RE: Oh oh...going against the teacher!

[birol]

 Camperroo
Stand up for your child !
 
 I am sick and tired of how teachers mistrest kids here as well. It borders on being abusive sometimes. I had to " threaten"  to take the matter up with the school board three times before they would back down.
 
 
 Not teacher hating, just that they are human beings, and some of them can improve little bit.

[Firefyter-Emt]

 Camperroo
Good for you!! Stand up and make them listen to the parents at times!! Far too many parents don t have a clue what goes on at their kids schools...
 
 Oh yea.. Hello all!  []

[tlhdoc]

 Camperroo
You were there and you saw what the kids did/didn t do.  I would not let this end with the teacher.  She has something wrong with her.  I would to to the head of the school and file a complain their.  If she did it this time, I bet she will do it again.[]

[Gone-Camping]

 Camperroo

If she did it this time, I bet she will do it again.

 Or has done it before. How many other times has something like this come to light? I d be real suspect of anything negative this particular teacher reports. I too would be taking this to a higher authority. If I didn t get any satisfaction there, I d consider talking to the local newspaper or something. This woman SHOULD NOT be teaching children, AT ALL!! [:@]

[Jeffrey]

 Camperroo
Some of these reply s are over the top, as usual.
 You all forgot the BBB, Attorney General and the local nightly news.
 
 Local newspaper? Cause he has to miss recess or write a report?
 That s a little overboard, isn t it?
 
 I do agree I wouldn t sign it though, and let the teacher know you don t agree.
 If she pushes it, then go to the principle.
 
 Unless there is a chance you missed something, maybe before you got there or after you left?
 
 Because a writing a report and a few missed recess, isn t exactly child abuse.
 I m sure we have all been punished for something we didn t do at one time.

[Camperroo]

 Jeffrey
" Because a writing a report and a few missed recess, isn t exactly child abuse.
 I m sure we have all been punished for something we didn t do at one time. "
 
 Jeffrey I appreciate what you are saying but the point missing is that my child would have come home to me saying he didn t do something wrong and I would have been angry with him and leaned on the side of the teacher.  Where would my child s trust go in his relationship with me because of that?  We have always told our children that as long as they are honest with us, we would respect them and handle the situation as it needed to be, whether it was a punishment or telling them how proud we are of them for being honest.   Honesty would bring a far less severe punishment than if caught lying.  Up to this point, our kids have been very respectful of this family rule and it s not easy for any child to admit to having done something wrong...but they know and can trust what we have told them.  He was made to write a statement that was not true and he had a priviledge taken away from him that he didn t deserve to have taken away.  He was made to feel belittled.  Has it happened before and could it happen again to others...possibly.  But the lesson learned is that you have to speak up to right a wrong.  Otherwise the person who committed the wrong is given free reign to continue their behavior as if its ok, when it is not.   It is such actions that give the wrong people the wrong sense of power.
 
 

[AustinBoston]

 Jeffrey

ORIGINAL:  Jeffrey
 Some of these reply s are over the top, as usual.
 You all forgot the BBB, Attorney General and the local nightly news.
 
 Local newspaper? Cause he has to miss recess or write a report?
 That s a little overboard, isn t it?
 

 No, not because he had to miss recess and write a report.  Because he was forced to lie and to confess to something he had not done.  Not only had he not done it, but it never happened at all.  This is a practice that is only tolerated in third world countries.
 
 

I do agree I wouldn t sign it though, and let the teacher know you don t agree.
 If she pushes it, then go to the principle.
 
 Unless there is a chance you missed something, maybe before you got there or after you left?
 
 Because a writing a report and a few missed recess, isn t exactly child abuse.
 

 Forcing a child to go against all they know about right and wrong may well be child abuse, depending on age and level of vulnerability.
 
 

I m sure we have all been punished for something we didn t do at one time.
 

 She fabricated an event that did not take place.  Either she knows it didn t take place (in which case she is deliberately emotionally torturing children, ie abusing them), or she is out of touch with reality (and shouldn t be teaching children).
 
