that MOST of the staff I have encountered have been wonderful,but when there is a problem and your child can not tell you what is going on,it is EXTREMELY distressing.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-educat...

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/0...

Tina - posted on 07/10/2012

I would like there to be cameras in all schools to be honest then if there's any discreprency especially if a child has reported any abuse there is proof. And any good teacher wouldn't object and would understand it's both for the teacher and childs best interest. In the case of a child lying about an incident the teacher would also have back up. I think they should be in play areas as well. It all comes down to cost too unfortunately and somebody has to pay for it. Would parents be willing?

Tara - posted on 07/09/2012

https://www.facebook.com/CamerasInSpecialNeedsClassrooms This is my Facebook Page. Please Help make this happen for the little to non verbal children that cant go home and tell how there day went in school. My Autism son came home with bruise on arm later classmate told me aide hit grabbed and screamed in my sons face. There were no cameras and school denying it ever happen. They are blaming the 2 boys Autism and said was made up. :( I wan't cameras in all the classrooms for safety of these special needs children and staff. Ty ---Tara Heidinger

Corinne - posted on 06/06/2012

I'd love to be abe to see what goes on in my kids' classes! My little girl has had some problems with bullies and sometimes won't go into class unless I physically pick her up and carry her in, but nobody seems to know why she's so upset. Also, she never tells me what she's learned that day, it's always 'nothing' or 'it was boring'.

Katherine - posted on 06/06/2012

Exactly. If you are teaching correctly then you should have NO problem having a camera in the classroom. Especially nowadays. My daughter gets bullied by this one boy and I would LOVE to see it on camera!!! He also calls her a pussy. What I wouldn't give to get my hands on him!

Louise - posted on 06/06/2012

I agree Katherine I would like to see all classrooms have a camera, to protect both child and teacher. You are a brave teacher to teach in some high schools. The comfort of knowing that everything is being recorded may encourage more teachers to stick with the job.

So many teachers stop teaching because of an ugly incident and all they have for evidence is a bunch of hormone happy kids that are just out for blood. I know I would not teach in a high school, no way, by the time our little darlings get to year six (age 11-12) they are a handful.

If we have nothing to hide then why object. The parents that do object need to ask themselves why. In our nurseries we now have nanny cam where the parent can dial in and watch what is going on. This gives new mums peace of mind that there little ones are not screaming for them all day and are actually happy and involved in having fun.