This is a good a reason as any to curtail school bullying, it creates mental patients like Der Trihs with victimization complexes and extreme paranoia of all authority.
Ditto.
Opening this thread I expected to find a story about a teacher who was dumb or who didn’t know his subject material or something, not this bullshit. Emotional abuse like this is absolutely out of line.
Oh and I’d like to add to the chorus by saying that casey1505 is an idiot.
Yeah, after all, the idea that some teachers are jerks is so implausible that I’ve got to be crazy. :rolleyes:
Good Grief.
If anyone did that to my child I’d be down there like a shot demanding their resignation.
If anyone did that to me I’d have left the room, gone to the principal’s office and reported the teacher, while asking for my parents to be called.
Saying “sucks to be you- we’re so going to beat you at the game” is probably OK, humiliating someone like that isn’t.
Would you put up with it if you boss did it to you at work? I don’t think so- you’d be calling a lawyer and talking about an employment tribunal before the day was out.
In what world is it not ok to pick on someone because of their ethnicity, colour, religion, class, gender or sexual orientation, but fine to pick on them if they wear the wrong colour jersey?
Now I know most of the people on this board were bullied in school for various reasons (myself included), but let’s not get our panties in a twist.
First of all, this “kid” is not a child. He’s almost an adult, and from the looks of his photos he has the mental maturity of an eight year old. For his sake I really hope that he was instructed by the photographer to pout, otherwise he’s one of the biggest dorks in America. This “self-described” honor’s student should have had enough sense to just walk out of the room and go see the principal. For all we know he didn’t even say “Stop!” for christ’s sake, everyone probably thought he was going along with the joke. Also, he most likely knew the teacher was a rabid fan but decided to wear the shirt anyway. He’s probably one of those spoiled brats who that makes the classroom a living hell with their attention grabbing antics and the teacher was getting some light-hearted revenge.
Secondly, this is NOT bullying. It would’ve been bullying if it:
a) Happened more than once, or
b) Had an element of abuse
So he was hit with paper a few times, boo-hoo. The article doesn’t mention any other verbal insults or threat of physical abuse. The teacher’s actions would indicate that the class was informally structured and the “midterm” probably meant next to squat. I was in honors classes where tests weren’t even graded. Yes, it happens. This was an upscale public school too. If his grade is really lowered from this incident then he has a substantial complaint, but then he should take it up with the school, not cry abuse to the entire nation.
So?
And a hillarious joke at that. Not only did he not stop it, he instigated it, and and the students’ reactions have nothing to do with the teacher’s role in this shit.
So? If the teacher wasn’t able to deal with someone wearing a shirt he shouldn’t be teaching.
I was unaware that forcing a student to sit on the floor and be the object or class-wide derision was standard disciplinary policy.
Erunh? It’s only bullying if it happens more than once? Says who? And it had an element of abuse, and I’ve already provided a cite.
The fact that the teacher has now, essentially, declared the student to be persona non grata and a general open season on him is much more worrisome than what exactly he had the other students throw at the kid’s head.
:rolleyes:
And after class I’m sure all the other students completely forgot about it.
Or that he’s a piss poor teacher who cares more about flexing his muscles than educating. I’m not quite sure that there’s enough data for you to decide what the indication is.
Which is why he was told he’d get a zero on the test, of course.
Emotional abuse took place whether or not he gets a grade.
The teacher should be fired.
Gotcha. Because you don’t like the way this kid photographs, he’s automatically wrong and possibly retarted.
Agreed. There’s no way in hell this kid was just a broncos fan wearing a broncos jersey before a playoff game. He must be a spoiled brat.
I’d ask for a cite for this definition, but I’m guessing your post is your cite.
Yeah. That whole getting humiliated in front of his peers thing isn’t important. Doesn’t matter that it happened during a midterm cause he probably would’ve failed it anyways.
Ah yes. Given your experience at one school, you are automatically an expert at every school in the country. I’m also curious how you blow right past “teacher is an asshole” to get “class is informally structured” out of this thing.
I don’t see a lot of people drinking Iron up that way anymore. The brewery declared bankruptcy in 2005.
Who are the thugs?
Murder rate in Baltimore (hint: higher than in Pittsburgh)
Murder rate in Pittsburgh (hint: lower than in Baltimore)
'nuff said.
