5 year old voted out of class
May 25th, 2008
Teacher lets Morningside students vote out classmate, 5
PORT ST. LUCIE — Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son’s kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.
After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn’t like about Barton’s 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.
By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex — who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism — out of the class.
Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside’s school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney’s office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.
Port St. Lucie Police no longer are investigating, but police officials are documenting the complaint, she said.
Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.
Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.
Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal’s office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.
Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.
Children diagnosed with Asperger’s often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior..
Barton said after the vote, Portillo asked Alex how he felt.
“He said, ‘I feel sad,’ ” Barton said.
Alex left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse’s office, she said.
Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse’s office.
“He was shaken up,” she said.
Barton said the nurse told her to talk with Portillo, who told her what happened.
Alex hasn’t been back to school since then, and Barton said he won’t be returning. He starts screaming when she brings him with her to drop off his sibling at school.
Thursday night, his mother heard him saying “I’m not special” over and over.
Barton said Alex is reliving the incident.
The other students said he was “disgusting” and “annoying,” Barton said.
“He was incredibly upset,” Barton said. “The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this.”
This shit is what happens when a teacher has to have sex with a child to be fired. This shit just doesn’t come out of the blue, she has have a history of bullying students yet she is still a teacher. When are the school systems in this country going to learn to get rid of the bad teachers?
Florida,Florida stupidity, school, teacher, teachers, autism, Asperger syndrome
Categories: Stupidity
This is pathetic. No teacher has a right to put the other students in a position of control over the others– if you do, what’s next? Who gets to have lunch in the cafeteria? Who gets to attend field trips? Who can have services of the nurse?
This made me come to tears. How could a Teacher ask her student to do her job. When I was in school we voted on who we want to be king and queen. Who the class president was etc. But, never were we ask to vote a classmate out. These are children . Please that teacher…needs to be dismissed…and rolled over the coals on every comedy show on tv. Shame on you and shame on the school, and the whole state of Florida if she gets away with this. And if it is so easy to do …I vote her out and she should never be allowed to teach again.
Kathy Scism
Germantown, Tn.
I assisted in a classroom for 11 years. This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable, unprofessional, and, YES, legal actions need to be taken!
This teacher (who ostrisized this 5year old) NEEDS TO BE FIRED!!
” But the state attorney’s office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse,” … THIS IS BULL. Any one of us (parents) to do this would have CPS called on us and the family would be in serious danger of separation for this type of ABUSE!
The disabillitys act protects this child and should be utilized to the full extent to protect him from Adult Bullying!
All children are special gifts from God. I really feel bad for the other kids because they were placed in an uncomfortable situation. The teacher didn’t want extra work. My son is ADHD. The school went above and beyond to make him feel special. He has done great. He was treated with medication. We also did behavior modification.
This young man is going to sail high.
I’m speechless and in tears. How could a teacher of little children be so ignorant and cruel.
i think it’s awesome. if the kid wasnt a shithead, then there would be no problem. as the parent of a 5 year old, i feel that people should quit trying to have their children “diagnosed” with a problem. face it, bad parenting is to blame here. there is no discipline anymore, period.
I’d like to know who the 2 who voted for the child to stay were. I’d like to hug them and congradulate their parents for raising exceptionally kind children.
I’d like to slap the teacher. Really. Physically slap her.
I’d like to see her have to stand in front of the school board and have all the parents tell her what they don’t like about her.
matt: The kid has asperger syndrome, a form of autism. And even if he didn’t theres no excuse for what that teacher did. What she did was wrong and theres no justification for it.
Did you even read the part where it says what the incident did to the boy?
Theres no excuse. What she did was wrong. His actions where a sign that there is something wrong with him or his home life and there is something wrong with him, he has autism. Children, especially young children who act out like that usually have something wrong with them or there home life or both. Children don’t just act out in bad ways for no reason.
Beside the fact that the teacher has no right in the world guiding and teaching our world most precious resorce, the big problem is the teacher’s union. Teacher’s know that they are protected under there union and therefore are less accountable for there actions. Im sure if she would have done this without the excistence of a union she wouldnt make it past the first newspaper article.
How many laws were broken here? Constitutional rights etc. I am the father of an autistic 7 year old, it isnt easy but we have not only had to teach him but also every one else including the school system that has no idea what autism is. This teacher should not be able to teach any more. if this was done to a “normal” child, heads would roll , not to mention the stigma that the child would cary the rest of their life. Every one needs to read up on autism , it is a spectrum disorder. Some children are so severe they cant talk or move , others are very high functioning and may be termed ecentric or genius.
Mike Miser
Ohio
The teacher was clearly wrong to subject this child to this humiliation. He will bear this scar for the rest of his life and she should pay for her mistake, at the very least her teaching credentials should be revoked and she should never again be allowed to work in a school.
That said, the parents also deserves a big share of the blame. Why was this child in that class to start with? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (which his parents are clearly not) to see that any 5-year old with numerous visits to the principals office has a problem. Sorry, but 5-year olds rarely visit the principal. The parents need to wake up and provide the care their child needs
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