|
6 Steps for Resolving School Issues
by Paula Rosenthal, J.D.
This week I had an upsetting experience with a middle
school chorus teacher who tested his class and my deaf daughter on areas
including correct pitches and intonation, projection - singing with
appropriate volume and music dynamics - observing the dynamic markings
while singing among other things. Despite her incredible success hearing
and understanding speech with her two cochlear implants, she is unable
to discern musical pitches and doesn’t hear herself well when singing
within a group. Thus, she can’t monitor her own audibility when singing
in a chorus. Because she truly loves music and is able to follow along
to lyrics, she decided to take Chorus as her music elective this year.
Despite a prior ”educational discussion” about the
downsides of cochlear implants in relation to music between the chorus
teacher and my husband, the teacher decided to go ahead and test our
daughter anyway. She received no points for pitch and only one out of a
possible four points for both dynamics and projection. The damage to her
self-esteem when she received the poor test grade was devastating to her
as well as to us.
My initial inclination was to head over to the school and
angrily confront the chorus teacher, but I took the time to think it
through rationally and use some of what I’ve learned over the years. By
doing so, I was able to achieve a favorable outcome with our school
district without alienating the team members of my daughter’s Committee
for Special Education (CSE). This will bode well for both the district
and our family in the event of future issues.
Here are a few tips I used to resolve this conflict with
my school district:
This is probably the most difficult one of these tips,
but also the most important. Always remember that your child will be in
the school district for several more years. It is likely there will be
more bumps in the road ahead. Keeping a calm head and stepping back to
assess things will help you to see things clearly and will give the
school a positive view of you.
Talk to your child about what happened. Get full details,
including how your child felt about the situation. Keep a written record
of your discussion with your child, teachers involved and any other
faculty or staff members you speak with. Make copies of any tests or
projects involved in the situation. Keep the original for your own
records.
Talk with your spouse or partner and think about how you
want to handle the situation. Do you need a day or two to fully evaluate
the problem or should you contact the school immediately? Who should you
contact? Perhaps the teacher is not the right person to confront first.
If your child has a case manager, make sure he or she is
fully aware of what is going on. They can be a key player in helping to
resolve the issue.
What is the outcome you are looking for? Are there
alternatives you would consider?
If you’re unsure how to proceed or need feedback on
anything, tap into available resources to assist you. The Internet
offers a multitude of information and support groups on every topic.
Gather opinions from others who may have been in a similar situation.
Research the laws and regulations that may support your position.
Listen Up! is
a website filled with great information for parents of deaf and hard of
hearing children. They also offer a supportive listserve (email
discussion group) comprised of parents of children with hearing loss.
You can
join it here.
WrightsLaw
offers comprehensive information for parents of children receiving
special education services.
Call or email the person you feel is the most
appropriate to contact at this point. This might be the teacher,
guidance counselor or your child’s case manager if they have one. Don’t
go straight to the principal or superintendent.
Email helps you create a paper trail or you can record
your phone call details and follow up with a note including them.
Give the school a chance to look into the issue. Ask them
when you should expect to hear back from them. Offer to come in for a
face-to-face meeting. The school may have reasons to not grant this
initially, don’t take it as a bad sign.
Consider the possible outcomes of this conflict. What
will you do if your optimal solution nor its planned alternatives are
implemented? Who is the next person in the chain of command in your
school district? Will you need a lawyer? Would you be willing to go to
arbitration? Remain positive, but think carefully about what you will do
so you are well prepared.
| Paula
Rosenthal, J.D. is married and has three children. Paula,
her husband and daughter all have hearing loss. A law school
graduate, Paula has published HearingExchange.com, an online
blog and resource site for people with hearing loss, their
families and professionals since 2000. she is also a
syndicated writer and a public speaker on hearing loss,
parenting and related issues. She and her daughter were
featured on “Back to the Hearing World,” a DVD directed by
academy Award nominee® Josh Aronson, for Cochlear Americas. It
can be viewed online at
http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Support/2109.asp To
contact Paula, send an email to
info@hearingexchange.com. |
|
|
© 2007 Paula Rosenthal and Taylor Rose, Inc. All rights
reserved.
This article is one
of many in the
Paula’s Pearls group of syndicated content from HearingExchange. It
may be reproduced under certain conditions. Email Paula at
info@hearingexchange.com
for further information.
Click here
for the full list of Paula’s Pearls articles available for syndication.
Print Version ||
Email to a friend |
