Support 5 Year Old Alex Barton - Email Campaign
Posted on May 30, 2008
Filed Under News |
This story compelled me, given the tragic level of humiliation suffered by this little boy:
5-year-old Alex Bartonwas literally voted out of his kindergarten classroom. Alex Barton is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. According to his mother:
“[The teacher] took him and stood him in front of his classmates this week, asked every single child to tell Alex why we don’t like him… in his words, tell Alex why we hate him,” [his mother] explains.
After having each child ridicule the boy, she says the teacher continued belittling him. “Then they had a vote on if he deserved to stay in the class or not,” says Barton. Like a twisted reality show, Barton says in a 14-2 vote, his classmates voted the five-year-old out of the classroom.
Since his “eviction” from the St. Lucie Co. (Florida) class he has felt “sad” and has repeated the words, “I’m not special,” over and over to himself. The reasons students gave for disliking Alex included that he is “disgusting” and “annoying.” Since February, the young man has been in the process of being evaluated for Asperger syndrome.
His mother heard him saying “I’m not special” over and over.
Alex’s mother is fighting back and considering pressing legal charges. Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside’s school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney’s office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.
You can also help support Alex Barton by writing to his school board.
f you have a blog, please write a little something in support of Alex Barton. Maybe he isn’t special. He shouldn’t have to be. He’s a five year old boy, a human being, worthy of respect.
Write the St. Lucie County School Board at webmastr@stlucie.k12.fl.us
The school’s principal is Marcia Cully: (772) 337-6730 at cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent: Michael J. Lannon4204 Okeechobee Road Ft. Pierce 34947-5414 Phone: 772/429-3925 FAX: 772/429-3916 e-mail: lannonm@stlucie.k12.fl.us
St. Lucie County School Board Chair: Carol Hilson 772-519-0397 HilsonC@stlucie.k12.fl.us
Vice Chair:Judith Miller772-528-4545 MillerJ@stlucie.k12.fl.us
View my profile on RecruitingBlogs.com
Comments
10 Responses to “Support 5 Year Old Alex Barton - Email Campaign”
Leave a Reply
Blogging right now. This teacher is training the next clutch of corporate bastards.
Ive blogged! http://robertgodden.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/teo-torriatte-let-us-cling-together/
What a disgusting act.
This is a tragic story. You can help change this by responding. Make a difference and let the school admin. know that this injustice cannot be tolerated.
This is an appalling story. no child deserves to be thrown aside at five years old. the teacher is a disgrace and she is the one who should be asked to leave.
I don’t know what difference a comment from the UK would make but I am happy to support Alex.
How can this happen?
I have responded directly to school administration and will hope others do the same.
My thoughts and prayers are with Alex and his family.
I sent off an email to the school district and am waiting for a reply. My little sister suffers from ADHD and was humiliated by her favorite elementary school teacher years ago. She had to leave his class everyday to take her afternoon medicine. One of the students asked why she left the class everyday and the teacher proceeded to share with the rest of the class that she was crazy and that she had to take medicine to behave. One of my sisters’ friends shared that with her when she got back to class and she was completely devastated. She had thought the world of this teacher and her world crashed down around her when she learned of his betrayal. My family did not rest until this teacher was removed from teaching and we succeeded. The pain that the Barton family is experiencing is unfortunately shared with many families across the US and will only get better when we can educate teachers and students on how to handle people with all types of disabilities.
How sad! How can anyone treat a precious soul like this. Everyone deserves love and respect. The teacher is a piece of dirt and oh…ya…I hope she hasn’t heard of charma!
I am writing am email now
How tragic! One of my best candidates has Asperger’s and has turned out to be an outstanding candiate for one of my top tier clients.
So, there is hope!
As we learn more about this topic, and more attention is placed on similar issues, I believe we can make this world a better place.
Steve
Hi Dave,
Thanks for sharing this story, sad as it is. I can’t believe things like this actually go on in our country.
I’m wondering what lessons, if any, you think this has for the recruiting world.
Best,
Alexandra Levit
Author, Success for Hire
Blogger, Water Cooler Wisdom
http://www.alexandralevit.com
brachial plexus palsy…
I have been on Stan\’s sight for almost 2 years. He is a wonderful father who stuck around in the Autism crusade even after he recovered his own son. Started a school where they juice, have an HBOT chamber and an on sight Chef for the special diets. …