Old news, perhaps, but it's new to me dammit. The following are excerpts from a report done on a private school in Brooklyn. Naturally, the school called the report "biased."
Quote
* Staff shock kids for "nagging, swearing, and failing to maintain a neat appearance" and once threatened to shock a girl who sneezed and then asked for a tissue.
* Some students must "earn" meals by not displaying certain behaviors. Otherwise they are "made to throw a predetermined caloric portion of their food into the garbage."
* When students enter and leave the school each day, "almost all" are wearing some type of restraints, such as handcuffs or leg shackles.
* "Students may be restrained"—on a four-point restraint board or chair—"for extensive periods of time (e.g. hours or intermittently for days)."
* Some students are shocked while strapped to the restraint board.
* A "majority" of employees "serving as classroom teachers" are "not certified teachers."
* Rotenberg's marketing reps bestow presents on prospective families—"e.g. a gift bag for the family, basketball for the student."
* Although the center has described its shock device as "approved" by the fda in its promotional materials, it "has not been approved."
* The facility collects "comprehensive data" on behaviors it seeks to eliminate, but "there was no evidence of the collection of data on replacement or positive behaviors."
* The facility makes no assessment of the "possible collateral effects of punishment such as depression, anxiety, and/or social withdrawal."
link (http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/nagging-zap-swearing-zap-new-yorks-investigations-rotenberg-center)
Oh, yes, I almost forgot, 6 kids died there. (http://psychwatch.blogspot.com/2007/08/dr-matt-israel-of-rotenberg-center-and.html)
What. The. Fuck.
I am unsurprised.
I wish I could say this came out of nowhere and that I am shocked, but this is exactly the sort of thing I've come to expect from America.
:kingmeh:
You guys just aren't serious about having a good time.
Did this place get closed? Please god tell me that this place was closed. :x
Quote from: Dr. James Semaj on May 19, 2010, 01:32:09 AM
Did this place get closed? Please god tell me that this place was closed. :x
You really aren't cut out for this decade.
Quote from: Dr. James Semaj on May 19, 2010, 01:32:09 AM
Did this place get closed? Please god tell me that this place was closed. :x
This ain't gonna be your century.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on May 19, 2010, 01:20:50 AM
You guys just aren't serious about having a good time.
:lulz:
Yup...Punishment doesn't make anything easier in the long run, and we keep doing it because we are in a perpetual fail-spiral. It's a kind of infection, falls somewhere on the scale between swine flu and Oprah.
Quote from: Dr. James Semaj on May 19, 2010, 01:32:09 AM
Did this place get closed? Please god tell me that this place was closed. :x
Per wikipedia:
In April 2010, Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture alleging that the school violates the UN Convention against Torture, which the United States has ratified, and should be immediately closed.[8]
Guess the closure is pending.
This is a few miles from where I live. This is the first I've heard of this.
Edit: Wait, Brooklyn? As in NY? The one that I googled brought me to the wiki of a place in Canton, MA. Your link also indicates a place in Massachusetts.
They mentioned advertising in Virginia too. I think it's a large company, with multiple schools.
After watching an old episode of the late and great Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes on PBS the other day, I was remembering how hard it was on the mentally handicapped and what they called "insane, mad" people back then. That was only about a hundred years ago.
It doesn't shock me that there are desperate parents willing to put their bipolar and autistic kids into a place that accepts them readily, same with school districts who have unfunded federal mandates. More and more schools are putting students with special needs (read: needing more of a 6:1 ratio for students to teachers, than your usual 30:1 a lot of elementary schools now have due to budget cuts) in classes along with regular students. So a lot of administrators are spending less time monitoring the teachers in regular classes and more and more time regulating behaviors of special needs children.
The fact facilities like this have to exist and get away with all this horrendous, shocking and cruelly punitive behavior towards its students points to how little the government and therefore our society cares about them. There are laws there to protect them, but even in 2010 we cannot keep them from harm, where they are among the most vulnerable in our communities. Very sad...very sad indeed. I hope the lawsuits fly and succeed, and that this place gets shut down.
Fuck lawsuits, they tortured kids. I know we have trouble with the whole 'torture is illegal' thing in the US, but just this once can we arrest the people who did it?
Looks like people have been trying to shut this place down since it opened. Hope the MDRI complaint has a better chance.
from the investigative article on the school in the same August 2007 mother jones issue Vene linked to.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/school-shock
* Staff are monitored and punished for having casual conversations with one another. They're encouraged to entrap other teachers into having conversations – a form of testing.
* Students have to earn the right to talk to one another.
* New employees have to sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to talk about the Center – even after they no longer work there.
* While visiting the school, the reporter was on "5:1 status" – meaning she had 5 staff/teachers with her at all times.
* New York officials tried to issue regulations against shocking students in 2007, but a bunch of parents argued against it and got a restraining order against the state so that their kids could continue being shocked at Israel's school.
* In class, the students sit at computers with their backs to the teacher. Supposedly, this is because they teach themselves math, science, etc. Effect: the kids won't know which of them is getting shocked until it happens, so they can't tense up to make it hurt less.
QuoteEmployees carry students' shock activators inside plastic cases, which they hook onto their belt loops. These cases are known as "sleds," and each sled has a photo on it to ensure employees don't zap the wrong kid.
Behaviorism would seem to dictate that staff shock students immediately after they break the rules. But if employees learn about a misbehavior after it has occurred—by, say, reviewing surveillance footage—they may still administer punishment. Rob Santana recalls that Mondays were always the most stressful day of the week. He would sit at his desk all day, trying to remember if he had broken any rules over the weekend, waiting to see if he'd be shocked.
Employees are encouraged to use the element of surprise. "Attempt to be as discreet as possible and hold the transmitter out of view of the student," states the employee manual. This way, students cannot do anything to minimize the pain, like flipping over their electrodes or tensing their muscles. "We hear the sound of [a staffer] picking up a sled," says Isabel, the former student. "Then we turn around and see the person jump out of their seat."
QuoteMarguerite Famolare brought her son Michael to the Rotenberg Center six years ago, after he attacked her so aggressively she had to call 911 and, in a separate incident, flipped over a kitchen table onto a tutor. Michael, now 19, suffers from mental retardation and severe autism. These days, when he comes home for a visit, Marguerite carries his shock activator in her purse. All she has to do, she says, is show it to him. "He'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be, whether it is 'Put on your seatbelt,' or 'Hand me that apple,' or 'Sit appropriately and eat your food,'" she says. "It's made him a human being, a civilized human being."
