Post by @youreducationadvo

Sometimes advocacy means speaking up about a school system. Sometimes it means challenging an IEP team. And sometimes it means reporting another educator. I recently came across public social media content from an elementary school teacher who is employed by @Broward County that concerned me enough that I could not simply scroll past it. This teacher publicly discussed students she described as “angry” and “aggressive.” She talked about “matching their energy,” yelling, scaring students, using sarcasm, and responding to a child throwing a chair by doing the same with her own chair while essentially telling the child, “You think you have a temper? I have a temper.” There were additional concerns. Videos appeared to be recorded from inside the classroom, including during the school day. Student voices could be heard. Student names appeared on items in the classroom. Her school identification badge was visible. She publicly discussed students, their behavior, parents, and how she responds to children in her care. At that point, I had a decision to make. Ignore it because these are not my clients? Or advocate for children who may not even know that they need someone advocating for them? I chose the children. I reported my concerns to the school district and requested that they investigate. I did not make that decision lightly. Reporting an educator can have serious consequences, which is exactly why allegations should be documented and investigated rather than exaggerated or treated as established facts before an investigation occurs. But being an advocate means protecting students even when there is nothing in it for you. Those students are someone’s babies. Their parents send them to school believing the adults entrusted with them will protect their dignity, privacy, safety, and emotional wellbeing. And children who struggle with behavior deserve that protection too. A child throwing a chair is not acceptable behavior. It needs to be addressed. But adults do not teach regulation by becoming dysregulated themselves. We don’t teach children not to yell by yelling louder. We don’t teach children not to intimidate others by frightening them. We don’t teach children that throwing furniture is unsafe by throwing furniture back. And we certainly should not turn children’s most difficult moments into social media content. Florida educators are also bound by the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, including professional obligations concerning student welfare and confidential information. Advocacy is not just showing up when someone hires me. It is speaking up when I see something involving children that warrants the attention of the people responsible for protecting them. I don’t know the students in that classroom. I don’t know their parents. But they deserve adults willing to speak up for them anyway. So we did. @Fighting For My Voice LLC #fape #specialeducation #advocate #education #IEP