Whose Fault Is It?

As an educator, it's my job, and most days my pleasure, to educate children. It's my job to raise children to be a responsible, productive member of society. Part of that responsibility is teaching a child - particularly one with special needs - to behave as much as possible within societal norms.

This means that when your child locks himself in the bathroom 2 minutes before the dismissal bell rings and refuses to come out until he's told that he's missed the bus and we're calling Daddy to pick him up, you need to understand that I'm not calling you just so I can piss you off. Your child needs for us to work together to provide consistent guidelines so that he knows what is okay and what is not okay. The fact that when he apologized to you (he was obviously terrified of you, but that's a whole 'nother story), you told him, "Don't worry. It's not your fault," pretty much amazed me. I'm sorry I have to shock you into reality but, yes, it was his fault. Despite the fact that your child's sister said that he does that and worse at home doesn't make it okay for him to do it at school. If he learns that it's 'not his fault', whose fault will it be when he locks himself in a bathroom (without stalls) at the mall or at a restaurant or when you're on vacation and in a hotel room?