A funny (sad) email forward making the rounds
If team members were asked “How many IEP meetings does it take to change a light bulb,” this what I imagine they might say:
Parent – “The light bulb is not the only thing that’s burnt out.”General Education Teacher – “No one said I was going to have to teach changing light bulbs.”
Case Manager – “If you hadn’t wanted so many hours of service in that room, maybe the light bulb wouldn’t have burned out.”
Transition Coordinator – “I think they cover that in life skills.”
Special Education Teacher – “We don’t need a light bulb, it’s not like they’re reading or writing.”
Special Education Director – “We’ll have to just keep changing his placement until we find a room that has a light bulb.”
Resource Teacher – “The side benefit is that we’ll have to bring them up from the basement.”
Teaching Assistant – “We don’t really need a new light bulb, there’s enough light coming off the television.”
School District Attorney – “The regulations don’t require light in the timeout room.”
Dean of Discipline- “Is there supposed to be a light in the time-out room?”
Assistive Technology Team – “First, we have to determine that the light bulb’s really burnt out and then we can trial a flashlight.”
School Nurse – “I don’t know how many it will take to change the light bulb, but all the special ed children will have to go home until we do.”
Secretary at the meeting – “O.K. then, how many minutes of light are we allotting in the IEP?”
Special Education Director – “We are willing to provide nightlights and maybe open the door a crack; we feel this is more than educationally appropriate and all Rowley requires.”
Teacher – (Sobbing) “What do you people expect from us anyway!”
Parent – “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult, it’s not like we’re asking for a chandelier.”
School Psychologist – “The children are just lazy. If they really wanted to learn they’d study by candle light like Abraham Lincoln.”
Janitorial Custodian – “I’d like to help you, but I’m not a part of the IEP team.”
Dean of Discipline – “I’m just here to make sure we write it as ‘change the light bulb.’ The minute anyone uses the word, ’screw’ this meeting is over.”
Special Education Attorney – “The light bulb is the least important thing that needs to be changed in that classroom.”
As a parent who has been working with (read- dealing with) school systems from Florida all the way up to Illinois for the past 11 years…I can vouch for the accuracy of this supposed joke. Isn’t it sad that as parents we have had to learn to laugh at this process that brings us to tears year after year?