I pit this teacher, and then I kick her a few times for good measure.

[Spongemom]

Teacher Sues Gay Mom Over Classroom Discipline Charge

In his own handwriting

Exerpt:

Huff said the incident began when her son, Marcus McLaurin, was waiting in line to go to recess when a classmate asked him about his mother and father. He responded that he didn’t have a mother and father; instead he has two mothers. When the other child asked why, Marcus told him that it was because his mother is gay. The other child then asked what that meant, and Marcus explained, “Gay is when a girl likes another girl.”

Huff said that Marcus’s teacher scolded him in front of his classmates, telling him that “gay” is a bad word and he should never say it at school, then sent him to the principal’s office instead of letting him go to recess.

The following week the school required Marcus to attend a special behavioral clinic at 6:45 in the morning, where he was forced to repeatedly write “I will never use the word ‘gay’ in school again.”

Let me clarify: The teacher is suing the mother for defamation. Really, how fucked up is the system?

BITCH!!

[Punoqllads]

This is America, where you can sue anyone for any reason. And, according to the article, Huff was planning on suing the teacher, and these sorts of suit-countersuit imbroglios seem pretty much par for the course. I’m guessing it’s a feeble attempt to start off in a slightly better position for an eventual negotiated settlement.

[beagledave]

FWIW…the other side…

In the lawsuit, filed by Lafayette attorney Max Jordan, the Betheas claim the defendants lied about the teacher’s actions in disciplining Huff’s son after he used the word “gay” and told another child what it meant.

Bethea and school officials said previously that the child was not punished for using the word “gay.” He was punished for disrupting the class, they said.

(snip)

“Not surprisingly, Ms. Huff’s first comments about this suit are untrue and inaccurate. I have never spoken to Ms. Huff at any time under any circumstances, not even in the presence of her ACLU lawyer. An apology was requested from the ACLU after the ACLU attorney heard evidence that Marcus was never scolded, was not disciplined for using the word “gay,” and never wrote lines as punishment for referring to his mother as gay. Despite the evidence, Mr. Choe stood by his assertions. The ACLU’s governing authority should take action to assure that the organization does not disseminate falsehoods for the purpose of promoting political and social agendas.”

Max Jordan
Lafayette, LA

No idea who’s telling the truth…perhaps wait for all of the facts before jumping to any conclusions?

[NinjaChick]

Well, the kid said, including on his ‘hand-written report’ that they were lined up for recess.

How’d he disrupt class, then? If they’re about to go out for recess, the only way I could see a serious disruption would be if the other child reacted ‘disruptively’ to the news.

[sinjin]

From a link in the story:

But, the ACLU, which is representing Huff and her son, produced documents Wednesday to the contrary. ACLU state director Joe Cook released a behavior report signed by teacher Terry L. Bethea which states, “Marcus decided to explain to another child in his group that his mom is gay. He told the other child that gay is when a girl likes a girl. This kind of discussion is not appropriate in my room,” Bethea wrote. “I feel that parents should explain things of this nature to their own children in their own way.” Cook also showed a “behavior contract,” sent to the mother which said, “He explained to another child that you are gay and what being gay means.”

http://www.365gay.com/newscontent/120303laNoApology.htm

the link sorry for the lack of coding

[LifeOnWry]

Bethea and school officials said previously that the child was not punished for using the word “gay.” He was punished for disrupting the class, they said.

I see that on the child’s handwritten note, the teacher has also written at the top: “He said you were gay (underlined twice) and explained what gay means.”

It seems fairly evident in both the child’s AND the teacher’s words that the child was indeed being punished for saying his mom was gay and explaining what gay means. Sooo… in my not-an-expert opinion, it sounds as though the school is now backtracking and covering their asses when they say that is NOT why the child was punished.

[Typo_Negative]

@NinjaChick

Well, the kid said, including on his ‘hand-written report’ that they were lined up for recess.

How’d he disrupt class, then? If they’re about to go out for recess, the only way I could see a serious disruption would be if the other child reacted ‘disruptively’ to the news.

Perhaps they meant class as “the group of students” and not class as “the education session”.

Dunno. Just throwing it out there.

[ultrafilter]

Didn’t something very similar to this happen a while ago?

[LifeOnWry]

I think the story itself is old news, but the lawsuit is new.

[ultrafilter]

@PictsiePat

http://www.365gay.com/newscontent/120303laNoApology.htm

Yeah, you notice that that was posted about a year ago? I knew I’d seen this one before. But I’m not having any luck finding the previous thread.

[Zoe]

It sounds to me like the teacher was far more disruptive of the educational process than the student. The child’s response to the question of the meaning of “gay” was similar to the answer I gave to my grandson when he was young and asked me the same question.

The child’s answer was honest and straight-forward. How dare public school officials single him out for punishment or make him think that gay is a bad word!

I’ve read nothing in the school’s response that excuses any of this. The teacher needs to concern herself more with the child’s spelling and less with his private life.

If his honest and well-worded response resulted in a disruption in the recess line, then the teacher should have disciplined the students who displayed disruptive behavior.

~former public school teacher~

[ultrafilter]

@LifeOnWry

I think the story itself is old news, but the lawsuit is new.

OK, yeah, that makes sense. Wish I could find the older thread…

[Martin_Hyde]

I’ll give teacher’s a lot of leeway to punish children who talk in class when they aren’t supposed to be talking. But from what scant evidence there is available in this case I’d say the kid was probably lining up to go to recess and so the “disrupting” class argument doesn’t hold muster.

It is possible of course that the kid and mother “victimized” themselves to get money, there are people who will do a lot of really shitty and petty things to get money via lawsuits. How many people are there that provoke dogs into biting them to get money from the dog owners? It’s pretty common.

[Priam]

@Martin Hyde

I’ll give teacher’s a lot of leeway to punish children who talk in class when they aren’t supposed to be talking. But from what scant evidence there is available in this case I’d say the kid was probably lining up to go to recess and so the “disrupting” class argument doesn’t hold muster.

It is possible of course that the kid and mother “victimized” themselves to get money, there are people who will do a lot of really shitty and petty things to get money via lawsuits. How many people are there that provoke dogs into biting them to get money from the dog owners? It’s pretty common.

Of course, according to all evidence available at this moment, neither the child nor the mother prompted any of the actions that took place. Another student initiated the discussion about the child’s two mothers and the teacher initiated the punishment. Is it possible all this is some elaborate charade? Yes… but we’re also talking a lot of planning and trust in a young child to pull it off.

Let me turn it around for a moment. So far the ACLU has presented documents they claim are from the school that make it clear the child was not punished for disrupting a class, but rather for explaining what “gay” means. That is what the child believed he was being punished for and the teacher signed off on the bottom line afterwards plus adding her own comments at the top. If this document is erroneous, why has the school not presented its own official records? Surely they still have the student’s file in their office.