Quote from: Nurse Rhizome on May 19, 2010, 05:48:37 PM
QuoteMarguerite Famolare brought her son Michael to the Rotenberg Center six years ago, after he attacked her so aggressively she had to call 911 and, in a separate incident, flipped over a kitchen table onto a tutor. Michael, now 19, suffers from mental retardation and severe autism. These days, when he comes home for a visit, Marguerite carries his shock activator in her purse. All she has to do, she says, is show it to him. "He'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be, whether it is 'Put on your seatbelt,' or 'Hand me that apple,' or 'Sit appropriately and eat your food,'" she says. "It's made him a human being, a civilized human being."
This woman seems to be confusing "civilized human being" with "obedient dog".
Seems to be Pavlovian conditioning on what are basically vunerable group of young people.
That's pretty disgusting.
Where is the angry mob?
Quote from: Regret on May 19, 2010, 10:03:59 PM
Where is the angry mob?
Watching American Idol and Lost.
Quote from: Remington on May 19, 2010, 08:40:29 PM
Quote from: Nurse Rhizome on May 19, 2010, 05:48:37 PM
QuoteMarguerite Famolare brought her son Michael to the Rotenberg Center six years ago, after he attacked her so aggressively she had to call 911 and, in a separate incident, flipped over a kitchen table onto a tutor. Michael, now 19, suffers from mental retardation and severe autism. These days, when he comes home for a visit, Marguerite carries his shock activator in her purse. All she has to do, she says, is show it to him. "He'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be, whether it is 'Put on your seatbelt,' or 'Hand me that apple,' or 'Sit appropriately and eat your food,'" she says. "It's made him a human being, a civilized human being."
This woman seems to be confusing "civilized human being" with "obedient dog".
My guess: Probably why he 'attacked' her in the first place. Buzzermom gets off on hurting her kid and will fight for the right to do it.
Quote from: Regret on May 19, 2010, 10:03:59 PM
Where is the angry mob?
Last I heard, they were fighting against New York for the right to torture their kids.
Quote from: Rainy Day Pixie on May 19, 2010, 09:41:47 PM
Seems to be Pavlovian conditioning on what are basically vunerable group of young people.
That's pretty disgusting.
^THIS^ What blows my mind about all the coverage in mother jones is that suggestion -- "this torturing kids thing might be ok for a really, really 'retarded' child, but not for kids that are ADD or some kinder, gentler version of fucked up." Still stuck on the 'it's not torture if' argument. The tradition tends to be 'the less a patient/student/prisoner can say in their defense, the more it's ok to beat on them.'
Israel's peers think he's evil, the state's tried to shut him down, way more than 6 kids have died in that place since the 70s, the 'science' he uses to back this shit up is all from the 50s, there are 30 year old people who've been in there for over 15 years, and on and on. Man has connections and (from what I'm reading) zap-happy parents like the douchebag quoted above keep petitioning for this place to stay open.
QuoteThe Rotenberg Center does not have a rule about how old a child must be before he or she can be hooked up to the ged. One of the program's youngest students is a nine-year-old named Rodrigo. When I see him, he is seated outside at a picnic table with his aide. Rodrigo's backpack [where the torture device's battery is] looks enormous on his tiny frame; canvas straps [indicating electrodes attached to his calves] dangle from both legs.
Rodrigo walks over, his straps slapping the ground. He wears a white dress shirt and tie—the standard uniform for male students—but because he is so small, maybe 4 feet tall, his tie nearly reaches his thighs.
"What's that?" he asks.
"That's a tape recorder," I say. "Do you want to say something?"
"Yeah."
Unfazed by the presence of Israel, Rivera, and my other escorts, Rodrigo lifts a small hand and pulls the recorder down toward his lips. "I want to move to another school," he says.
QuoteOne afternoon, when I walk into a classroom of teenagers, a 15-year-old girl catches my eye, smiles, and holds up a sheet of paper with a message written in pink marker: HELP US. She puts it back down and shuffles it into her stack of papers before anyone else sees.
MDRI's a good group. Hopefully they get the teachers, staff and Israel arrested through their UN complaint... Haven't found any updates anywhere yet, but I'll keep looking.
All these kids should be taken away by social services and the building firebombed.
Agreed. Except that the building didn't do anything wrong. The teachers, staff, admin, Israel and the parents who checked the "Yes! Hook my child up to an electroshock machine for as long as you like" box need to be arrested. Although... fire... pretty... I'm waffling.
Again, numerous people have tried to shut this place down since it opened. I'm left wondering what messed up connections the owner has that weren't mentioned in the article... What school gets away with designing torture devices as part of their school mandate?
QuoteAt times Brandon was required to keep his hands on a paddle; if he removed them, he would get automatic shocks, one per second. One infamous day, Brandon received more than 5,000 shocks.
"You have to realize," Israel says. "[...] There was nothing else I could think of to do...but by the time it went into the 3,000 or 4,000 range, it became clear it wasn't working."
This day was a turning point in the history of Israel's operation—that's when he decided to ratchet up the pain. The problem, he decided, was that the shock sibis emitted was not strong enough. He says he asked sibis's manufacturer, Human Technologies, to create a more powerful device, but it refused. "So we had to redesign the device ourselves," he says.
The article is an endless catalog of bullshit pulled on kids and adults. Telling that they keep referring to 30 year old inmates as 'kids'...
Still looking for some kind of update...
This is the kind of thing that needs mainstream media coverage to raise the collective rage and serious action.
Wow. Fucking wow. Just when you think your respect for the monkeys couldn't drop any lower...
Quote from: Rainy Day Pixie on May 19, 2010, 11:44:57 PM
This is the kind of thing that needs mainstream media coverage to raise the collective rage and serious action.
Would Reddit work?
I'll upvote it if someone posts it.
Same for putting it on Digg, have an account there too.
I'll tweet the fuck out of it as well. Tacking a "PLEASE RT" at the end of the tweet really
does wonders for its virality, as long as it's for an emotional cause like this.
Which URL should be spread?
Quote from: Triple Zero on May 20, 2010, 01:01:51 PM
Which URL should be spread?
The 2007 stories from Mother Jones are an option, but the main page at MDRI currently has a summary about the appeal Twid mentioned. I don't tweet, but maybe a link to something that happened this year might get more play (to get past possible That's So 3 Years Ago)? http://www.mdri.org
Other than that, a site called Raw Story (I'm not familiar with it) has a short bit about the school and the appeal. Published May 4th - already has digg and all the other bits attached. http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0504/rights-group-files-urgent-appeal-alleging-torture-school-disabled
If anyone's interested, you can download the full MDRI appeal (67pgs) here: http://www.mdri.org/MediaKit.html I'm halfway through reading it. Would a summary help?
Last time this school got taken to court, the judge decided everyone was lying. The last time this got any tv coverage, a Please Don't Stop Shocking Our Kids concerned citizens brigade shouted down criticism and a reporter got trashed for 'attacking' an innocent school. Matt Israel managed that last one before her story aired.
