Classroom Reality TV? Teacher Votes Out Child with Autism

The Autism community has been buzzing this week about a Kindergarten teacher who held a class vote to decide whether a child, who was in the process of being evaluated for an Autism Spectrum Disorder, should be voted out of the class. According to reports, the Kindergarten students were asked to say why they didn't like the child, some calling him "disgusting" and "annoying." Each student was then asked to vote whether the child should remain in the class. He was voted out 14 to 2 and spent the remainder of the school day in the nurse's office.
The reaction that I heard most often to this story was, "Looks like someone has been watching too much reality TV!" But, was this the real reason for the teacher's actions? As appalled as I was by the teacher's behavior, I thought that there must be more to the story. As a teacher myself, I could not imagine anyone in our profession doing this to a child. A new article has been published, with the teacher providing her side of the story. The teacher reported that the vote was only intended to decide whether or not the child should remain in class for the remainder of the school day, not permanently remove the child. (Note: this would NOT be legal anyway). The goal of her actions was to show the child how his behavior was affecting his classmates. She reportedly felt that it would make a greater impact on the child if he heard about the effects of his behavior from other children, rather than adults.
I found the reports overall to be very disturbing. I can't imagine how traumatic this must have been for the young man, and my heart goes out to him and his family and classmates. But was the teacher so off base with what she was trying to teach? It is important for children, particularly children with Autism, to learn how their behavior affects others. Of course, I don't think that humiliating and "voting out" a child is the way to teach it. A strategy called "Class Meetings" provides a better opportunity for teaching these social skills, in a supportive and loving way.
In class meetings, often held weekly, students can share concerns about things happening in the classroom, and brainstorm solutions to help solve problems. Donna Styles, author of "Class Meetings: Building Leadership, Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills in the Respectful Classroom," says that class meetings help create classrooms where students are "supportive of one another, [can] work together cooperatively, encourage one another, assume responsibility for their own learning and behavior, and are allowed to make decisions."
In the case of a child with behavioral challenges, students could learn ways that they could help each other. For example, if a student has difficulty transitioning between activities, classmates could provide support by telling the student, "Okay, Joey, in five minutes we'll be going to P.E. class," and then giving a similar one-minute warning. A student that the child gets along with could be a "line buddy" or "lunch room buddy" standing or sitting with the child in these situations to provide a consistent routine for the student. Of course, children should not take on the function of managing another child's behavior, or be put in harm's way if a student exhibits aggressive behavior. Many children do, however, enjoy helping a fellow classmate. Children often come up with great ideas to help each other and their classroom, and this can be done in a way that creates policies for all students, if the teacher does not want to single out a particular student.
Let me know what you think of this strategy. Has it been used in your classroom or your child's classroom?
For more information about class meetings including a brief "how-to," please read the article "Class Meetings: A Democratic Approach to Classroom Management" at http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev012.shtml .
References
"Class Meetings: A Democratic Approach to Classroom Management" - http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev012.shtml
"Florida Kindergarten Teacher Defends Having Class Vote 5-year-old Out" - http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/977845,kinder052908.article
"St. Lucie Teacher Has Students Vote on Whether 5-year-old Can Stay in Class" - http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/23/st-lucie-teacher-has-class-vote-whether-5-year-old/