Children, especially those with special needs, are some of the most vulnerable members of society. Schools are among the few places where they are supposed to find refuge, support and nurturing for their developing young minds.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case and bad actors still find a way to exploit or neglect these children within the education system.
WATCH:
update: they fired him and now he’s getting evicted pic.twitter.com/KgsxfCde1j
— riley (@princess_antifa) April 3, 2023
TikTok user Jay Davis, who goes by the name jabcd._ on the platform, blew the whistle on the school he worked at where he was required to teach children with special needs despite neither having the qualification nor experience.
“I am not a special education teacher. I am a paraprofessional. I do not have a bachelor’s degree, no certifications, no accreditations whatsoever to be teaching a class full of special education kids.
“This is the second day they have had me do this. They knew that the teacher was not going to be here today. She called ahead and told them she was not going to be here. They still did not get a sub (substitute teacher) because they know that they can rely on us,’’ he said in the clip.
According to Davis, because the children are non-verbal, they are unable to inform their parents that they do not have a teacher.
He accused the institution of allowing exploitation and human rights violations to continue.
In an update posted on TikTok, the worker shared that he had been fired by the school following his posting of the video.
“I was devastated. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I decided to break my cardinal rule… I drank and had so much that I got alcohol poisoning and vomitted for the next three days straight.’’
@jabcd._ #stitch with @jabcd._ believe it or not, there’s even more (but these are good things) #holdTUSDaccountable #specialeducation #education #TUSD #tucson #disability ♬ original sound - jay
Davis has resorted to mutual aid by creating a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $25 000 (R445 127). So far, he has raised $13 000 (R231 466).
“I was fired from this position on orders direct from the superintendent. This was done because I posted a TikTok that went viral in which I exposed Roberts-Naylor for having three unlicensed paraprofessionals teach a special education class for which they had adequate notice to find a sub.
“The powerlessness of childhood can be such a traumatising experience that I genuinely believe most adults repress these memories and would rather pretend that they have never experienced such humility,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page.
IOL Business