June 19, 2013
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Handicapped Boy Pushed to the Side
Parents of a handicapped boy are upset because their son was put to the side for a class photo.
Here is the photo:
Here is the link: Link
Should the parents be upset?
Parents of a handicapped boy are upset because their son was put to the side for a class photo.
Here is the photo:
Here is the link: Link
Should the parents be upset?
Comments (32)
I saw this story. Yes they should be upset. The picture hurt to look at.
I think they have every right to be upset, but I doubt it was intentional. I just think the photographer left his brain at home that day.
If he was my child it would break my heart to see him so obviously separated from his peers.
They should have moved everyone over, but it doesn’t look like he was excluded intentionally. I mean, he’s as close to the bench as he can be, and the rest of the class is centered on the bench. They should probably just retake the photo with everyone closer together. Who cares if they’re not centered on the bench anymore?
wow, incredibly misleading; what did she want them to do, unstrap him from the chair and sprawl him out on the bench? i mean, i guess they could have done that but then they would be pissed about the kid being “endangered”.
If you ask me handicap kids shouldn’t be allowed to attend public schools in the first place. I don’t like them, I don’t want them around my kids, and I certainly don’t want my tax dollars going to pay for their “special accomodations”.
This must be a post for mobile users! The picture doesn’t show on my PC, and if you click the link it says something about it being a link for a mobile device…
Awww! His smile is so adorable!! I don’t think it was intentional at all…school photographers aren’t exactly on their toes, are they? I think either they should put him dead center (symmetry) or move the kids over so they are standing at the edge of the bleachers with the teacher standing behind the boy. He doesn’t look too bothered by it.
This is as discriminatory and as ridiculous as making tall kids stand in the back.
Have you been blogging from your phone?
I bet the photography company has a standard way of shooting these photos and wasn’t sure what to do with the kid. No big deal. Reshoot the photo with everyone in shifted over. Done.
This is non news. Aren’t we at war with someone somewhere? Must be a slow week or something.
@SKANLYN - please tell me you’re joking
@Lithium98 my thoughts as well, just redo the photo with everyone shimmied over.
Yes
Picture and story doesn’t load from a computer. Just fyi.
The poto does not show up a&nd the link is not working for me .
But I do not need of that to say I agree with the parents of the handicaped son .
In friendship
Michel
I could understand her being disappointed and sad. Anger seems a bit much. I don’t think there is any way to judge intent simply by looking at the photo. All I can tell is that it is a poorly composed group photo. Lots more to the story that I don’t know. Did the child place himself there? Was it up to the teacher to maneuver the chair in place? Is the teacher allowed to take the student out of the chair? Were the benches movable? Doesn’t look to me like there is room to get the chair any closer. They could have put him in the front middle, but then 22 other mothers might have complained that someone else’s kid was made the center of attention.
Reminds me of this story:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/class-photo-called-offensive-degrading-023307967.html
They should be upset at the broken jpeg that’s on here.
@Celestial_Teapot - are you saying that having tall kids stand in the back is a bad thing or that the parents problem with the photo is ridiculous?
So the parents don’t want the kid to see the photo, but they made a huge issue of it with the local news and the internet? It kind of feels like they’re grabbing their 15 minutes of fame at their kid’s expense. What are the odds that he’s not going to see the photo? Pretty slim. What are the odds that the other parents are going to say things in front of their kids, and those kids will tease and bully the child? Pretty high.
They were right to be upset. A more difficult call is whether they were right to make such a fuss about it. On the one hand, the point had to be made, and lessons had to be learned; on the other, any awkwardness the lad may have felt initially can only have been amplified by the whole public spectacle. Disabled people, and their parents, sometimes get carried away with the whole “self advocacy” thing, and forget to give and take a little. On balance, I think probably they were right.
I just read that they retook the photo, and he’s sitting on the bench with the other kids, not in the wheelchair. It’s awesome, they included a copy of the new picture in the article.
I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but I don’t understand how anybody thought it was an acceptable solution to have him off to the side with a large gap. Ridiculous.
bad link
As a parent of several special need children and a former teacher, I can understand the emotions. There was no need to have the child that far from the group. BUT, this may have been done by the photographer him/herself rather the teacher. However, I have met those who teach special needs children who dislike the fact that they have to teach them. In Texas, you, as a teacher, are thrown into the mix and have a 80% chance of not teaching the subject matter that you trained for. Not only would I have been upset, I would have been angry as well. Unfortunately for most schools, this would have just been the beginning of such behavior that this child would be subjected to for the rest of his public school days unless the parents rise to the occasion and let it be known ‘not my child’. If only more parents would speak up.
I think the teacher should have got up in the front with him.
I’d be upset. What a cute kid. I hope this picture isn’t indicative of how he is treated there.
What utter bullshit. Where would the bitch mother have the photographer place the boy? He is in a motorised wheelchair, for fuck sakes! The kids are sitting upon benches. You would the photographer should place the wheelchair atop the bench, you stupid morons? The photographer worked with what he had. Getting uppity about the photo is utterly moronic, but I expect nothing less from Americans.
@Celestial_Teapot - How is it discriminatory??? Typical liberal screaming ‘hey, dat’s da discrimination thingie!!’
@steph843 - To where, you daft twit?
@WrappedinWishes2 - All that, for ONE person. Absolute bullshit.
@CanuckFascist - Are you fucking stupid? Just move the kids to the end of the bench so he’s not 5 feet from everyone else.