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Bridges4Kids'
CEO Statement on Restraint & Seclusion in Michigan's
Schools
October 20, 2006
Reasonable minds can differ on the
morality and effectiveness of capital punishment, but in
Michigan we choose not to sanction it, believing instead that
the harm to our greater sense of morality and our belief in who
we are as a people outweighs the good that may come from
permanently removing those who trouble us from our midst. Now we
face yet another battle between morality and expediency as we
consider the practice of allowing schools to lock mentally ill
and emotionally troubled young children away from human contact
in “boxes” and small rooms without windows as part of a practice
of “seclusion” in our special education system. Such action
surely removes a problem from our midst, but we must ask at what
cost to our sense of morality and of who we are as a people.
The question now before us is whether Michigan should outlaw the
practice of allowing frightened, troubled and confused children
– children who have already been restrained from doing harm to
themselves or others – to be forcibly locked away from human
contact We must ask what we gain beyond the expediency of
removing a problem from our midst. Isolating a person from human
contact is an effective technique of torture because of the
mental anguish it produces. What may seem to be only 10, 20 or
30 minutes to us may be an eternity to a troubled mind. What
further damage do we do by such practice? What message do we sow
in such a child about his worth - and ours - and what reward
will we later reap?
Locking up and isolating the mentally ill is still practiced in
some states, but in Michigan we gave it up years ago recognizing
that while mentally ill people may sometimes be difficult to
deal with, and while locking them away is neat, clean and
expedient, it is also a cruel and barbaric way to treat the
vulnerable among us. The moral measure of our society is how we
treat the least among us. Isolating troubled children may be
expedient and effective, but the practice dehumanizes them - and
us.
Note from Jackie Igafo-Te'o: We
recently learned that form letters are being circulated by major
entities in the State requesting that the State Board of
Education rule in favor of keeping seclusion as an option in
classrooms in Michigan. These letters are being sent en
masse to the members of the State Board of Education. We
feel that the use of seclusion and restraint is an unacceptable
practice which can lead to emotional damage, along with the
sense that these unusual punishments are "acceptable" in schools
when used upon our most vulnerable children. We sometimes find
staff sometimes pushing the envelope and using tactics which can
harm and even kill. We currently have a case in Ingham
District Court involving this very issue. Since it is a
matter of public record,
the documents filed on our behalf may be accessed online in PDF
format; most personal identifiers have been removed out of
respect for those involved.
Please direct questions and
comments to:
Deborah Canja, CEO
Bridges4Kids
3520 Okemos Road, Ste. 6 -150
Okemos, MI 48864
(517) 381-0528
deb@bridges4kids.org
https://www.bridges4kids.org
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