Treatment of Mentally Retarded Children
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As I am sitting in high school study hall, I am constantly appalled by the way mentally disabled or slow children are treated - exactly like animals. They have no choice but to listen to their peers order them around like dogs. The tone of voice from these teachers sound angry and certainly uncaring in the least bit.
Here are a few orders I've heard from their supervisors:
- "Hug her.....I said hug Her...HUG HER NOW!"
- "[Teacher to teacher] He's trying to cause trouble again!"
- "Lets go...Nate, lets go...I said, LETS GO NOW!"
- "Do your work. Did you hear me, I said do your work!"
- Teacher: "Want to go visit _____?"
Student: No
Teacher: Lets go (In a sick voice as if beckoning a dog to sit)
Student: Leans unconfortably
Teacher: *Repeats the same sick line over and over again*
These are mentally retarded HIGH school students. Why should they be treated like 5 year olds? Shouldn't they be given an oppritunity to fend for themselves? About the teacher forcing a student to HUG another teacher! What the heck is this??? Even 1st graders aren't forced to do that! The constant unfriendly repetition of "COME HERE" or "DO THIS" really adds to the sinister tone of these uncaring teachers.
This raises questions on the nature of treatment in society. Essentially, the smarter a person is, the less they are controlled. These children have no free-will much like a cat or dog. I think even an animal has more rights them them - an animal may choose to take a walk, eat, explore, etc, but these children are under constant surveillance. Any deviation from the social norm gets them in trouble.
People may say, why shouldn't they be supervised? - they can't fend for themselves. I'm not against this, but the point being that they are treated so badly, it's like a master to slave relationship. At least give them SOME choice.
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Hey!
Yeah, you're right. Teachers do need better training.
Omg. This reminds me of the time I was in special-ed in elementary school - but my teachers were so nice and caring. We learned and played like friend to friend.
Hmm. Maybe I should write a hub about that.
This is a very compassionate, insightful hub. I have a child who is mentally retarded and you have made me think about some things. thankyou
Thank You.
I mean only equality for those who don't have the power themselves.
I work with mentally disabled adults who range from 18 years of age and up. Most people assume they need the repetition to fully process the information. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it isn't as they got the information and are in the act of processing it the first time, just takes them longer. Then again I work with one who is now graduating high school at the age of 20 and I honestly feel its a waste of time and effort as he has no desire to be a functioning member of society as long as he has someone to take care of him and a video game in front of him.
Doctor Kristy Level 2 Commenter 12 months ago
I think a lot of it comes from ignorance of how to treat them properly. I don't believe many teachers have had training as to how to deal with situations, except for teachers at schools just for children with learning difficulties. I feel for the teachers in that I understand it's probably hard for them. But the quotes from your article were all examples of completely unacceptable behaviour.
I reckon that society's treatment of mentally retarded people is pretty poor altogether, not just in schools. I was on the train the other day and a man of around 50 years old got on, who obviously had some sort of disability. He sat down and GROWN UPS moved away from where he was seated. When he started mumbling/singing half way through the trip, a group of girls in their late teens/early twenties actually started giggling.