(Rhode Island)
I worked in a Special Education class for high school aged students in Rhode Island. I was the Behavior Specialist working for a private contractor for the public school department. I worked in a classroom with fourteen troubled teenagers clinically diagnosed with all different types of behavior issues, not developmentally disabled or handy capped, but diagnosed with learned behavior issues. As Behavior Specialist I was second in command to the certified Special Ed. teacher. I was always complemented on how good natured and levelheaded I was. But the job took a turn for the worse as the certified teacher became busy with midterm reports and report cards and IEP meetings and I was left alone in the class very often. The other two aids that worked in the classroom circulated around the school and were very often not there. Not being a certified teacher but being a Behavior Specialist I am not certified or trained to run a classroom. Although I did very often in the morning when the certified teacher would not show up until forty-five minutes after I was there alone with the students, between the time the students got off the bus, and school would officially start. Not being a certified teacher and thrust into the role of maintaining a classroom of fourteen behavior-diagnosed students was very trying to say the least. Finally, one day I could not hold it together. It was the end of the day on a Friday. I had been alone with the students for at least an hour when I lashed out at an overweight student who was running around the classroom throwing things and instigating fights. I did not yell but said that he “was behaving like a 300 pound three year old”. I was not thinking clearly. This is something I would never do. I actually have a three year old at home and was making a comparison in my head, which
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