 Had she put it in writing, it would have been libelous, because libel is 1) an untrue statement that 2) is injurious to someone s reputation that 3) someone believes and takes action on.  You bet some of those children were punished by their parents, so those parents believed her fabricated story about their children, and took action based on it.  If she put it in writing, it was a serious civil offense.
 
 Instead (or in addition, it s not clear to me), she FORCED children to LIE and forced them to " confess"  their " misdeeds" .  Misdeeds that she knows did not happen.  Unbelievable!
 
 A story from several years ago:  One of our DDs, (12 at the time) had a teacher who always gave homework.  Always.  No big deal.  We were strict with our daughter on this issue, and insisted on seeing her homework every night.
 
 One day, at the end of class, things got a bit rushed, and she said " no homework tonight" .  Well, DD was not stupid, so she asked the teacher to sign her homework notebook with the " no homework"  entry.  The teacher gladly complied.
 
 Next day, at the start of class, the teacher asks everyone to take out their homework.  When the students insisted she said " no homework,"  she exploded, screaming and insisting that she always assigned homework.  She made it quite clear that the whole class would be punished for this nonsense.  During a lull in the fireworks, my DD raised her hand, hoping to refresh the teacher s memory and perhaps diffuse the situation.  I don t know exactly what she said, but essentially she asked to show the teacher where she signed her homework notebook, saying " no homework" .
 
 At the top of her lungs, she called our DD a " LYING LITTLE SACK OF SH*T"  and made some variety of threats against her.
 
 Our DD never told us about the incident.  Another sudent brought it up casually with PJay while they were getting a ride somewhere.  When confronted, DD admitted to what happened, and begged us not to punish her.  She was terrified by the incident.
 
 We did not speak to the teacher about the incident, but went directly to the assistant principal.  After an investigation (involving every student in the class that day, as well as teachers in adjoining classrooms), she was suspended for two weeks without pay.
 
 I felt the punishment to be a bit light.  Teachers may have a job to do, but everyone I have ever seen act like that on the job has been fired on the spot.  But I left it as it was because DD was being threatened by other students for trying to get Mrs. W fired, and she asked us to leave it as it was.
 
 I would suggest that you insist on a detailed investigation by school administrators.  If this teacher forced several students to " confess"  things they had not done, there s no telling how she went about doing that.  Had we asked our DD about that incident, the temper tantrum, the foul language, and the threats would have been removed, and we would not have known the whole story.  You may still only have part of the story.
 
 Austin

[Wayfarer]

 Camperroo
Well, the former President, one Bill Clinton, lied to Congress about getting a little " action"  in the Oval Office and we, in effect, said that was alright and reelected the guy, so why are we shocked that a school teacher would assume it alright to lie about the actions of some of her students?  Perhaps we have sent the wrong message to people in positions of trust and authority as well as to our children.
 
 Hmmmmmmm.

[Gone-Camping]

 Camperroo
Well, Bill Clinton is (or never was) my child, nor was he in charge of my children.
 
 People that choose the profession of teaching means they are also responsible for their actions, and what they teach our children. Is teaching our children to fabricate lies and force false confessions a part of that process? It darn well shouldn t be!
 
 I d still take it to a higher authority, and if that didn t work I d take it somewhere else, yes Jeffery...even the newspaper if need be, so that ALL the other parents that we not in that church that day would know what is going on. The Catholic church has swept too much crud under the rug over the years, this would just be another one of those incidents that quietly fade away?!?! This woman needs to find another profession. At the very least, if I couldn t get her removed, I d put my kids in another school, I wouldn t want to subject them to that kind of nonsense any further, it is wrong!