Raw Story digg
http://digg.com/world_news/Disabled_forced_to_wear_packs_that_deliver_massive_shocks
Quote from: Remington on May 19, 2010, 08:40:29 PM
Quote from: Nurse Rhizome on May 19, 2010, 05:48:37 PM
QuoteMarguerite Famolare brought her son Michael to the Rotenberg Center six years ago, after he attacked her so aggressively she had to call 911 and, in a separate incident, flipped over a kitchen table onto a tutor. Michael, now 19, suffers from mental retardation and severe autism. These days, when he comes home for a visit, Marguerite carries his shock activator in her purse. All she has to do, she says, is show it to him. "He'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be, whether it is 'Put on your seatbelt,' or 'Hand me that apple,' or 'Sit appropriately and eat your food,'" she says. "It's made him a human being, a civilized human being."
This woman seems to be confusing "civilized human being" with "obedient dog".
Mind, dogs don't deserve that kind of treatment either.
But these parents don't care as long as they can pretend their kids are normal.
Quote from: Rainy Day Pixie on May 19, 2010, 11:44:57 PM
This is the kind of thing that needs mainstream media coverage to raise the collective rage and serious action.
I don't know about
'needs', but it
deserves a nuke.
dugg.
Finally, more people who saw the headgear scene in A Clockwork Orange and thought "Say, there's an idea!" I wonder if they play Beethoven when they zap them. Suffice it to say, this is fucking appalling.
But the bad side of me giggled when people ITT said they were "shocked" this was happening. :oops:
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
Quote from: Requia ☣ on May 27, 2010, 04:01:16 AM
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
Most people have standards, even if it is the internet. No one wants to see this sort of thing happen. Except apparently, the parents and the school's administration.
Quote from: Requia ☣ on May 27, 2010, 04:01:16 AM
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
There you have it; we're bastards, but at least we're decent human beings.
Quote from: Professor Freeky on May 27, 2010, 04:20:07 AM
Quote from: Requia ☣ on May 27, 2010, 04:01:16 AM
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
There you have it; we're bastards, but at least we're decent human beings.
I would argue that being a bastard is a requirement to be a decent human being. Not always, but it can be necessary.
Quote from: Requia ☣ on May 27, 2010, 04:01:16 AM
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
Are you implying people are defending this shit?
hmmm we need to research what corners of the net try to defend this shit so we know who our enemies are.
Quote from: Requia ☣ on May 27, 2010, 04:01:16 AM
I've been doing the whole spreading this around the net bit. And I have come to a conclusion.
The people here are, argumentative, spiteful, shit flinging primates who spend their time laughing at the misfortune of the country.
But at least no one here tried to defend this.
damn.
Feels pretty helpless knowing this stuff is going on and I'm not going to do anything about it besides, perhaps, an angry comment on Digg or maybe even an angry letter to an NY councilman.
Though the Malay Black Death Curse is also an option, thanks to our good buddy Hakim Bey.
Okay, this stuff is pulled from the New York State Education Department review of the JRC, with my comments underneath:
Quote
JRC employs a general use of Level III aversive behavioral interventions to students
with a broad range of disabilities, many without a clear history of self-injurious
behaviors.
JRC employs a general use of Level III aversive behavioral interventions to students
for behaviors that are not aggressive, health dangerous or destructive, such as
nagging, swearing and failing to maintain a neat appearance.
Many of the students observed at JRC were not exhibiting self-abusive/mutilating
behaviors, and their IEPs had no indication that these behaviors existed. However,
they were still subject to Level III aversive interventions, including use of the GED
device. The review of NYS students' records revealed that Level III interventions are
used for behaviors including 'refuse to follow staff directions', 'failure to maintain a
neat appearance', 'stopping work for more than 10 seconds', 'interrupting others',
'nagging', 'whispering and/or moving conversation away from staff', 'slouch in chair',
as well as more intensive behaviors such as physical aggression toward others,
property destruction and attempts to hurt/injure self.
"Level III aversive" is the four or five point restraint (restraining all four limbs, and possibly the head) and/or the remote skin "shocks" (more on those later.) I can see a real justification for severe interventions of this sort if what they're preventing is genuinely self-destructive behavior - if you can train someone to not severely injure themselves (or someone else) through pain, then you've substituted pain for serious physical harm (which is a good trade if you can do it without causing permanent psychological harm) and eventually you can take them off of the pain aversion therapy and (if it worked) they still won't try to hurt themselves.
This is not what they're doing at the JRC.
They are applying this level of aversion therapy to "failing to maintain a neat appearance" - what is that, drooling on yourself to much? Letting your shirt get untucked? Spilling food? I went to school one day in 2nd grade with my pants on inside out (some combination of not noticing, and then not thinking it was important enough to change once I did notice) - would I have gotten strapped to a board and fried with a homemade device for that?
Note the list in the third bullet point:
-failure to maintain a neat appearance
-stopping work for more than 10 seconds
-interrupting others
-whispering and/or moving conversations away from staff
-slouch in chair
I don't know about you, but I've done all of those at least once per week each during my school career. And none of those are really that serious, worth a detention
at most. I don't see any way to read this other than that some teachers have an authority complex and are willing to use any tool to acquire (undeserved) instant obedience.
And this is just the basic authoritarian bullshit that you find every now and then among teachers who think they deserve instant and absolute obediance from strangers on the basis that the strangers happen to be younger than they are (although most teachers don't have access to remote pain devices.) It gets worse.
Here's some information about the electrode thingies themselves:
Quote
The GED is manufactured by the JRC. While JRC has information posted on
their website and in written articles which represents the GED device as "approved", it
has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA has cleared
the device for marketing as "substantially equivalent to devices marketed or classified
as "aversive conditioning devices." FDA's clearance prohibits JRC from representing
the device as FDA approved. JRC's GED was modified from other similar devices on
the market by doubling the intensity (amperage and voltage) and increasing the duration
by 10 times (from .2 to 2 seconds) of the shock administered and by expanding the
positions on the body where the electrodes could be placed. JRC also uses a device
called the GED-4, which applies an even greater intensity shock to the student when the
student fails to respond to the lower level shock.
...
In addition to the GED, JRC uses an additional form of electrical circuitry that
automatically administers a series of aversives (e.g., skin shocks) as soon as a
behavior is initiated. This device is not activated by a staff person and continues
until the behavior stops. Should the student fall, for example, after getting out of
his/her seat, the student would continue to receive electric shocks. As stated
previously, NYSED could not find evidence that this automated electric shock device
has been approved or cleared for marketing by FDA.
