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To avoid too many identifying details, I'm just going to give you the basics and you tell me what you think.
At an elementary school one of the after school workers is legally blind. There are only two workers with the kids, so this blind person only has one other sighted adult with them. This person is not "thick glasses" type of legally blind, but actually uses a white cane and cannot see if someone is literally standing next to them. That means this person also cannot see if the kids are acting up, fighting, running off, cannot really help with homework other than listening to reading, and cannot identify the people who are picking up the kids (cannot see their faces and cannot verify ID). All of this falls on the only other sighted adult who is there.
This situation makes me very uncomfortable. I'm not even sure if it is legal.
What would you think about your kids being in this kind of after school situation? Would you be ok with it, or would you voice your concerns to the school/people running the program?
I would, in a non-confrontational way, ask. It does seem like an odd profession for somebody who is sightless, but they may have some vision and ways to compensate for whatever loss there is.
I would, in a non-confrontational way, ask. It does seem like an odd profession for somebody who is sightless, but they may have some vision and ways to compensate for whatever loss there is.
Perhaps it's temporary?
It's not temporary, and there's no way to "compensate" for not being able to see the kids on the other side of the playground.
If I were that other worker I would be very unhappy. If I were a parent of a child there I would also be concerned. As someone who has experience in being responsible for a large group of kids (teacher) I can't imagine how this worker could possibly do their job. There is a reason adult:child ratios are established, and this worker does not fulfill the intent of those ratios. This is one of those cases were the ADA does not apply because the person's disability prevents them from doing crucial job related functions - as in properly supervise children in a large group. Vision is a necessary capability in this job, there will be many times that the person will need to be able to see children to know what they are doing.
Yes, I would voice your concern, just try to be as diplomatic as possible.
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If I were that other worker I would be very unhappy. If I were a parent of a child there I would also be concerned. As someone who has experience in being responsible for a large group of kids (teacher) I can't imagine how this worker could possibly do their job. There is a reason adult:child ratios are established, and this worker does not fulfill the intent of those ratios. This is one of those cases were the ADA does not apply because the person's disability prevents them from doing crucial job related functions - as in properly supervise children in a large group. Vision is a necessary capability in this job, there will be many times that the person will need to be able to see children to know what they are doing.
Yes, I would voice your concern, just try to be as diplomatic as possible.
I agree.
I just have one thing to add. Is this a very small group of children that would usually only need one adult to supervise? In a school where I used to substitute teach a classroom teacher was going blind. As a temporary, trial measure the district hired a full time classroom aide specifically to be her "eyes". The teacher was still in charge but the aide handled anything that the teacher couldn't see accurately (goofing around in the back of the room, handwriting, watching children do math problems). In this case, it wasn't completely successful and was discontinued after a year and the teacher retired from full time teaching. Also, in this case the teacher was going blind and still had much of her vision.
If this is a group of students that would normally require two active, sighted qualified adults to do the job then I would definitely investigate further.
I just have one thing to add. Is this a very small group of children that would usually only need one adult to supervise? In a school where I used to substitute teach a classroom teacher was going blind. As a temporary, trial measure the district hired a full time classroom aide specifically to be her "eyes". The teacher was still in charge but the aide handled anything that the teacher couldn't see accurately (goofing around in the back of the room, handwriting, watching children do math problems). In this case, it wasn't completely successful and was discontinued after a year and the teacher retired from full time teaching. Also, in this case the teacher was going blind and still had much of her vision.
If this is a group of students that would normally require two active, sighted qualified adults to do the job then I would definitely investigate further.
THIS. And I would add, what are the ages of the kids? Are they small kids that need extra supervision?
I would be very worried about the dynamics of releasing the children after school. Leaving the identification of parental pick ups to just one person seems like a recipe for trouble.
I would not be comfortable. I would call the licensing agency and ask about it. I wonder if they are within ratio without the blind person.
Last edited by Kibbiekat; 08-25-2015 at 10:58 AM..
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