School CP’s Little Secret49

The child has no advocate or attorney to speak for him, and he probably lacks the verbal skills to defend himself adequately. Even though he is supposed to have due process, his reality is that he is at the mercy of adults who have the power to hurt him. An older child may be more effective in defending himself, making use of appeals processes, etc., but even with adolescents, it is probably only the most articulate, confident students who will be successful. Schoolchildren do not get a dispassionate hearing from a disinterested judge. They get an arbitrary decision from a teacher or administrator whose fairness is affected by personal considerations, e.g., dislike of the student, anger, disappointment, frustration, etc. Most teachers and administrators think they are fair, but from the child’s point of view, it’s a very one-sided situation.

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