In Spawn's first year of school, we applied for funding, due to his 'severe behaviour'. I know that in different states and countries, the process is different, but I'm sure there is one consistent aspect across the board: it's hard. Emotionally, having to constantly discuss and read about how terribly behaved your child can be, among other flaws, is heartbreaking. It has been two years since I discovered Spawn's application for funding was granted, after six months of hell.
The process for funding took twice as long as Spawn's ASD diagnosis, which was conducted immediately prior to the funding application began. I commend the school for being on the ball and getting things rolling as soon as they could, but as a parent, this double whammy broke me in ways that I don't think I will ever recover from. I ended 2015 with symptoms much like those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Legit. I was treated as if I had PTSD, and there was only one small aspect of my sanity that gave my psych pause to officially diagnose. Two years on, I am doing better, but the scars are still there. They will always be there. 2015 can kiss my arse, even now, in 2018.
Now that a little back story has been established, let me get to the heart of this rant/word vomit/expelling of bad juju. I am grateful for the school working tirelessly to get Spawn funding. I am grateful to the department of education for seeing Spawn's need for funding and actually approving the application: this is not something the DoE does lightly, after all. For this reason, I know that many families miss out on this funding, which impacts on the education of so many students. It's hard. There are so many cracks. For example, Spawn has ASD, but we did not apply on the grounds of his ASD diagnosis, for we would have been rejected. The criterion are so stringent, it's actually ridiculous! We applied under severe behaviour, as Spawn's behaviour was so severe during that first year of school that he only attended school for a couple of full days a week, with the remaining being half days. He had drawn blood from his teacher, caused his class to be evacuated, and literally been dragged from school over the shoulder of the vice-principal. OMG, I'm getting a little emotional just THINKING about that year. Even now, whenever the school calls me, my first thought is, "oh no, what has he done now?!" Fortunately, the school is quick to let me know if it isn't bad news, having known how bad things once were. I was on a first name basis with the school admin a lot quicker than most.
Due to the hard work, absolute terror and horrific reports I had to read, I get a little funny about Spawn's school funding. As a pre-service teacher, I understand how having a student with funding in the class can benefit many, but as a parent, I don't want my child to miss out because of others. Having other unfunded students piggybacking off of Spawn's funding is all well and good, but where do you draw the line?! At what point do you, as a parent, step in and be like, "ENOUGH. How many complex students do you want to piggyback off of my child's funding?! Don't you think this might be detrimental to MY son's education?!" As I have mentioned, I worked hard for that. I endured things no parent/carer should have to endure, all in the hopes it would provide my child with better opportunities moving forward. It has, by the way. Education support staff are amazing. Spawn had this one lady supporting him for nearly two years and she was amazing. She saw him that first year, and was with him as he changed for the better. Spawn has come so far that it's mindblowing, but does that mean that the support worker working with him this year will be asked to spend more time with other students? Sure these students need help, otherwise they wouldn't be getting it. But will this have a negative impact on Spawn? His behaviour last year went downhill and part of me wonders if that is because so many students with additional needs were lugged into his class in order to piggyback off of Spawn's funding. Just because Spawn has learned to mimic more appropriate classroom behaviours, does not mean he does not need the funding. For Spawn, working to behave appropriately is a task that requires constant focus, as his brain is always working so fast, the result of both his ADHD and giftedness. I feel that if Spawn is neglected, for even a little while, it will take twice as long to rebuild those appropriate mindsets for the classroom. Perhaps Spawn will think it normal that he adapt for awhile, then lapse back into his old way of behaving as soon as the teacher isn't looking (so to speak). This actually terrifies me, on a level I am not sure I'm ready to comprehend. I considered changing schools last year; seriously considered it. I thought it might be better to send Spawn to a school more understanding of funding and special needs children. However, Spawn loves his school, so we are giving it this year to see how things go. I have spoken to a few schools and know our options, but hopefully I don't need to go down this path. For the most part, I do like our school's community. It's a great little school most of the time. :)
So this is the vicious cycle of school funding. The department of education really needs to get their act together and figure out a way to adequately fund all students who need assistance. In doing so, students who DO get funding will not be forced to miss out due to teachers and schools trying to service the needs of many with funding meant to service one.
Do not even get me started on the fact that parents have no say in how a school spends funding they receive for students. I don't know if this isn't a common thing, but where I live, it's how it works and I think it sucks; as both a parent AND a pre-service teacher.
On the topic of pre-service teaching, I'm doing my next placement in February; two weeks after school starts back. At a school with only 100 students. This will be interesting! ;)
If you got this far, thanks for reading. Feel free to share advice and tips for dealing with this: I welcome all advice! :)
- L. x
