Here is an important TRB decision about a teacher who was too rigid and the impacts of their rigidity impacting students differently. More so for Indigenous students and neurodivergent students.
“Polishak did not generally adjust his manner of teaching, classroom expectations or assignments to support students’ individual learning needs. A parent of student (“Student A”) asked for Student A to use headphones in class while working on assignments to assist with focus, which is a helpful strategy for students with ADHD. Polishak did not allow Student A to use headphones and did not allow it for some time after the School principal advised him to do so.”
ALSO:
“In the 2023-2024 school year, Polishak generally used rigid classroom rules, which he rarely modified to support the individual needs of all learners in his classes. These rules negatively impacted some students more than others. Over one-third of the students in the School were Indigenous and many of them bussed to and from the School. Polishak’s rules included:
a. Students were required to value all of the class time by not being late. When a student had a history of lateness, Polishak sometimes refused to let the student enter the classroom. Polishak required late students to wait in the hallway for up to 15 minutes, which resulted in students missing more learning time and sometimes falling behind on in-class assignments.
b. Polishak required students to complete all assignments. He did not usually modify or adjust assignments to meet a student’s individual needs. Polishak imposed a “homework detention” on students who had not completed assignments, by which the assignment had to be completed under his supervision before or after school, at lunch or during the flex block.”
There is more to this decision.
Here is the decision in full: