This piece originally appeared on my blog in July of 2014. I have seen now some dozen people share this ProPublica map, about the use of restraining holds on school children, on various social networks and websites. It makes me sad, because this issue is sad. But the kind of reactions that are being provoked also make me sad, because they demonstrate the ways in which the world of sharing and likes and shallow understanding destroys nuance and creates a bogus conception of a black-and-white world.
My son is a special education student. He can learn in school safely because the children who are a danger to other students are not in the same room as my son.
I feel for all children, but removing the ability to restrain children who are a danger to themselves or others would put other students at risk. It wouldn't be the gen-ed students, because there are too many of them and their parents and teachers wouldn't allow it. It would be the other special education students, whose parents are less numerous and less powerful. In fact, in many places, this is exactly what does happen. Nice, sweet kids are exposed to violence and are forced to witness violence. Allowing this to happen to the truly innocent is evil.
My son loves school and works very hard to learn all he is able to. It would not be fair to make school dangerous for him. Advocates too often ignore the victims of violence if the perpetrator isn't an agent of the state. Victims of non-state violence are invisible.
God bless the teachers who work with the most mentally ill. Thank you. You do the right thing for the kids you work with, and your help keeps the rest safe.
My son is a special education student. He can learn in school safely because the children who are a danger to other students are not in the same room as my son.
I feel for all children, but removing the ability to restrain children who are a danger to themselves or others would put other students at risk. It wouldn't be the gen-ed students, because there are too many of them and their parents and teachers wouldn't allow it. It would be the other special education students, whose parents are less numerous and less powerful. In fact, in many places, this is exactly what does happen. Nice, sweet kids are exposed to violence and are forced to witness violence. Allowing this to happen to the truly innocent is evil.
My son loves school and works very hard to learn all he is able to. It would not be fair to make school dangerous for him. Advocates too often ignore the victims of violence if the perpetrator isn't an agent of the state. Victims of non-state violence are invisible.
God bless the teachers who work with the most mentally ill. Thank you. You do the right thing for the kids you work with, and your help keeps the rest safe.