A 5-year-old "Survivor"
Posted by: Laurie Cameron in A Sign of the Times, Compassionate Observer, Ripped From the Headlines, WAKE UP!From a small article in this morning’s Rocky Mountain News:
Wendy Portillo, a kindergarten teacher in Port St. Lucie, Florida, has been removed from her classroom because she allowed the class to “vote out” Alex, a 5-year-old boy, because of his behavioral problems. His mother said he is currently being tested for Asperger’s Disease, a type of high-functioning autism.
Each classmate was allowed to say what they didn’t like about him, then they took a 14-2 vote to oust him from the class.
I have to say that this kind of story really tests my ability to be a Compassionate Observer. I had a wide range of initial reactions. I wanted to rail at Wendy Portillo. I wanted to shake her and ask her, “What on earth were you thinking???” I wanted to scream at her insensitivity. I wanted to vote her off the planet!
Once I took a deep breath, though, my secondary reactions were different.
I sent Wendy Portillo much softer energy, hoping that this will be an opportunity for her to wake up a little bit - or a lot - more. I hope this opens her up to more compassion. I hope she gains some clarity about whatever fears she’s carrying that clouded her judgment and somehow made this kind of behavior acceptable in her mind.
I sent loving thoughts to the boy’s mother. I hope she does not use this to help Alex to become a victim. I hope she assists him in using this opportunity to find his unique own path through his life.
I sent Alex’s classmates lots of compassionate energy, with the hope that they will somehow see that this is definitely NOT how you treat ANYONE. I hope their parents will help them develop empathy - to try to understand what it would have felt like if they were Alex in that situation.
And I sent Alex lots of loving energy. My hope for him is that this experience helps him discover and develop his inner strength. I hope it helps him to be the kind of person he would have liked his teacher and classmates to have been. I hope his heart stays open, and his thoughts remain gentle for himself and for others. I hope his light continues to shine more brightly every day.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 am
I wonder if the teacher was ever told the child was being tested? While not an excuse, would she still have done this, knowing the child had ’special circumstances?” I don’t think it’s unfair or wrong to tell someone that their behaviour is not acceptable - especially if it seems to be affecting so many in a negative way. Children have a unique and uncanny way of being honest without being offensive so including them (rather than hearing it from one adult) may not have been such a bad choice. Without actually being there and hearing everything that went on, I think this would be a tough call and jumping to conclusions, based on one newspaper article, doesn’t seem right/fair to me. I was always told ‘if you hear something once, it’s probably just an opinion and don’t worry about it. If you hear it more than once, you might want to pay attention.” Perhaps if she took the ending a different direction — once each child had a say on how this was affecting them, have them offer a solution, as well, rather than ‘voting out’ the problem child - ?? Something to learn from.