Dear Editor:
A number of articles have been published recently about the amount of behavioral issues and mental health issues that the students of JCPS are showing.
As a former student, graduating in May of 2012, I want to say that these are not new issues. What is new, however, is that teachers and administrators are being forced to address the issues rather than brushing them aside. A friend of mine (who will be nameless here) was born with dyslexia, and in elementary school was told by her teacher that she could not read, despite being told by a parent and by the student herself that she could in fact read. It took upwards of one year for the administration to accept the fact that the student had dyslexia, and for the student to be given an IEP.
In my elementary school there were children who definitely did not behave well, but instead of being helped they were punished, and as they grew they only got worse because punishment was all they knew. I myself am autistic, and could have benefitted from extra coursework in school as I nearly always finished mine early and then had an excess of spare time. Instead I was left to my own devices, and subsequently got into some trouble as a young child before I found more productive outlets for my energy.
In today's climate and atmosphere and with the great strides that medical science has made in diagnosing mental illness, particularly in children, we are not seeing an occurrence of new "problems" but rather a recognition of old problems that previously flew under the radar or were dismissed as students being "bad kids." I realize that for many teachers and administrators these changes are difficult to adapt to, but I also would remind the district that it is even more difficult for the children who are suffering for lack of help.
Disability services, IEPs, and behavioral and mental health counseling are not inconveniences. They are instead tools for the district to use to help students reach their full potential, which is the goal of all teachers and schools. As we learn more about the internal workings of human beings and their minds, the education system must change and adapt rather than remaining stuck in outdated policies. I sincerely hope that the district continues to put its students first as we move forward.
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