Seclusion Rooms Rant

This story is haunting me. Not only am I horrified at the concept of a "seclusion room," but I am angered at the way this child was treated.

Apparently, the boy hanged himself with a rope that a teacher had given him to "hold his pants up." Excuse me?? Let me tell you why I find this seemingly innocuous statements so offensive. First, the boy was thirteen, and diagnosed with ADHD. Anyone who has spent time around teen boys - especially those boys who are in their early teens - knows how self-conscious boys that age can be. They are developing, crammed full of testosterone, trying to deal with these changes and yet still maintain some sense of themselves. These are boys on the cusp of adulthood, and the teacher gave him a rope to hold up his pants?

I keep picturing a boy who had that pants-around-the-knees syndrome (thanks, Marky-Mark!) who was probably going against the school's dress code, and a system that OK's punishment by humiliation. You know - those ridiculous punishments that eventually cause psychological damage for some kids. I keep picturing a teacher who probably called out the boy for his low-riding pants, an embarrassed boy responding angrily and defensively, and a situation that escalated quickly to the point where the boy is sent to the seclusion room until he agrees to use the rope (a rope!) to hold up his pants.

I don't know if this is what happened, but it's a scenario I can easily picture. It's insensitive. Maybe teachers ought to be required to undergo sensitivity training and child psychology training ON A REGULAR BASIS if they are to keep their license.

The second reason this upsets me: there are apparently no regulations governing the use of seclusion rooms. It sounds like solitary confinement to me: are we educating and helping troubled children or imprisoning the worst of our criminals? Is this a practice that is safe? What kinds of long-term damage is being done to these kids by being forced into "seclusion?" What kind of training to teachers, school administrators, and school psychologists receive that they think this is an OK appropriate approach to education?

Third: The boy threatened to kill himself on several occasions when sent to the seclusion room, and there was no communication with his parents about the issues. In fact, there was no communication about what the seclusion room was all about. They thought it was like a "time-out."

It seems to me, that if a child's behavior is escalating to the point of violence - especially if this happens on a regular basis - then it is beyond the school's capability to deal with that child. The goal should be to keep all the kids safe, and help that kid, not keep escalating the punishment.