I don’t know where the incident occurred, but here in NJ it is specifically illegal, and possible grounds for loss of job, tenure, and license for a teacher to use corporal punishment of any kind. When I began teaching we were cautioned by our union (NJEA) to never so much as put a finger on a child unless it was absolutely necessary to prevent actual physical harm. For example, if the child were about to jump out the second-story classroom window you could pull him back inside. “Touch a child,” they told us, “and you are opening yourself up to dismissal and there will be nothing we can do for you.”
For the Lawyers and Parents alike;
What is your take on the parents reaction to this?
No problem
What would your reaction be if it were your child?
The same or more aggressive in my legal response
What level of criminal charges do you think the teacher should be facing?
The same as if she encountered a child on the street and acted the same way
Should the teacher face any civil prosecution by the parents and or the school district?
Absolutely
Should the teacher lose her teaching credentials? Permantly or temporarily if you think yes?
Yes, I’m not sure any retraining would help but I hesitate on lifetime bans for anything.
Unless the kid had a gun the teachers comment is fantasy. There is no way a 6 year old could realistically threaten an adult physically.
chalk that up to my not really knowing what the relationship between the two was.
Ok, so here is a link to a newspaper account of what happened. It doesn’t quite match the report I heard on the radio in all details though.
The person was a speech therapist, not a teacher
The slap (red mark on childs’ face) was reportedly documented by school staff photographically
The parents aren’t asking for compensation for medical, they have filed a tort claim and the medical is part of that, and are claiming this person has a history of abusive behavior.
The therapist is facing misdemeanor charges and is currently on administrative leave.
I don’t know what the source was for the report I heard the other day on the radio so I think I’m going to go with this article for what is known.
Does this clarification change anyone’s response at all? If so in what way and to what degree?
BTW thanks y’all for your responses, I’m not sure why this grabbed me so hard but it has
The five-year-old I mentioned hurled a decorative vase at my face and broke my glasses. That was pretty damn scary - especially because I was trying very carefully not to hurt him when I attempted (as a physically slight 14-year-old) to restrain him.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending the teacher. But you might be surprised what a strong little kid with an out-of-control temper can do.
missed the edit window.
also the article I linked doesn’t mention a specific amount of money
Some further details that may give you insight, the school district is somewhat, but not entirely rural, lots of farmers and some cattlemen, conservative.
if the rumoured amount of $2500 is correct that could be because they don’t want to make too many waves, maybe they only want what they had to pay for medical check up after the incident, and maybe they just don’t want to be seen as greedy opportunists.
My wife and I read the article. Wow is everyone moving fast.
the article is dated Jan 13 for an incident that happened on Jan 6. That is one week. In that time the parents have already filed a suit?
The school district is releasing confidential information on the therapists.
Less that one week to complete an investigation by the district and the DA, that is rushing it.
Not sure of which state this is in but the therapist may have cause for action against the district.
You are right about the damage a child in “melt down” status can do. Where my wife worked there were a few employees on light duty or disability because they were following protocol in handling a child. I was glad when she got out of the class and into the office.
But slapping a child is way outside of any protocol and calls for the district to follow protocol in handling a slapping event.
The St. Paul school district is currently being sued by a teacher because she sustained injuries, harrassment and abuse at the hands of the students she was teaching and the school didn’t take action.
The schools are being put in a no-win situation when the students aren’t in control of themselves.
I feel for the teachers. No one should face physical abuse at work. Yet our teachers, police officers, and medical professionals do as part of their jobs.
I also feel for the parents. This does not have a likely good long term outcome for them or their kid. Hopefully, the kid will be able to control his tantrums before he gets bigger. If he gets bigger and can’t, there is a problem.
The schools no win situation is from not following procedures.
If a child is unable to control themselves then they do not belong in a regular class room. An IEP (individual education plan) should be set up. There are a whole lot of steps the final step could be placing the student in a “non public” school where they can be properly cared for.
In a lot of cases these kids have IEPs. But there still needs to be adult supervision, even in a specialty school. Which means that if a kid gets violent, there is an adult present who may be abused. But before the kid gets sent to a specialty school, the student needs to act out. Sometimes, that acting out involves throwing a chair at a teacher.
A good friend of mine has a kid in one of those speciality schools (for throwing a chair at a teacher while in regular middle school - he did a year in juvie for it - he’s autistic, but they stop making excuses for you when you are a teenager), and another friend teaches in one. Those teachers have a fairly high risk of being assaulted by their students.