Monsieur Pants-on-Fire
Knowing that Pearlsky has NO real communication, the basic notes that come home from school are vital. The latest incarnation is the teacher sending an email at the end of everyday with the vital information. The format is the same, a simple table with what I need to know, such as did Pearlsky get her medications on time.
Today we have a pop-quiz. Are you ready? Here is how it works. I tell you a situation, then give you a very simple task.
Ready?
Situation
I received an email today at 2:22 P.M. (hint: times are very important here).
I’m sorry this is coming to you a bit early but I have to leave ten min.
early to take my kids to the doctor. Pearlsky had a good day, she was in a
good mood and ate very well.
and attached was the daily note:
Your task
What would you do, and why?
Shame on me! My knee jerk reaction was that you were being a jerk. I mean, give the person a break. They probably use the same chart every day, and they forgot to erase the older entries in the rush to leave early. I wasn’t going to comment because those kinds of comments are the last thing you need. I walked away from the computer and started thinking about it.
What if they are faking the chart every day? I started freaking out at that thought.
You need an accurate account of what went on during the day so that you know what Pearlsky needs after school. I’d be furious.
There is a fancy pants day care for pets where I live. They boast that they have cameras pointing in every spot that your pet would be. The cameras are watchable through a secure website with passwords. It would be wonderful if Pearlsky’s school had the cameras. You wouldn’t be able to watch the entire day, but you’d be able to peek in periodically. Also, I bet the staff would do their jobs the way they are suppose to.
If nothing happened on this specific day to make me think something went obviously wrong, I would take 24 hours to have a drink (or 3) and calm down before my next move to keep me from doing something that would land me in jail.
Then I would probably make copies of everything for future ammo against anybody who tries to use this kind of documentation as proof of…anything, really.
Yeah. What Rivka said. By the way, the end of the year is well past. Any word on Nasty Nurse?
It blows my mind that anyone would send that email to YOU. He must know by now that you pay attention. Close attention. I seriously wonder about this teacher’s skills of self preservation.
I’d comment, for sure. How about, “Can I borrow your time machine? I’d like to know what events are happening 20 minutes from now, too. I’d also like to be in two places at once.”
Can she predict the lotto numbers too? Ugh they think us parents with special needs kids are somehow impaired ourselves. I say go the bitch and report it and pray they invent portable nanny cams lol
Kick his ass,just because,enough is enough.
Sorry, but that is, in all honesty, what came to mind first. Give me a bit and I will try and come up with something slightly more rational and yes, non-violent.
Will these people ever stop and think, ever, just once, think of who they are dealing with before they try pulling this crap??
I’d kill myself. Because I couldn’t take it. But I’d have killed myself long ago if I were you, as you well know. Ok, maybe I wouldn’t. My way of saying I have no f*ing idea.
Okay, I love Beruriah’s idea, too, just because it sounds so snarky, and I go for that.
Ask him for winning lottery numbers, since he seems to be able to predict the future.
Okay, clearly this is a specific issue about today, so aside from that if leaving 10 minutes early means this e-mail comes at 2:22. Then normally the e-mail would come at 2:32? So does this teacher ever see Pearlsky get on the bus?
I agree with someone above, have a drink, you have more than earned it!!
I’m stuck with the word “chipper.”
Geez. I don’t know. But I like the “wait a day before you respond” idea — either to calm down, or too have several strong drinks, your choice.
How can you hate a guy that still uses the word “chipper”? You could write him back, say you were feeling “emo” about his time-stamp skills.
Gah! The guy is an idiot and a liar. He can’t help the first, but he should know by now that you check everything very carefully when it comes to Pearlsky’s well-being.
Therefore, he deserves to be beaten about the head and shoulders in a “chipper” fashion with a large frozen fish (perhaps a haddock?) because He. Just. Doesn’t. Get. It.
PS: A webcam in the classroom (aka Kid Storage Facility) would be marvellous. You could watch the teachers and aides lounging around, chatting about their favourite sitcoms and checking their Facebook pages.
This sort of thing would drive me nuts too. I think you have to come to the conclusion that the chart isn’t worth its paper in terms of giving you info on whether anything was done on it at all, much less at the time it was supposedly done. I had this problem with one of my kids when he was a young teen-just checking of the blocks without even reading the stuff,with no thought as to even doing them.
There is a trust that has to be there for that chart system to work. You have to trust that the persons filling it out take the thing seriously and you clearly do not have that situation. I think you are going to have to find another way to track what is done. Hate to say it, but a camera is probably the only way with the way this has been handled. I wouldn’t believe a thing on that chart anymore.
Generally speaking, I might give the person a break. They were honest about having to leave early and being up front with you. However the entry that would be concerning is the “meds on time in nurses office” at 2:30. Presumably they had to leave at 2:30, so did they really know Pearlsky got her meds on time?? The teacher probably should have had someone else verify the last events and email you instead, as well as give you a heads up about leaving early, etc. In this case I think you should at least bring it to their attention and question the accuracy of it.
I’m wondering if they fill this out for every child in her class. Maybe you could find out if he is this bad on all of them. Yes, because you have all the time in the world to contact Parents. Right? I would definitely address this in some fashion. Was there really no therapy on that day?