Since the GED has been modified in intensity and duration from other similar
devices on the market, and there is a lack of peer reviewed research on the
effectiveness and safety of the GED as used at JRC, NYSED has concerns
regarding the long term health and safety of the students, particularly those students
who may receive multiple electric shocks as part of their behavior plans.
Despite the safety warning of the GED device that the GED should no be allowed to
become wet or submerged in water, it was reported by JRC staff that for some
students, the GED device remains on them while they take a bath or shower.
Student records verified this and one student interviewed stated that she had been
burned by the GED device while taking a shower. By this student's report, a new
staff person was not adequately trained to administer the GED-4 shock during the
student's shower, resulting in a burn to her skin where the device was attached.
Key points: the FDA never approved the original device as safe or effective. JRC decided the original, unapproved, device didn't hurt enough and doubled the intensity and
multiplied the duration by 10. (note on duration - they sometimes use a series of shocks, so you might get shocked 5 times at the max of two seconds each.) And they have an even more amped-up version for when
that isn't painful enough.
Quote
Movement limitation is another commonly used Level III intervention that may be
applied manually or mechanically. When applied manually, staff members physically
hold the student. With mechanical movement limitation the student is strapped
into/onto some form of physical apparatus. For example, a four-point platform board
designed specifically for this purpose; or a helmet with thick padding and narrow facial
grid that reduces sensory stimuli to the ears and eyes. Another form of mechanical
restraint occurs when the student is in a five-point restraint in a chair. Students may be
restrained for extensive periods of time (e.g., hours or intermittently for days) when
restraint is used as a punishing consequence. Many students are required to carry
their own "restraint bag" in which the restraint straps are contained.
Personal story time: I've mentioned elsewhere on this board that I've been diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disorder, which might be closely related to Aspergers, which is probably related to the various autism spectrum disorders. In my unprofessional opinion I don't qualify for Aspergers, if only because in the many years I've had to practice social interaction I've progressed from downright pathological to merely weird and off-putting, and that I don't think a diagnosis would actually be helpful. But I do have a lot of the stereotypical aversions that people with real autism have - bright lights, loud noises, some textures, talking to more than one person at once, etc. One of those is a very strong need for personal space. I remember one doctor's visit to get some immunization shot or other (I think this was around 4 years old, but my memory is a little foggy) when my dad held me down to get the shot. I
freaked the fuck out. The pain of the shot itself didn't bother me that much, but the experience of being held down was enough to trigger a mini panic attack. And this was when the person holding me down was a close family member acting entirely without aggression, I knew that it would only last a for very short period (i.e., until I got the shot,) and I understood the reason for the restraint. Imagine the experience of a profoundly autistic child being physically restrained by multiple angry near-strangers for a long and unknown duration as punishment for an offence he may not understand. I can easily see this as being downright traumatic for a good section of the NRC's students.
Now, it might be the case that these therapies actually are effective and are administered by highly trained psychologists as part of treatment carefully tailored to the individual students, and the therapies would be defensible if that actually were the case. In reality land, these therapies receive little to no support by mainstream psychologists ... and the typical JRC employee only has a high school education. Here's some more:
Quote
The majority of staff in the "alternative learning centers" and "small
conference rooms" are Mental Health Aides (MHA's). (JRC employs a total of 386
MHAs and 254 Mental Health Relief Aides in the school and residences. Most of these
individuals, 468 of the total 640 MHAs and Mental Health Relief Aides, have completed
only a high school education.)
...
JRC's psychologists or clinicians develop student behavior programs. JRC's
psychology department lists a total of 17 clinicians. Of these clinicians, although 12
have some doctoral level training in psychology, only four have licensure from the
State of Massachusetts as Psychologist Providers, one is licensed as a psychologist
in another state and one has a license as an Educational Psychologist. A high level
of competence in psychology and behavior analysis is necessary for ethical practice
when the most intrusive and aversive procedures are used in the treatment of
children with behavior problems as complex and challenging as many who are
approved for Level III aversive behavioral interventions at JRC.
...
Staff development is provided via a) 2-week orientation, and b) 30 mandated hours
of in-service training. A review of the staff development plan indicates minimal, if
any, training on student characteristics; functional behavioral assessments;
reinforcement; shaping or other behavioral techniques used for increasing positive
social behavior; and educational supports that include instructional methods and
curriculum. Staff receives one hour of training on collecting and graphing data, but
no required training on positive teaching procedures. In addition, all staff appears to
receive the same training, regardless of their particular function (e.g., teachers do
not necessarily receive additional training in educational supports; QA team
members do not necessarily receive training in behavior analysis).
...
During the May 16-18 site visit, it was confirmed that the majority of staff serving as
classroom teachers at JRC are not certified teachers. One crisis classroom teacher
the team spoke to has a high school diploma and had acquired college credits
through distance learning Internet courses.
During the initial site visit, the team reviewed the credentials of the teaching staff in
the 21 classrooms at JRC:
- One is certified/licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE) as a special education teacher;
- Eleven have academic waivers for teaching "moderate disabilities" or "severe disabilities" from MDOE; and
- Nine have no certification, licensure or MDOE academic waivers to teach special education.
Oh, and they also let families take the shock devices home without really giving them training on the things:
Quote
JRC's practice of providing the shock device to families and allowing newly hired
staff with little to no training and information on a student to administer the GED
appears to be in direct violation of the FDA required safety precautions on the use of
the device.
The above couple paragraphs should scare you. Teaching is an extremely hard job. Teaching a classroom of ordinary children is incredibly stressful and difficult; dealing with special needs kids is infinitely worse. It is not something you can extrapolate from experience with ordinary disruptive children; you cannot just scale up the techniques used on an ordinary student who often breaks rules to one whose disruptive behaviour is rooted in autism, bipolar, an anxiety disorder, or similar. The obvious response that would work on a neurotypical kid often does nothing, at best, and has a good chance of actively making things worse when applied to someone with severe psychological problems. This is why specialized training is important - handing children with severe special needs (remember, a big chunk of JRC kids ended up there after a stay in a psychiatric hospital - these aren't your garden-variety super ADHD kids) over to people who only have a normal teaching certificate is profound negligence at
best, and putting them in the care of "teachers" with only a high school degree is criminal.
Of particular note is that the teachers aren't trained in instructional methods or the school curriculum, which begs the question: what are they actually teaching? Apparently, they don't teach much of anything. The staff/student interaction is apparently limited to this:
Quote
Classroom visitations by the review team revealed that limited interactions occur
between students or between staff and students. The main interactions witnessed
involved staff rotating GED electrodes, as required for GED safety, on students'
bodies when an alert, set at hourly intervals, instructed staff to rotate the electrodes.
