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Why Everyone Needs to Calm Down About That Teacher Who Shaved Her Student’s Arm Pits

Why Everyone Needs to Calm Down About That Teacher Who Shaved Her Student’s Arm Pits
Carly Jacobs

A few weeks ago the internet exploded over an incident at a special needs school in Victoria where a teacher shaved the under arms of a student in class. The facts are a little hazy on the full incident and there have been some mixed (and also some completely sensationalised) reports regarding this but there are some genuine questions that people have asked and I’d like to attempt to answer them. I’ve taught in special needs schools for years and I’d like to shed some light on a situation that I think most people don’t really understand. I don’t know any of the people involved but from my own experiences, I can see how this incident could have easily occurred.

pink razor

Why is shaving even being taught as part of the curriculum?

Things like shaving are often taught in special education schools because many of these students are wards of the state or have parents who also have special needs and are unable to teach their children the basics of personal grooming and self care. The student was most likely part of a grooming group of students that came from higher needs backgrounds.

Why was it done in front of the class?

It’s unlikely that the session was done ‘in front of’ the class. Personal grooming classes, are usually conducted in small groups of same sex students. I loved ‘girl’s group’ as I used to call it when I ran sessions for my class a few years ago. We’d discuss everything from periods, sexualized feelings, brushing our teeth and using deodorant. These sessions were usually student led and covered whatever the students wanted to learn about. A rough guide would be sent home to parents so they could object if there was any activity they didn’t want their child to participate in. It sounds like that’s exactly what happened at this school.

A pink toothbrush on a glass

Why does a special education student even need to learn how to shave under her arms?

Special education students are, most of the time, just like mainstream students and they enjoy and are curious about mainstream things like make up, shaving and going on dates.  The student in question is 14 years old. If she was at a mainstream school she’d most likely be doing this unsupervised at a girlfriends house on the weekend and her mother probably wouldn’t even know she did it.

Couldn’t the teacher have just taught the theory of under arm shaving? Why did she have to actually do it?

The mother said in a radio interview that her daughter can ‘… dress herself to some degree but wouldn’t be able to shave on her own.‘ In a special needs classroom there’s always a wide variety of physical and mental abilities and some students need physical help with certain tasks.

Under arm shaving is a choice so why was the student forced to do it?

It sounds as if the student was given choice, tried to do it herself but wasn’t able to complete the task so the teacher stepped in and asked if she’d like help. It sounds like the student didn’t know that she was allowed to say no and didn’t speak up. There’s often communication barriers between people with special needs and their carers and it can be difficult for some special needs people to process their feelings about things, which might explain why she didn’t get upset about the incident until she got home from school. I certainly can’t imagine a teacher forcing a student to shave under their arms. As a special needs teacher you often need to choose your battles and under arm shaving would not be a battle that any teacher I’ve met would choose.

Hair Clips Top View

Why didn’t they ask the parents?

The school sent an outline of the curriculum to the parents that had shaving as a listed activity. They also apologised that specific consent was not sought. I’m honestly not sure what else the mother wants the school to do about it. To me, it sounds like a very innocent misunderstanding.

What do you think? Was the mother’s outrage justified? Or did she take it too far?

9 Comments

  1. Liz @ I Spy Plum Pie 10 years ago

    Thanks for writing this Carly. I have to admit my first reaction was of concern/outrage, although I didn’t follow the story that closely. It’s really useful to hear more about how the teachings in these kinds of environments work, as it makes a lot more sense as to why shaving would even have been on the agenda to be discussed.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It was really upsetting reading the comments that people were making about the teacher saying it was abuse and she should be taken to court over it. Special needs schools are really different to mainstream schools. It seems really invasive and inappropriate to most people for a teacher to do that but in special ed, you assist students with toileting, menstruation aids and sometimes even showering. Shaving the arm pits of a student is just not that weird! 🙂

  2. Nellie 10 years ago

    Great work Smaggs. My beautiful 9year old daughter is severely disabled and at a specials school. Let me say, on the whole those teachers ROCK!!! They are sensitive, compassionate, funny and fearless. It’s a love job 100%. I can’t speak specifically to that incident, but I caution anyone living outside of the special world of special needs before casting stones- however well meaning. Walk even half a mile first.

    • Nellie, what a beautifully worded reply to Carly’s eloquently written post. I’ve learnt a bit more about the gorgeous kids that are considered special needs today thanks to the both of you. So thank you.

      • Author
        Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

        Oh that’s lovely of you! That’s exactly the point of this post. Special ed schools can seem a bit weird to people who don’t work in them but by giving people factual and emotion-free information we can bridge a bit more of the gap between mainstream and special ed people.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It is so lovely to hear that from a parent. Most parents are wonderful but you get the occasional one who just seems to think that we don’t do enough and it’s just like you said – no one is in special education for the money! That’s precisely why I wrote this because it’s a simple lack of education about how special schools work. I felt terrible for the teacher, the principal and the school with that whole thing. It was a bit much to go to the media about it I thought.

  3. steph 10 years ago

    Its such a shame that the media feels the need to blow this out of proportion. Its also a shame that this one mother (who i believe has taken it too far) has, through her anger (and quite possibly her ignorance) put a negative light on the whole of special ed teaching. People like you, and like this teacher make a huge difference, and without your assistance in such personal matters that we take for granted, these kids would struggle a hell of a alot more than they do already. I admire you and everything you do darling smaggle – thanks for making such a difference xxx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Oh thank you so much! What a lovely message! I definitely agree that the mother took it too far. I mean the teacher shaved her arm pits for god sake, she didn’t get her a tattoo or piece her ears! I think the mother has every right to complain and to ask for answers and an apology and she got both of those things. I’m still not sure what she wanted out of this whole thing. It just annoyed me that the school was named and I keep thinking about how that poor teacher has probably been feeling like shit for a week. Not cool.

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