venting/posts

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venting/posts
By jl, fourth grade

Robin,

First, let me say that I agree with you regarding this board. Sometimes the tone can become negative and sometimes people just need to vent. Venting is healthy for our mental state, but venting needs to be done appropriately.
With regard to the post about the person venting and someone responding by suggesting the "ventor" come up with a solution, I feel compelled to tell you that I am the person who responded to that post, and that the "ventor" had been inundating the vent and special ed boards with SEVERAL posts in which negative comments were made about special ed students and teachers. These

comments ranged from these kids are "mentally retarded" and will never amount to anything, to why are they wasting time in our classrooms, to we should not babysit them. SEVERAL posts on the boards by this person generated a hot discussion about inclusion and special ed, and in all honesty, after this person had made the post you referred to (it was his/her fifth or sixth post in which a vent about how inadequate special ed students and their programs are), I felt that it was important for him/her to stop and address the issue at hand. After all, it is one thing to vent to blow off steam, but to continually vent and offer negative comments about a student population without ever pausing to look at how you can help to solve the problem.....to me, that defeats the purpose of venting. I think we can vent because we are upset or frustrated, but after we vent, we need sit back and examine the positives and negatives of the situation and see what we can do about it. If I offended you with my "reprimand" to this poster, I apologize. It certainly wasn't my intent to permeate the negative attitude related to that thread, but sometimes, like all teachers, we become passionate about educational issues, and when one vents in a negative and condescending tone towards our students/teachers, some of us become a bit defensive. It is human nature, I think. Anyway, thank you for your post and your reminder to keep things positive--you are correct. We work too hard to create a positive attitude in our classrooms, so we should do the same here. Thank you, as well, for respecting the challenges teachers in the U.S. face, I respect your concern for our position, and I am sure that in Canada, you have an equal number of tribulations to face each day. Again, thank you for your support, and may all of us continue to permeate a positive and supportive atmosphere in our profession and on these boards.