The rotation of electrodes is necessary to prevent skin burns that may result from
repeated application of the shock to the same contact point on the student's body.
Other observed interactions involved staff making rote statements regarding the
student's behavior program, such as "turn around and keep working" or limited social
praise "good eating."
Note that "education" or "role-modeling" is not on that list. So if they aren't teaching the students anything academic, then they're at least providing basic therapy and training, like social skills, speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational training, and so on, right? Wrong. In fact, RJC goes
out of their way to deny access to therapy to children who need it.(cont'd)
Quote
A review of JRC's internal IEP admission checklist states that staff 'eliminate'
(where possible) related service recommendations, such as speech and language
therapy or counseling. While JRC employs or contracts with some related service
providers, documentation showed that JRC takes steps to have CSEs eliminate
recommendations for related services.
Student files contained documentation that JRC consistently requests that speech
and language therapy, occupational therapy (OT), and counseling be removed from
a student's IEP. A review of IEPs of NYS students showed:
-23 students had CSE recommendations for counseling that were later eliminated based on JRC's recommendation;
-12 students had IEP recommendations for speech and language therapy that were later eliminated based on JRC's recommendation;
-Seven students had IEP recommendations for OT that were later terminated based on JRC's recommendation and one continued OT on a "one hour per month – consult" basis; and
-Four students had IEP recommendations for PT [physical therapy] that were later terminated
based on JRC's recommendation.
Twenty students' current IEPs include recommendations for speech and language
therapy. JRC records indicate that 12 students are receiving speech language
therapy with most at a duration and frequency of 1x30 min/week (below the
minimum NYS regulatory requirement).
At JRC, behavioral counseling is provided in a nontraditional format in which
students are expected to learn how to self-manage their target behaviors. Students
who request to speak with a psychologist must write a note or "business letter"
requesting a session and "pay" with their tokens. (The nature of counseling is
unclear). The Director of Clinical Services indicated that other types of counseling
could be used, but that it is not routinely offered.
Based on classroom observations, there was no evidence that language instruction,
as required by NYS regulations for students with autism, was being provided.
Out of 148 NYS students at JRC, 128 students receive no related services. The
provision of related services was not observed during either visitation.
Observers did not see a structured, systematic program for teaching of
generalization of skills, self-care, social/recreational or community skills in the school
or the residences to assist students in post-secondary transitions or to promote
transitions to less restrictive settings.
There was no evidence of social skills instruction or use of a curriculum or instruction
to teach alternatives to aggressive behaviors. When asked about their social skills
curriculum, JRC staff described opportunities to socialize and opportunities for
recreational trips. None of the staff mentioned any of the published social skills
curriculum that are in common use for the treatment of children with autism
spectrum disorders or curricular for teaching prosocial and anger management
strategies. For students with autism and students with diagnoses that represent
social difficulties (e.g., oppositional defiant disorder; conduct disorder), there was no
evidence of teaching students positive social ways to communicate or of teaching or
programming for social skills during the observation periods. The complete lack of
organized, instructional social interaction periods and reinforcement for positive
social interactions also prevented developing time with other children as a
reinforcing activity. This is a particularly glaring omission in programming when
contemplating transition to a less restrictive school or adult settings where positive
social play and interaction with other children and adults is necessary for success.
This is an outrage. Even if JRC was doing nothing else wrong, this
alone would justify an immediate termination of the program and criminal prosecution of those in charge - at a bare minimum, they're defrauding state governments and parents by claiming to offer therapy and then systematically denying therapy, and I would hope a case could be made for child abuse on just on the systematic and intentional denial of speech and physical therapy to children who need it. Ordinary, well funded schools with a halfway decent special ed program provide or help arrange for speech therapy. That JRC goes out of their way to actively be worse than mediocre is inexcusable.
And students who want to speak to a psychologist have to request it in writing and pay for it with good behaviour tokens? That is below bare minimum standards. Normal schools allow access to a counselor with nothing more than asking a teacher, and I haven't seen one where a student in distress would be turned away from a drop-in appointment.
It gets worse. JRC found a way to do one better than denying social skills classes and speech therapy to their charges: preventing them from talking and socializing altogether.
(cont'd)
Quote
There was very limited social interaction between the classroom staff and students
except for 1:1 prompting (jargon) to computer tasks and/or the awarding or removal
of tokens.
JRC does not promote the development of social skills for any of their students and
in fact requires that the students not attempt social interactions with staff or
classmates as part of their behavior programs. Questions to staff about programs
for social skills development were always answered by descriptions of social
opportunities that included recess as well as scheduled recreational outings. The
recreational outings were with groups of students and provided no opportunities for
interaction with members of the general community.
Several observations were made of the outdoor recess periods and lunch breaks.
The recreation area was set up with swings and a wooden structure for climbing and
walking across bridges and several plastic slides. The area was very well
maintained and appropriate for children under seven or eight years old. However,
the students during all observations appeared to be adolescents. Staff was attentive
and providing appropriate supervision to students and the interactions between staff
and students were positive, supportive and respectful. However, they tended to be
helping interactions rather than conversations or play. During five observations
involving a total of 59 students, there were no instances of students socializing with
other students and only five instances observed of students socializing with staff.
Social interactions between students reportedly occur in the Big Reward Store
where students go to select a reward for keeping to contracts. When questioned
about friendships and social interactions among students, the students interviewed
stated that they were unable to socialize in a natural way.
Opportunities to socialize with peers must be earned through compliance with
behavioral contracts.
Students in classrooms were docile and compliant and did not attempt to socially
engage, either verbally or with eye contact, anyone in the rooms. This was also
apparent in the residences visited by the team. Staff indicated, on at least three
occasions, that it was unsafe to allow students to socialize because in the past
students had plotted against staff.
THIS IS BEYOND FUCKED UP. This is the premeditated, intentional, systematic, and brutal dehumanization of children. This is past mere child abuse. We know what happens when children are socially isolated for extended periods - the effects are well-documented in the scientific literature. With a normal, healthy child the
best you can hope for is depression and some retardation of normal social development. They are doing this on purpose and in cold blood to people who already have serious emotional (and other) problems. This is on a level with organized rape. There is no excuse for this. This is crimes against humanity level of evil.
I want to call special attention to that last line in the quote:
QuoteStaff indicated, on at least three occasions, that it was unsafe to allow students to socialize because in the past students had plotted against staff.
I find this entirely sane and justified ... on behalf of the students. This is the level of atrocity for which if nonviolent means fail to work, violence is justified in self defense and the defense of others. This is the level of atrocity for which if legal means do not work - and they have not in the past (the center is named after a judge who ruled in their favor) - extralegal means are justified. This is the level of atrocity that, if such a thing as a moral obligation exists, we are morally obligated to put an end to.