If this incident happened as described, it’s appalling. The teacher should be disciplined if not fired. The students who participated should not be punished. They were just following orders. While just following orders is not always a viable defense, we’re not talking about Abu Ghraib here.
My favorite part of teaching is getting together with parents and comparing what really happened with what stories the kid is telling. For example, I had a student lie and claim I hit him (me- 105 lb woman. him- on the football and wrestling team). His mother came into the meeting out for my blood, but after we got it all sorted out, she was my best ally. Chances are good that this kid is exaggerating. Have any of the other kids come forward to corraborate his story?
Didn’t the school pretty much do that, while claiming that it was ‘only’ a joke?
The school confirmed that something happened. The school did not confirm that the incident happened exactly as the young man alleges. What do his classmates say?
I just knew this stupid fucker would make this post.
Up yours, Dave. What a great year for the Ravens, eh?
Eh. The fact that the school didn’t disagree with the facts the kid presented and there haven’t been any contrary accounts leads me to believe he was mostly accurate. Sometimes absence of evidence really is evidence of absence.
The best thing the school could do at this point is say that it wasn’t as bad as the student claimed; that they haven’t indicates that it happened as he said (or was worse, but then I think the kid would have said that).
Turns out that Joshua’s father has a bit of drama queen in him too:
Why would he go to the Denver media, instead of something a bit more local?
link
Former students are also backing Kelly.
Now, if the teacher was such a dick, why would former students whose grades are not controlled by him anymore, defend him?
link
Yes. But schools are terribly careful about how they word statements to the press, and rarely fully deny or confirm anything until they’ve conducted an investigation, sent an account to the board, run by the lawyers, etc.
I’m not saying it didn’t happen as described. I’m saying teenagers occasionally lie. I’m not going to condemn the man until the allegations are confirmed.
Highly relevant.
Yeep.
But not denying that the story is accurate as it’s told.
Maybe they’ve come to see his actions as acceptable? (You didn’t read my cite, did you?)
Besides, one of the students you quoted said that having papers thrown at him in class was not an uncommon event. For a teacher to lose control of his classroom like that is absurd, for him to encourage it is beyond the pale.
I teach in a neighboring district to the one where this incident occurred and I have probably encountered the teacher in question at IU classes.
From my perspective as a teacher, Kelly must be brain damaged to have done such a thing. In today’s lawsuit-crazy environment, there is no excuse for not maintaining a substantial gulf between you and your students. They are not your co-workers, they are not your associates, and they most especially not your friends. As much as possible, you never do or say anything that can be misinterpreted or exaggerated by the student. Kelly knew that, too. It’s part of teaching practicum and it’s one of the the things the PSEA lawyer lectures union locals about every year during in-service. What a dumbass.
Yesterday, my first period class (11th and 12th graders) was looking at the front page of The Beaver County Times where the story was reported and one of those pouty photos was above the fold. They voiced the following opinions:
- Sit on the floor!? F__K that. I’d have walked out.
- He looks like somebody pissed in his lunchbox.
- He wanted attention and he got it. Why doesn’t he look happier?
- If that had happened to me, I might go to the Superintendant or the School Board, but I’d never run to the papers. Dumbass has half the country laughing at him.
among others. Overall, my students think the teacher was wildly incorrect (with which I agree) but they also think the kid in question is an ass.
Maybe it was a lesson of some sort. In what, exactly, I can’t imagine, but
Dissecting animals is objectionable to some, too. It continues to this day to be a teaching method.
One year, before high school prom, we had a MADD exercise where every 30-45 minutes or so, a student (schoolwide) was pulled out of class, their face painted white, given a black sweatshirt to wear, and instructed to sit in the corner of the class and not participate. If there was a test to take, they were not permitted to take it. They were instructed not to interact with other students. Some of the participants lost entire days of class, some lost one period. The point of the exercise was that underage drinking and driving kills, and the whitefaced students symbolized classmates who were killed.
They were teased, sure, and took on increased attention to themselves. They dealt with it though with a bit of maturity like most 16-18 year olds posess. This kid’s being a baby. You think no one’s going to pick on him even more, now?
That, or he’s loving the media attention that began with a call to the Denver media instead of local media.