Keep that spin going...

 Keep that spin going…

 

A few weeks ago, eleven students with autism and their seven teachers were denied service at a Cracker Barrell restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland.   The teacher in charge had called the Cracker Barrel and asked if they needed a reservation or anything else.  They were told no.   The lunch visit is part of a program to assist kids with significant disabilities to participate in the community.   Cracker Barrel had been part of the program.  The students are all on the autism spectrum and moderately disabled.

Upon arrival at the restaurant, the students and teachers were told they could not be served.  The teachers volunteered to break into smaller groups so that the grouping would be more typical.  They were still refused by the server, the assistant manager and the manager.   They waited 1 hour for carry out which they ate back in their classroom.

The incident went viral.  The county superintendent wrote a strongly worded letter.  Community groups were up in arms.

Corporate Cracker Barrel said the local staff would be spoken to, but the restaurant was too crowded to accommodate such a large group even though the group had asked in advance if it was ok.  

So, on the one hand, corporate said “we did not refuse service to this student group, but operational breakdowns caused by staffing shortages and poor communication on our part led us to fall well short of our service standards”.   Okay, service was not refused because that would be an admission of violating the Maryland public accommodation law.

On the other hand, Corporate said it was firing three employees at that Cracker Barrel including the general manager.  And they would be “moving forward with specialized training for all employees at this particular store” and that it has a “zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination”.  Makes sense, who wants to admit to breaking the law?

Representatives from Cracker Barrel have met with the school system and said they would like to continue to participate in the program.

So here is the confusion- your staff did nothing wrong but you fired them anyway??? Hmmm, that is curious.

Why not do a huge mea culpa and invite the kids to lunch, with the treat on Cracker Barrel?  Oh because then all those funny looking kids would be in your restaurant.  And so the spin goes on.

 You don’t care about me soooo

 

We have known for a very long time that students learn more from teachers they like and who they perceive as liking them.  Kids want to feel cared about by their teachers.

We also know that the students who have been involved in school aggression or violent assaults have all felt alienated from their schools.

We know so much and do so little…

A mere 22% of middle and high school students reported that many or all of their teachers cared about them, and/or made an effort to find out what their lives were like outside of school.

In the days before pacing guides, measuring learning with frequent tests and grading schools by test scores, people became teachers because they cared about kids and wanted to be a part of their successful future.  Schools and teachers were measured by how many kids graduated, went onto college or a job.   Schools seemed to recognize different values.  High school students in Maryland could earn an academic diploma, a commercial diploma (for students who wanted to do office work) and a general vocational diploma for students who were going into the trades.  The union really was a professional association that lobbied for more instructional materials, professional standards and better teacher training not higher salaries, shorter hours and protections for poor teachers.

Teachers are human and they will put their energies where the rewards are.  Right now, the rewards are for test scores and keeping on pace with the pacing guide.   Students have become cogs in the wheels rather than people with feelings and home lives.

Reasons for students feeling that no one cares about them have been offered up as the outcomes from teacher shortages and behavioral disturbances.   Maybe this is a chicken and egg situation.  If teachers cared about kids more, the teachers might enjoy their jobs more and not leave, hence not as much of a teacher shortage.  If kids felt cared about, they wouldn’t be as disruptive and would learn more.