ETA: just wanted to clarify that I in no way think that violent or other illegal methods are justified or likely to help. Rather, I mean that this is so beyond ordinary moral outrage that extreme methods understandable on the part of the students, who have essentially zero access to each other, let alone media and lawyers. This is already a place where self-injury and threatening to commit suicide is "normal" - the students going on hunger strike is not going to change anything if it is even
noticed.
A few more selections from the report that I found particularly disturbing:
Quote
The meeting minutes from one student's CSE meeting stated the student was
unable to attend the meeting because she was in restraint. This was one of the
students interviewed and she stated that she needed to talk with her CSE
Chairperson regarding her behavior program at JRC, but was unable to attend the
last meeting. On follow up with the Chairperson, the team learned that the student
was in attendance at a more recent CSE meeting in May 2006, but was unable to
participate because she could not control her sobbing. According to the
Chairperson, the CSE recommended at the May CSE meeting that this student be
faded from the GED.
While JRC collects comprehensive data on negative targeted behaviors, there was
no evidence of the collection of data on replacement or positive behaviors to
document the development of replacement or enhancing skills. Documentation was
difficult to find for evidence of academic progress or development of positive social
skills. The program descriptions of behavioral interventions are very standardized
across students and show a lack of individualization of treatment planning.
Treatment plans do not always vary for different types of behavioral difficulties
exhibited by an individual student, even though these behaviors may serve different
functions for the student.
In one classroom it was observed that a new staff member was briefly informed that
his role in the room was to monitor 1:1 student S and second party verification was
not required before administering the GED. The new staff person was handed the
SLED (GED transmitter) and verbally given direction and instruction in when to
administer the GED. As the instructing staff person was departing, she also
informed the new staff that student S is deaf.
There is no evidence that JRC considers the potential negative effects, such as
depression or anxiety, that may result from the use of aversive behavioral strategies
with certain individual students. Several students from NYS came to JRC with
diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), yet their behavior programs
call for skin shock. Skin shock has the potential to increase the symptoms
associated with PTSD, yet there is no evidence of data measuring these possible
side effects or therapies designed to treat these symptoms.
JRC is receiving federal funds to administer the National School Lunch and School
Breakfast Program that are not properly payable. JRC did not have adequate
documentation to support that all meals served at the school met the minimum
standards established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). We
have notified John Magnarelli, Director of Special Nutrition Programs for USDA's
Northeast Regional Office of this finding; he informed NYS that he has instructed the
MDOE to formally notify JRC and request that they comply with the federal meal
pattern requirements immediately.
A student, reported to have extreme head banging behaviors, was observed not
exhibiting any inappropriate behaviors while having her hair braided by an adult in
the classroom. Her appropriate interactions were not rewarded and/or
acknowledged by the staff. However, the following day, this student was placed in a
higher demand activity (academic computer work) and exhibited several head
banging attempts. These behaviors were met with the ongoing loss of her contract.
Loss of contract involved returning to the academic computer work. In this case,
academic work was scheduled into the contract as a punishing consequence. The
teacher reported that she would simply continue to lose her contract award and if the
behaviors increased in intensity, it could result in the need to restrain her.
Otherwise, no other intervention strategies were being used with this student. She is
currently awaiting court approval for the use of Level III aversives.
I want to draw special attention to this one. She can function okay in low-stress environments, but head-bangs in stressful environments. The "solution" is to punish her head-banging by keeping her in the stressful environment until she needs to be physically restrained, and they're trying to get permission to use the remote zaps on her.
JRC has a policy on modifying contingencies due to the special "pleading" of
students. Part of the treatment program for students involves deliberately setting up
unfair or mistaken directions or decelerative (application of a skin shock with a GED
device) consequences for the students. The student is expected to handle these
unfair situations successfully and not 'plead' or appeal to a psychologist or clinician
regarding his/her treatment. In instances where the student "pleads" to the
psychologist or clinician, there are consequences imposed on the student.
It was reported by a JRC staff member that one of the BRL episodes involved
holding a student's face still while staff person went for his mouth with a pen or
pencil threatening to stab him in the mouth while repeatedly yelling "YOU WANT TO
EAT THIS?" The goal was to aversively treat the student's target behavior of putting
sharp objects in the mouth.
It was reported that during a BRL, the student would still receive a GED for
exhibiting an appropriate behavior, just less than for exhibiting a target behavior.
For example, five GED applications would be given for a target behavior, such as
mouthing towards the object, as opposed to one GED application for an appropriate
behavior such as turning away from the object.
Students placed in the more segregated and restrictive settings (i.e., the small
conference room) were not observed to receive instruction, even computer-based
instruction, and a teacher is not available to provide instruction in that setting. The
room is monitored by MHAs with high school diplomas and other nonteaching staff.
Students attend the school seven days per week from 9 AM to 4 PM; teachers are
not present on the weekend days. Teachers interviewed by the team could not
describe what the students did on the weekends at the school.
A student interviewed stated that she had entered JRC at the age of 19 with the
expectation that she would receive vocational training while she resolved her
emotional and behavioral problems. She had not received any vocational training
and still remained in the most restrictive settings offered by JRC. This student wept
as she asked the team to bring her back to New York.
Records and staff indicate that, once placed, very few students' transition out of JRC
to a less restrictive environment prior to aging-out.
A review of a student's file indicated that the student was receiving Level III aversive
interventions for "aggression", but according to the teacher's notes, the only
aggressions exhibited by the student were in anticipation of the GED. The student
was not otherwise aggressive.
There does not appear to be any measurement of, or treatment for, the possible
collateral effects of punishment such as depression, anxiety, and/or social
withdrawal.
Student interviews revealed reports of pervasive fears and anxieties related to the
interventions used at JRC. Students verbally reported a lack of trust, fear, feeling
upset/anxious and loneliness.
One student stated she felt depressed and fearful, stating very coherently her desire
to leave the center. She is not permitted to initiate conversation with any member of
the staff. She also expressed that she had no one to talk to about her feelings of
depression and her desire to kill herself and told the interviewing team that she
thought about killing herself everyday. Her greatest fear was that she would remain
at JRC beyond her 21st birthday.
Full report here:
http://www.boston.com/news/daily/15/school_report.pdf
ETA:
The wikipedia article looks like it was written by the JRC marketing team. Maybe we should work on that together?
Holy fuck. I have to admit, I was slightly on the fence about this at first. But after reading those last few posts, I am appalled.
Yea, alphapance, that is some egregious shit.
The best part is, the boston globe (where the report is hosted) *defended* the school, because it was clearly, only being used to prevent violence.
