Re: 鈥淗ard to find educational assistants,鈥� letter, Feb. 20.
The teacher with three decades of experience seems to have missed something. Asking a child with complex needs to stay home when the regular educational assistant is away might just be the best option for the child, not a missed employment opportunity for a substitute.
Probably, at least in my experience, the child has no familiarity or relationship with his so-called teacher, or the principal, or another EA. Sticking him/her with a stranger might just be a recipe for disaster.
With a little flexibility and sensitivity, arrangements might be made that are not traumatic for a fragile child behaviourally, or disruptive to his/her program, but probably not. I can鈥檛 see how any parent would prefer the aftermath of a traumatic experience to the difficulty of having the child stay in a comforting environment, no matter what the parents鈥� 鈥渞ights鈥� are.
The 鈥渞ights鈥� are to a suitable, individualized program, which should include a plan for EA absences that might even have staying home as the best option, not the most convenient.
Fran Lindsay
Victoria
