This article was written by Jessica Sale and does not reflect my views. Sale is a seventh grader attending public school in Brooklyn, New York.
I remember the look on her face. That self-satisfied smirk when she saw that I failed the first English test of the semester. You know what she said to me? “Guess you’re not as smart as you thought you were.” And just like that, Autumn Blevins almost made me cry in class.
I didn't cry, even though I had to bite my lip so hard it started bleeding. That’s not the worst thing. Not even close. When I peered over Autumn’s shoulder, I saw that she got an A. I couldn’t believe it. It was the first time in my life that I felt abandoned by God.
I knew that Autumn wasn’t smart and this was before I found out the school had designated her as stupid by placing her in “Special Ed.” Does this sound bitter? You know what Jesus said about judging, right? I was taking care of my two younger brothers the night before the test. One of my brothers was sick and I was up all night with him (our Mom works nights). I didn’t have a chance to study.
But, you see, I knew that God was with me. A couple of weeks later, I found out that Autumn received extra time when our class took the test. It was part of her “accommodations.” Basically, that means the slow kids get to cheat. They’re not allowed to fail while everyone else struggles in school.
That’s when I made it my mission to make Autumn’s life miserable. I exposed her in our English class. I told everyone that the school allows her to cheat. You should have seen the look on her face. It was almost like she was about to cry.
Later on, I paid a little “visit” to her resource room, or “Special Ed” class, or whatever dumb name they came up with. There were only about ten kids or so in the entire class but, in case you had any doubt, they were beyond stupid. They were on Math problems that were, at least, a couple of years old. It was like third grade work for sixth graders.
It looked so easy I wanted to join the class myself. I even sat behind my good friend, Autumn. But the teachers, there were two of them for some reason, got very upset with me. I don’t know why. I just very politely pointed out that the workload was so much easier than my real Math class. Long story short, they kicked me out.
With taking care of my brothers, I could have used an easy class like that to bring up my grades. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to join that class if I want to? Is it because I don’t have an IEP? That magical document ensuring anyone in possession of it passes without question.
Well, speaking of IEPs, I managed to get a copy of Autumn’s IEP. Let’s just say, the head of the Special Education Department, or whatever they call it, was a little “negilgent.”
The document itself was very interesting. Did you know that Autumn stims? Which means she flaps her hands. I’m not kidding. Honestly, I’ve never seen her do it but just imagine that. I couldn’t stop laughing after I read it. Just thinking about how stupid Autumn probably looks every day when she does her “flapping.”
You know what the best part was? When Autumn came up to me one day and begged me to stop. Uh, no. Not going to happen. The brat even offered me money. It didn’t work. She looked so helpless and defeated when I turned my back on her.
I bullied her for over a month and it culminated with me reading her IEP in front of our entire grade. However, it also resulted in me getting suspended for two weeks. But, just as my title says, I don’t regret a thing. She deserved every second of it.
You think I’m being too mean? Ask yourself this. Why do they get every advantage just for being in Special Education? Just take Autumn for example. She’s an actress and is given every opportunity in the world. On top of that, she’s given a short cut in school too. You think that’s fair? And look at my life for a second. I don’t have a father and my Mom works all the time. Which means I have to watch and care for my brothers.
Yeah. I know. The vast majority of kids in Special Ed aren’t actors or rich or anything like that. Still, they’re given something they haven’t earned. If they’re really that slow or incapable, they should be sent to “special” schools and this information should be publicly available to everyone. Not hidden away in some “Special Ed” office or whatever. If being “special” is so great then why do school districts hide this fact about their students? Why do parents not want other kids to know that their child is “special?” It’s because they know, later in life, most companies won’t hire those slow kids (unless they get a tax break for hiring the intellectually disabled). It’s true. I researched it.
You shouldn’t get a degree when you haven’t taken the same classes like everyone else (resource rooms don’t count). Or else, there should be an asterisk on the degree of the “special” students. It should state that the “special” students were given easier classes and given shortcuts to succeed. That’s fair.
You know I’m right.
Related article: https://medium.com/@baltimoreraven87/from-being-bullied-for-having-learning-disabilities-to-television-how-autumn-blevins-persevered-d13351875d00