I say screw the teacher and request that the aid fill out the form, as she is most likely the one more intimately involved in Pearlsky’s care.At least that was how it always worked in my daughter’s situation.
I removed EM from the public school system in September, after 2 years in
ESE Pre-K, due to safety concerns.
He has made tremendous academic progress at his small, special needs private school. Very important, I have Peace of Mind regarding his safety, knowing that there are video cameras in every classroom and all common areas. All staff are aware of the monitoring equipment in the school director’s office, and know that the system is fully functional and
continually monitored.
Although EM has some speech, it is limited to 1 or 2 word phrases; there is no way at his present level, that he could ever describe an event that occurred at school. Video surveillance is an integral component of protecting our kids at school. There is no other way to have an unbiased system of checks and balances in self-contained classrooms for minimally/non-verbal kids.
We have an agreement with the school district, through a state program, where we relieve the district of any obligation to provide a FAPE for EM, in exchange for them paying about 2/3s tuition at his private school.
I don’t know how things work in your school district, but I would think that with the extensive documentation you have regarding events that have seriously compromised Pearlsky’s safety and well-being, you might be able to work out a similar agreement to have the district pay for Pearlsky’s placement in a special needs private school (hopefully with video surveillance).
Seems to me teacher is guilty of falsification of school documents. This is a significant matter. If this was falsified what else has been done?
I’d request the teacher switch from e-mail to a Google Form or other database you set up. Lock it so teacher can only add, not modify or view previous entries during the data entry process. If you’re good with database set it up so the teacher gets a copy sent to their e-mail so no one can claim they don’t get a copy of the records. The pre-filled form if enough to merit a switch to records that cannot be “accidentally falsified,” as this one was. A form would also come with a time stamp that has to be manually submitted, nice to know if she’s predicting the future all the time. For all you know she’s got the charts pre-written for the week an automatically doles e-mail using an e-mail client’s scheduling option.
FYI re. me being a new commenter: I work in informal education, and keep up with disability blogs because it’s pretty much the best way ever to get a parent’s perspective on how to respect kids who are non-verbal, or who have rare needs. (The first time I had a child with an uncommon and debilitating condition come in for a program I was floored: Stage three Krabbe’s disease, I had no idea what I should offer that child during programming, and my degree in Education left me helpless.)
I’d ask him where he parks the Delorean and can I hace a ride. and who’s gonns win the next world series.
I can imagine how torn you are by what to do, and I love all of the comments above, but the serious side of me says just wait. Deep breath and ll that. Keep it as evidence though (oh, you are, aren’t blogs great?!).
I’ve just come across your blog via a link from trickycustomer, and although I have a million things to do, I can’t stop reading. You write so well, and bring out all those questions that most of us ‘morally well-adjusted’ people struggle with. Wish I had the answers 😉
There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — [pauses] — shame on you. Fool me — [pauses] — You can’t get fooled again.
GWBush
oh fuck THAT.
I do like the idea about a system that cannot be ‘accidentally’ falsified.
I also like the idea where this person who has falsified an official document gets it in the neck.
I agree that someone else should have filled in the end of the chart. Otherwise, how do you have any idea that ANYTHING on there is accurate? You especially have no idea that she got her meds, which is possibly the most important part.
The teacher (or whoever sent it) should have sent in the chart valid up to 2.22pm, and then someone else should have finished it later.
I can’t believe how many people commenting haven’t realised that SD being sent the chart like this tells us almost certainly that THE CHART IS ALWAYS BEING PRE-COMPLETED.
It’s NOT just about this day. This is just the day that the idiot finally screwed up badly enough for SD to know what’s going on.
There is no way that SD will ever, ever be able to trust that any information given in that format is, or has ever been, accurate. Or indeed that any information that teacher ever gives him isn’t just made up.
This is massively serious.
SD – how much do the times differ on the charts you receive, day to day?
I’m with Becca. Does it ever say, “Ate 3 oz Pediasure, refused rest”, or, “Van was late”, etc.? And what’s the deal with the empty therapies line? Oy.
Can you test it by causing something unexpected to happen at a particular time in the school day (use your imagination) and then check to see if there is any note of it when the chart comes home?
SD – I can’t lie. I read the first 6 comments, then skimmed the rest. And it I dislike repeating comments, but this hit me in a guttural place so I’m going to “speak before I read.”
I did notice that few readers commented that they were surprised school personnel would try to “put one” over one you. I can only infer they’re followers, and I understand that they’d expect you to be maybe more vigilant than the average dad? But why would it be ok for ANY educational or medical person to LIE outright?
Like you posted, Pearlsky has no real communication. And she also has medical issues that can/do require attention/resolution. Pardon my French, but some D-bag emailed you at 1422. So the MOST “honest” information you could get out of the referenced email is that Ms. Pearlsky was changed at 1005 by her aide. Then you get the teacher’s email 8 minutes BEFORE she got her 1430 meds from the RN, before she left the classroom with her aide, and before the teacher could infer she left in a good mood.
So that 1430 note to substantiate she got her meds from the nurse? Well, if you got the email ~10 minutes earlier, then all of the subsequent information is assumed to be a lie. You know, in EMS (and most other things) if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen. If you DO write it down and you lied about it, everything you ever recorded is questionable.
This whole thing makes me angry.