This is the only thing I have ever read on the Internet that has made me shiver with rage. This is the only thing I have read on the Internet that has ever caused me to throw things and punch holes in walls. It's positively despicable that they can get away with giving children that kind of treatment. Anyone want to organize an assault on Israel and his associates? I'll lead it personally.
This kind of issue has a special pain for me, because I was dumped into the special education program in grade 5. Even in the mainstream public education system, even in Canada, special needs students are treated like subhumans. There's a stigma for sure. From my experience, all of the professionals in the area of special education are under the impression that special needs means stupid. It's bad enough to be treated like you're lower than everyone else. Electric shocks and institutionalized isolation make it a nightmare.
I will hunt Dr. Israel down and I will cut him up.
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 05, 2010, 08:43:18 PM
This is the only thing I have ever read on the Internet that has made me shiver with rage. This is the only thing I have read on the Internet that has ever caused me to throw things and punch holes in walls. It's positively despicable that they can get away with giving children that kind of treatment. Anyone want to organize an assault on Israel and his associates? I'll lead it personally.
This kind of issue has a special pain for me, because I was dumped into the special education program in grade 5. Even in the mainstream public education system, even in Canada, special needs students are treated like subhumans. There's a stigma for sure. From my experience, all of the professionals in the area of special education are under the impression that special needs means stupid. It's bad enough to be treated like you're lower than everyone else. Electric shocks and institutionalized isolation make it a nightmare.
I will hunt Dr. Israel down and I will cut him up.
I'm in favor of organizing something. As long as that something is non-violent.
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on June 05, 2010, 08:47:00 PM
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 05, 2010, 08:43:18 PM
This is the only thing I have ever read on the Internet that has made me shiver with rage. This is the only thing I have read on the Internet that has ever caused me to throw things and punch holes in walls. It's positively despicable that they can get away with giving children that kind of treatment. Anyone want to organize an assault on Israel and his associates? I'll lead it personally.
This kind of issue has a special pain for me, because I was dumped into the special education program in grade 5. Even in the mainstream public education system, even in Canada, special needs students are treated like subhumans. There's a stigma for sure. From my experience, all of the professionals in the area of special education are under the impression that special needs means stupid. It's bad enough to be treated like you're lower than everyone else. Electric shocks and institutionalized isolation make it a nightmare.
I will hunt Dr. Israel down and I will cut him up.
I'm in favor of organizing something. As long as that something is non-violent.
Well, you can do that. I encourage it. Who knows, maybe I'll even calm down a bit. But he deserves to be punished. As I am right now I want to hook him up to one of his own machines at the very least.
EDIT: Look at this: http://www.judgerc.org/
THIS is their logo:
(http://www.judgerc.org/images/NewColorsWebLogoSmall.gif)
Crayons. Fucking crayons.
The thing is, this is science fiction. This is 1984, this is A Clockwork Orange. Comic book villains do this.
And in the comic books, King Mob or the X-Men or whoever bust in and trash the place and rescue the students. (In science fiction the students tend to organize something using psychic powers, but I think that's even less applicable here.)
But this isn't a comic book, this is real life, and comic book solutions aren't going to help. As much as you might want to mutilate the people in charge (and, unless you're an actual psychopath, I suggest that doing that in practice would be much less enjoyable than you might imagine behind your keyboard,) doing that has zero chance of changing anything unless you somehow were to incapacitate so much of the faculty backbone simultaneously that these institutions would have to shut down due to lack of manpower and then be unable to rebuild. I submit that if anyone had the level of manpower, organization, and sophistication to execute organized, simultaneous, targeted brutalizations of the JRC top level, then they probably have enough to get the JRC closed some other way (and we also would want to keep the JRC students away from such hypothetical violent goons.)
Can you imagine what would happen if someone sent a SWAT team or similar into one of these places? The majority of the students already have severe emotional problems, and a good chunk of them are autistic or have PTSD. Sending in uniformed guys with big scary guns is a recipe for disaster.
And if some kind of vigilante activity was successful in removing (the technical term is "kidnapping," I believe) students from the JRC building, what would that accomplish? What do you do with a dozen or a hundred or more children with profound behavioural disorders and who require intensive psychological and psychiatric therapy? Send them back to the "my son is just like a real human being" parents who put them there in the first place? Dump them at some orphanage and hope that it somehow has the resources to deal with the children who have already fallen through every crack in the system it's possible to fall through without actually dieing*? Load them onto a Firefly-class transport and go planet-hopping, trying to stay one step ahead of the feds?
I do have some constructive ideas, and I'll post something in GASM command when I get something written together.
*some have actually died, but unless you invented a resurrection device, I don't think anyone could rescue them.
(@Captain Slack - if reading about this kind of thing causes you to literally punch holes in walls, perhaps you might require some aversion real therapy?
I know that violence won't solve anything in this case. It was just an expression of anger. It wasn't meant to be taken at face value.
Anyway, I'd really like to hear about these ideas of yours. I'm confident that if we all do what we do best, we can cause serious mental anguish to the nazis responsible for this facility.
EDIT: Name suggestion: RotGASM?
Welcome back, GA. :)
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 05, 2010, 11:18:23 PM
Anyway, I'd really like to hear about these ideas of yours. I'm confident that if we all do what we do best, we can cause serious mental anguish to the nazis responsible for this facility.
EDIT: Name suggestion: RotGASM?
I was thinking something involving the word Resistance as a reference to the electrical devices they use, but I don't like the overtones of the word - when I here "the Resistance" or "Resistance movement" I think of really scruffy people running an ineffective guerrilla war - and I don't think people would get the electricity reference. RotGASM is works here, but I don't want to explain to the normal people I'm planning on talking to that "no, the name isn't an orgasm joke, well okay, it kind of is, but that's not the
point, alright?"
And I think we can aim higher than just making life unpleasant for the people doing this - I think we can effect positive change. (It might help a little, though - every minute the administrators have to spend dealing with us is a minute they aren't spending running, expanding, or promoting the JRC.)
http://sacred-texts.com/eso/taz.htm#labelCommuniqueHalloween
I'll just leave this here.
Quote from: Zyzyx on June 06, 2010, 12:13:52 AM
http://sacred-texts.com/eso/taz.htm#labelCommuniqueHalloween
I'll just leave this here.
Mahdghjickques? In
my evil school annihilation plot?
EDIT: That being said, this might make for a decent mindfuck if we want to freak them out. I doubt they'll be that superstitious, though. If they were, I think they'd be worried about going to Hell.
Quote from: Golden Applesauce on June 05, 2010, 10:53:21 PM
The thing is, this is science fiction. This is 1984, this is A Clockwork Orange. Comic book villains do this.
Well said.
Quote from: Golden Applesauce on June 05, 2010, 10:53:21 PM
I do have some constructive ideas, and I'll post something in GASM command when I get something written together.