[B-flat]

 Camperroo
Oh, dear me.....another teacher going against the children and the parents having to live through the stress of the situation.  My daughter endured a similar situation last year with my grandson.  The teacher had a knack for finding fault in the students and causing problems.  Daughter would get calls at work for things she knew the grandson was not doing, but realizing that children at that age do get into some problems she met with the teacher.  It was when the teacher called and told daughter to take a privilege away when she couldn t exactly verify what was done wrong....that was the last straw.  My daughter started looking into these accusations and asking some of the other parents.  It turned out that others were having the same difficulty.   Then, when the paternal grandma died, this same teacher (knowing there was a death in the family) continued to call about some kind of problem.  So a meeting was set up with the assistant principal and then with the principal.  No student should have to go through what my grandson went through.  He was much happier when he was put into a different class with a different teacher and there were no problems.  My advise is to keep a log of activity when things like this happen so that you will not foget important details when it is time to meet with the Principal or School Superintendant.  A formal complaint can be lodged with the School Superintendant if the Principal cannot work out the problem.  Putting up with a teacher who doesn t do her job correctly is not solving the problem.  It sounds like the teacher overstepped her authority by trying to make the students sign for something they didn t do.

[springer02]

 Camperroo
For the record, I am both a parent and an Instructional Assistant (aid) in a public school second grade classroom so I can see both sides of this.
 
 Could it be that the teacher simply got kids mixed up and named the wrong names?  I know this sounds too easy but it happens to the best of us, especially at the start of a school year.  There are still two boys and two girls whose names I can t keep straight and I had them as students three years ago.  It s a joke now and they answer to each others names.  The parents know and understand.  Guess I m getting old and the memory is going?
 
 Anyway, I d take this right to the top person at the school and if you don t get the answers you want, go higher than that.  I don t know the " pecking order"  of a Catholic school......
 
 We had a situation with a teacher of DD s last year.  DD is a good student who really tries to do her best and after she asked what I guess were tough questions of her history teacher, the teacher had the nerve to tell DD that she belonged in a private school where they teach " kids like her."   She took it in stride but DH and I hit the ceiling.  Just so happened that the next day was DH s scheduled day to tutor and he mentioned it to the teacher who didn t deny the statement at all.  If I told a student that I d be fired at the end of the day. Well, e-mails flew between the principal, the top administrators and members of the school board and that teacher didn t get a contract this year.  What I m trying to say is that the administration should listen. Who knows, maybe this teacher in on thin ice and your complaint will be the one to do her in?
 
 Keep us posted, please!
 
 Tena

[Jeffrey]

 Camperroo
Camperoo,
 My only point is...
 Hopefully you know his teacher well enough, to know if she made a mistake or or just always this way. I don t know the teacher or the situation as well as you do.
 
 Hopefully you can take care of this within the school.
 Without taking this the local news, newpaper, BBB, Attorney General, FBI,or CIA.[&:]
 ---------------------
 
 Cliff, Your trying to link this thread with what your talking about is just pathetic.
 Just cause it s a Catholic School, doesn t have anything to do with that issue.
 I know we are all giving our opinions, but give us a break.[:@]
 
 

[GeneF]

 Camperroo
I was going to respond to this thread but I won t.
 
 Retired after 30 years of teaching.

[Miss-Teri]

 Camperroo
I understand a teacher can make a mistake, but it sounds like this teacher had adequate reason to question herself and make sure she was talking about the right kids (asking where they were sitting exactly, etc).  That is just wrong - I am also looking forward to hearing how it goes on Monday.
 AB - Your DD s teacher should have been fired.  The school board did not handle that correctly, IMO.  Teachers should be a role model as well as an authority to respect and for her to call her student a name...  [:@]
 When my DH and I were in 10th grade (yes, we were HS sweethearts []), our literature teacher told my to-be DH he was " illiterate"  because he didn t agree with the way she interpreted what the author was saying (one of those perceived " hidden meaning"  things) in a book we were reading.  Nothing disrespectful, he just gave a different meaning when the class was asked how the selection was interpreted by them.  
 He plans on writing a book someday and dedicating it to her - the teacher who called him " illiterate" .  []

[Gone-Camping]

 Camperroo

Cliff, Your trying to link this thread with what your talking about is just pathetic.
 Just cause it s a Catholic School, doesn t have anything to do with that issue.

 I wasn t comparing this with that other issue, but making a comparison as to how the Catholic church fixes their problems!