Monster in the Classroom

I am so outraged I am still shaking. A kindergarten teacher in Florida had a "problem" student in her classroom. In an attempt to modify his behavior she asked students from the class to share why they didn't like this student and then VOTE whether or not he should stay in the classroom--"Survivor style". The student was voted out of the class in a 14-2 vote. Okay, at this point I have to take a break from typing as I have tears in my eyes and I haven't even told you the worst part............................the little boy has autism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This abusive "behavior modification" technique would be damaging to ANY child but to a child with autism who most likely has great difficulty understanding social rules/norms this could be truly devastating. I hope and pray that the right professionals can get this victimized 5-year old boy through the aftermath of this trauma. I also hope and pray that the other children in the class will receive counseling as well. How obscene to have "judge and jury" roles placed upon 5 year olds. It disturbs me greatly that 14 children voted the victim out of class. It really makes me wonder what exactly was going on in that classroom.

And what about the two who bravely voted for the boy to "stay" in the classroom? Included in the students who voted for the victim to stay was a boy who has been the first real friend the victim has ever had. I say this boy who stood by his friend and did not cave in what had to be a very distressing situation DESERVES A MEDAL and a trip to DISNEYWORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to shake that friend's hand and the hand of the other student who voted their conscience and stood up for the victim. What incredibly honorable children. I can only pray that my children would do the same in such a situation.

This teacher, Wendy Portillo, has not been fired as of yet. They Florida school authorities are "investigating" the situation and in the meantime the teacher has been "reassigned" to a desk job. I can appreciate that they need to investigate the situation but if they don't fire this woman I'm going to jump on a plane to Florida and straighten them out! This woman should NEVER EVER be allowed in the classroom again. If you ask me she there should be criminal charges brought against her. Specifically, for mental child abuse both to the victim and all the other students in the class for leading them down such a dark path.

There is an online petition you can sign to get Ms. Portillo fired. It may not do any good but it can't hurt. If you feel moved by this story, please consider signing the petition!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Fire-teacher-for-unprofessional-conduct

Oh YUCK!!!!!

I have never had this happen to me before. I was shopping around for some "kids room decor" on the internet when disgusting, triple X, adult photos popped up! YUCK! How I got from kids room decor to porn I have NO IDEA! I was on a site, shopping away when the site paused and a box said "do you want to download 'something?" I don't remember what the "something" was but it DID NOT SAY ANYTHING THAT WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE IT WAS PORN! I tried and tried to just "delete" the box because I don't download things that I don't know what they are. But it wouldn't delete. Then I tried deleteing the page I was on and it wouldn't let me. So I finally decided to just tell it to download and then I would cancel it out. The minute I hit "Ok" to download the disgusting filth appeared.

It totally freaked me out because my children were in the room when this happened. Thankfully they were busy talking to their Dad and did not even glimpse the horrific images. However, what if it had been my children on the internet with this box insisting they "download"? They are young and don't go on the internet that often and I am always close by when they are on the computer but I naively thought that this kind of thing really couldn't happen. I mean we have "pop up blocker" right? My eyes are now opened to a new possibility of my children's eyes and hearts being assaulted and frankly I'm afraid to let them go on the internet now. My I.T. savvy husband is going to look for "cookies" or whatever to see if there is a hook into our computer somewhere but I don't know when I will feel comfortable letting my kids on the computer again.

Oh the depravity, oh the humanity. Father, save us from ourselves!

Top Five List-Desserts

I am a total dessert person. I could skip dinner and go straight to dessert most nights. Whenever I go out to eat I always make sure to save room for dessert! I probably could have made this a top ten list but I wanted to give special attention to those 5 desserts that are heaven on earth for me. It kinda depends on the time of month (I'm a total chocoholic when my "Aunt" is about to drop in for a visit) but these are the desserts that really melt my butter any time of day, month, year...........

5. Home made chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk (total childhood comfort food)
4. A warm Brownie with hot fudge, vanilla ice cream and walnuts
3. Any kind of Birthday Cake and vanilla ice cream (has to have LOTS of thick sugery frosting)
2. French Vanilla ice cream with almonds, toffee bits and fudge (from Cold Stone Creamery)
1. Tiramisu (the best I've ever had was at Bada Boom Pasta Room! in Scottsdale, AZ)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm..........I'm lost in the memory of delicious desserts from years past. Bummer that I'm trying to eat healthier and lose weight. I could really go for some sweet stuff right now!

A Crack in the Planet

One of my favorite lines from a movie is in "Spanglish". A wife tells her husband she has slept with another man and he describes a sound he heard when she confessed her affair as "a crack in the planet." I know what that sounds like. I heard a "crack in the planet" about 6 years ago. I was sitting in the office of a child psychologist after a lengthy evaluation of my oldest son and she said ".....I'm calling it autism for now." CRACK! I remember clearly her words up to that point and then nothing else she said after that. There was only the deafening popping, crashing and creaking of the earth seperating beneath my feet to reveal a deep hole where all my hopes, dreams and ideas about who my son was would fall into never to be seen again. "A crack in the planet", what a horribly perfect way to describe the sound words make that change our lives forever.

What has me thinking about this today is part of a documentary I watched about a deaf couple in their 60's who were receiving cochlear impants. They interviewed the woman's father, now in his 80's, about having a daughter who is deaf. When he was talking about receiving his daughter's diagnosis he began to cry. "....we knew then that she was deaf" he said with tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat. Some 50+ years later I think this father could still hear echos of that crack he heard when a his daughter's life and his life changed forever.

I found it upsetting that this father still grieved for the loss of his daughter's hearing. Will I still tear up when discussing the details of the first moments of Bear's diagnosis when I'm 80? Unfortunately, I think so. Once your planet cracks, it doesn't seal up again, you just learn to live on one side of the divide or the other. Everyday I pray I'm on the right side............

The Times

Earthquakes, tornadoes, cyclones, wars, rumors of wars..........

Where have I heard this before? Hmmm...................

Is it just me or is the earth just one big state of emergency lately? I find myself wondering this morning just how close we are to Christ's return. It seems like we are experiencing some awfully powerful "labor pains" in recent days.

Happy Mother's Day!

Before I was a Mom :

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom :

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Slobberd on.

Snotted on.

Peed on.

Before I was a Mom :

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom :

I never held a sleeping baby until my arms ached just because I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom :

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom :

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.