Teacher Arrested for 'Cruelty' to Third-Grader

[happy2bme]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355604,00.html



ST. GABRIEL, La. — Saint Gabriel police have arrested a third-grade schoolteacher and booked her with cruelty to a juvenile.



I am pretty sure I would be pizzed if a teacher would have done this to one of my children. Who cares if she is a first-year teacher. Doesn't she have common sense?
Good grief what is our world coming to?

:(

[crocdog]

Originally posted by utahb
That's very nasty. I wonder if the child put something down that toilet that he wasn't supposed to. [/*]

This could have been the reason.

This being said, the teacher should have made the boy unclog the toilet with toilet cleaning supplies.

[Roenick]

I'd like to know why she did it and what clogged it before I comment more.


I know in daycare some kids would think it funny to just stick paper towels in the toilet to clog it. we didn't have janitors like most schools did so it took a teacher or aid out of the room to fix it and clean it up before other children could use it.

If he did (or had done previously) this I can see her asking him to remove the majority to teach him a lesson.

Hands are washable. I didn't see where she held him down or called him names. I don't see "abuse" in this story. If he caused the clog with outside objects, it is harsh punishment to teach a lesson.

[happy2bme]

Originally posted by crocdog


This could have been the reason.

This being said, the teacher should have made the boy unclog the toilet with toilet cleaning supplies. [/*]


I agree! Not with hands!

[Amy]

Originally posted by happy2bme
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355604,00.html



ST. GABRIEL, La. — Saint Gabriel police have arrested a third-grade schoolteacher and booked her with cruelty to a juvenile.



I am pretty sure I would be pizzed if a teacher would have done this to one of my children. Who cares if she is a first-year teacher. Doesn't she have common sense?
Good grief what is our world coming to?

:( [/*]

When I read first year teacher in your post, I was thinking, well, these 23-24 y/o "women" don't have a clue about not dating (guess having sex w/them isn't dating, tho) their 13-14 y/o students because it's against the law, what could you expect? THEN, I read where this teacher is 46!!! One should SURELY have acquired a bit of common sense in 46 years!!!!

I wouldn't have made my own kids unplug a toilet that way, no matter what they put down it. (And, I'm a mean momma, I can tell ya!!) That's what they have plungers and plumbers for--and, @ the schools, those nice people called janitors (@ least that is what they were called when my dad held such a position.) There are other ways to get the point across to the little tyke.

OTOH, maybe if this was a 15 y/o kid....maybe.....

[Amy S.]

Perhaps "sh*tty hands"?

[melanie78]

After seeing what our world is coming to because of parents being too busy and teachers being too restricted I still do not think I would have made my child do this. A 3rd grader is 8 or 9? The hands is a little nasty unless there was nothing else in the toliet except what he put in it? If that is the case then I guess I can see asking a child to take it out??? But a public restroom?

With that being said, anytime I go into public I am disgusted with parents! Being a mom to small children I understand the difficulties and stress, but come on!!! I feel at times this world is coming to an end because of or parenting, lack of standards, morals, and manners!!!

[gestalt]

IMO. Don't know enough specifics; however, I would not make a child put his hand in a toilet to unplug it even if he deliberately threw a toy down it to plug it up. There are other responses to this situation, as also mentioned above. What has to be understood is that teachers have huge classes to cover and are not able to always make the best decision because of conflicting needs of other students.

That being said, there are probably plenty of cases where teachers have been unjustly accused of being abusive because of a misunderstanding by parents, IMO.

[Grayson]

That is wrong, she is clearly unqualified to work with children.

[Grayson]

That sounds so wrong.

[Spyder88]

Originally posted by wendyRN
true, hands are washable. but the chance for infection is great! even a small nic on the skin is an avenue for bacteria to get in. unclogging a toilet with bare hands is a huge infection risk! especially multiuser toilet as in a school. [/*]

ITA

Ridiculous to force a child to use his/her hands! We don't live in the flippin' dark ages anymore and germs are very real and very deadly. There are such items as rubber gloves for a REASON!

If this had ever been done to one of mine, I'm afraid someone would have to hold me back from giving this teacher some wall-to-wall counseling. :flamemad:

[deep*fear]

My children knew not to throw anything but toilet paper in a toilet by the time they were 3.

[Jayne]

Originally posted by deep*fear
My children knew not to throw anything but toilet paper in a toilet by the time they were 3. [/*]

In some districts I taught in, teachers or administration could not even "require" or even Allow students to use any sort of cleaning materials other than a spray bottle with table cleaner, etc. if they were on "clean up lunch room class duty" and it was Supervised.

I still would not label or call this abuse, but obviously this teacher is either under a lot of stress and was incapable of using good reasoning at the moment of the incident. She should be up for disciplinary review, sanctions, etc. But to be charged, whether in criminal actuality or not, with child abuse, IMO is too harsh. If, on the other hand, she has had a history of STUPID behaviour with discipline issues - kids, then there might be a 'pattern' of her actions and reactions that might rise or come close to it.

No child..young or old..should be made by anyone, especially a non guardian/custodial parent to do such a thing. Frankly, neither should a parent. But if I had a child ...I'm talking parentwise here...who consistently did "wrong" despite warnings, time outs, denials, restrictions, etc. as "punishment", I could see where it would hit a boiling point (IF the kid is old enough to know better and of full facilities), and might make him/her Clean or Plunge it..but not WITH THEIR HANDS. A teacher has no business doing any of the above, IMO...instead the parents should have been called in to deal with the disciplinary issue - if it was one - or the damages, even if just negligently caused by the kid. If anyone made a child clean a dirty toilet (OK..they're all "dirty" so to speak) with bare hands..even a parent should be in trouble for that - especially if done as punishment.

If this was a one time thing for this teacher and/or if this child has done it repeatedly (a Dennis the Menace sort of kid), then sanction her, educate her, and give her a change to make amends and change her ways..that's what I say. And, maybe get some more support from her school and administration. We don't know..she may have been "stuck" in this position with no backup..with this kid or others and the S just hit the fan, so to speak and she "lost it".

sorry...I'm just trying to be fair here not knowing all the facts..yet still say..there is indeed blame for her and recompense to be made. But it saddens me to think, if it was a "one time" occurrence or based on lack of school and parental support and a stressful situation on the job, that her reputation can be so garnished..when it could be rehabilitated by other means.

jmo

j

[deep*fear]

There is not enough discipline in many homes. Something that seems to work for schools is making the parents come in for a meeting EVERY time there is an issue (either for a conference or to pick up the child) Make the problems that the school is having with the child a problem for the parents as well.