Looking forward to it. I'll contribute what I can from the MDRI UN appeal.
2/3rds done with the GASM post, should have that up within the next 12 hours - got sidetracked into family game night and now I need to sleep. Stayed up till 6 am last night researching this stuff.
GA, your post was exactly why I was on the fence initially. Their environment is horrible. The environment they face if we shut down the school is horrible. If ther were a better place to shelter these kids, don't you think the parents would have done it?
Ok, I'm drunk, and I'm gonna say it. In New York City, in 2010, kids like these are FUCKED. Their parents can't take care of them, they don't belong in a hospital, they don't belong in jail, and there are no "schools" that exist where teachers are able to communicate with and educate them.
In the current pragmatic view, the only option seems to be to move somewhere with incredibly cheap rents or mortgage, have one parent work, while the other stays home and raises a child that doesn't follow any of the norms regarding emotional or intellectual development, with no training or assistance.
For the parents out there, would you like to raise a three-year old for 50 years, who eventually become as physically strong as you?
Everyone is fucked, from all sides. To see these kids get tortured is to see the worst part of humanity abusing the saddest truth of humanity.
[Suu]
I'm pretty sure that Law and Order did an episode about a school like this.
[/Suu]
Posted the GASM entry. Key points in no particular order: talk to your teachers, fix the Wikipedia article, Google bombing, get everyone who already cares working together in a united front, find credible sources documenting JRC abuses and practices, write and promote refutations to the JRCs baldfaced but media-friendly lies, and write friendly letters to kids who could use a friend and a smile. Also Jesuits.
Quote from: Golden Applesauce on June 06, 2010, 05:38:57 PM
Posted the GASM entry. Key points in no particular order: talk to your teachers, fix the Wikipedia article, Google bombing, get everyone who already cares working together in a united front, find credible sources documenting JRC abuses and practices, write and promote refutations to the JRCs baldfaced but media-friendly lies, and write friendly letters to kids who could use a friend and a smile. Also Jesuits.
{{{}}} You are the best.
Will refrain from torture.
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 05, 2010, 08:59:06 PM
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on June 05, 2010, 08:47:00 PM
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 05, 2010, 08:43:18 PM
This is the only thing I have ever read on the Internet that has made me shiver with rage. This is the only thing I have read on the Internet that has ever caused me to throw things and punch holes in walls. It's positively despicable that they can get away with giving children that kind of treatment. Anyone want to organize an assault on Israel and his associates? I'll lead it personally.
This kind of issue has a special pain for me, because I was dumped into the special education program in grade 5. Even in the mainstream public education system, even in Canada, special needs students are treated like subhumans. There's a stigma for sure. From my experience, all of the professionals in the area of special education are under the impression that special needs means stupid. It's bad enough to be treated like you're lower than everyone else. Electric shocks and institutionalized isolation make it a nightmare.
I will hunt Dr. Israel down and I will cut him up.
I'm in favor of organizing something. As long as that something is non-violent.
Well, you can do that. I encourage it. Who knows, maybe I'll even calm down a bit. But he deserves to be punished. As I am right now I want to hook him up to one of his own machines at the very least.
EDIT: Look at this: http://www.judgerc.org/
THIS is their logo:
(http://www.judgerc.org/images/NewColorsWebLogoSmall.gif)
Crayons. Fucking crayons.
Looking at the photos page, the place looks downright festive. I looked at the street level view of the Google maps link on their website, but did not find the building shown on the photos page.
Thanks for the thorough shake-down of the situation GA, glad to see you posting again.
Also,
:vom: :x :vom: :x :vom: :x :vom: :x
(http://www.judgerc.org/images/loclass3.jpg)
See those backpacks? If I'm not mistaken, those are where the GED devices/batteries are kept.
Quote from: CAPTAIN SLACK on June 07, 2010, 02:18:51 AM
See those backpacks? If I'm not mistaken, those are where the GED devices/batteries are kept.
Also, their personal set of restraints.
Double post to add: And those computers you see are the closest thing they get to education.
It's like those science fiction stories where the kids all have their own personal robotic tutor, combination parent, friend, and companion only and the robot isn't programmed to talk or be friendly or lead the kids on wacky educational adventures and some of the robots are programmed only to make the children match shapes hour after hour children who will never master shapes who just don't have that geometry and when the children get tired or frustrated or bored they have friendly men and women to hold them down while the friendly not-teacher has the pain button that miracle of modern science so easy so simple no pain for the not-teacher not even the sting of the rod against her own hand no blood no muss no fuss just screams because the child doesn't know how to talk yet that doesn't come until after the shapes all of the shapes the shapes spiraling into the infinite with the screams, the glorious screams, the sound of perfect obedience and civility the future the hope of mankind the dream of a perfect ordered world and the not-teacher rejoices at the salvation of this exquisite child-martyr because this one can be saved saved from itself saved from the flaws that make it a thing transformed into a perfect little doll a facsimile so good you could never tell if you didn't look at the eyes the thing behind the eyes has fled but the thing behind the eyes is of no importance it did not matter anyway it is almost like a real human it is being born in a baptism of screams and then the next child begins to cry it is frightened of the screams it does not understand the coming of the new age the age of silence and authority and she must crucify it to make it like jesus only this time it is better because there is no mess no blood no dirty holes only a push-button and shapes on a screen and screaming on the carpet, wonderful carpet designer carpet the kind of carpet you wish you had in your house the kind of carpet you can have in your house the kind of carpet they would love to give you, it can be yours for only a single perfect doll it will be just like the real thing we promise, and they can give the carpet to the world spread it all over the world make the world one big carpet smooth and flat and spread it all over all of the brains make them nice and smooth and flat, there's ever so much room now that the thing behind the eyes is gone. Because what we can do to our children we can do to your children and your children's children and on down to not the seventh but the seven-times-seventh generation, it will be perfect world with designer carpet with colorful little shapes matching together and filling the endless space under the feet of not-people, not-people who will never get out of their chairs who never stop matching shapes who will never get angry who will never break your heart because we have your heart you gave it to us long ago don't you remember? We came to you and told we could remove your problems we could make them all go away, all the disobedience all the outbursts all the crying that would say help if only they had the words, we can fix all the problems it is quite simple really they all come from the thing behind the eyes if you can kill the thing behind the eyes the rest follows naturally all we need are the children, your beautiful little jesus-children, the sons and daughters of man, and soon we will have all of the children and then it will be the second coming because we will have all of the beautiful jesuses it will be our own second coming and then all of the problems in the universe will disappear
one
by one
by one.
x-post
I created this blog to index all the awful data we've been finding: http://judgerotenbergcenterabuse.wordpress.com
see the rotgasm thread for more details