Posted on 03/11/2010 7:38:13 PM PST by TornadoAlley3
Teachers duct taped to wall; students cross the line
(FOREST LAKE) MN — A Century Junior High School parent said her son and another student are being unfairly punished after a school fundraiser took a wrong turn into alleged sexual misconduct last month.
Forest Lake Police said two male students, both 13, were questioned by a school liaison officer after they placed duct tape across a female teacher’s chest during a “Stuck for a Buck” fundraiser Feb. 24. Investigators determined the boys committed no crime but school authorities reassigned both students to Southwest Junior High.
“They put the tape in a place that probably was not appropriate,” said Police Chief Clark Quiring. “It was more juvenile behavior than a crime.”
The incident took place during a charity fundraiser where three teachers, a male and two females, volunteered to be taped to a school wall. Students could buy a three-foot piece of duct tape for $1 and secure the teacher to a wall in front of the student body.
Amanda Valencia said a group of classmates dared her son and another student to place tape on a female teacher’s chest. She said her son placed his portion of tape across the teacher’s collar bone, but the second male student applied tape across her chest.
The action resulted in cheers and high fives among the group of students involved in the dare.
Valencia said approximately a dozen students involved in the incident were questioned by school authorities and asked to write an apology to the teacher. She said her son was sent home and suspended for two days.
Valencia said the punishment seemed to fit the circumstances but then her son was questioned by police for alleged sexual harassment and disorderly conduct.
“They took part in an event that was put on by the school, volunteered to by the teachers, and tape provided by the school for the students to place on the teacher,” she said, “and they want to charge my son with sexual harassment or even disorderly conduct? That seems a little extreme.”
Quiring said police will take no action in the case, but Valencia said school authorities threatened to expel her son and plan to classify the incident as sexual harassment in his school file.
Valencia said she did not consent to the Southwest reassignment and said the move will be difficult for her son, a seventh grader. She said if her son returns to Century she fears he will be harassed by students and teachers.
“This is really cruel and unusual punishment,” Valencia said. “Something has to be fixed. This is a stupid little fundraiser to be doing with prepubescent children.”
School District Communications Coordinator Ross Bennett said this is the second year the Century Student Council has held the “Stuck for a Buck” fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He said he did not know if students were given instructions about touching teachers prior to the event.
He called the student behavior “inappropriate.”
“It is unfortunate that such a worthwhile and noble effort as a fundraiser to help those afflicted with leukemia and lymphoma would be marred by the misconduct of one or two students,” he said. “We are hopeful that this situation can be resolved and that the school and its student council can continue sponsoring worthwhile fundraising events that help people in our community.”
Bennett said the school district has yet to determine final student punishment.
Valencia said her family has consulted a lawyer and will meet with district staff and school board members March 12 to discuss the situation.
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What exactly was she expecting?
The boy that did it was probably the teacher’s lover.
I gotta say, what was whoever approved this thinking? There should be a line between teachers and students and this begged for it to be crossed over. Of course the kids should have had better sense, but anyone who works with kids that age knows, they often don’t. Geeze, have adults simply lost their minds?
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Today’s “teachers” seem to be more juvenile than their students.
I saw some of that when I was still teaching.
Okay everybody take a breast, er, breath, and calm down.
oooooo, that’s going to hurt when it comes off!
There’s one teacher I had who I wish I could have duct taped to a wall.
It seems in other districts, children know better than they seem to in Forest Lake.
ROTFL!
These people are taping teachers to the wall...and they're concerned about impropriety??
Isn't that the whole point of this kind of fundraiser?!
If you're really concerned about your staff being subjected to indignities, well...maybe this wasn't a brilliant idea.
the military has regulations against officer/enlisted (and superior/subordinate) fraternization for a reason....to keep the proper respect and relationship so that the unit can function properly.
These teachers and administrators wonder why they can’t control the students at school. When they involve themselves in this kind of juvenile behavior, how can a kid respect an adult who allows themselves to be humiliated in this way? Twenty years in the Navy taught me that the hardest thing is to be both a buddy and a boss at the same time. Dang near impossible.
I don’t really understand your comment, can you clarify?
Right on target. I often had students tell me, when I did something they didn’t like (which was pretty often) that they weren’t my friend anymore. I told them, “I’m not your friend, I’m your teacher.” Like they had to be told. There is a problem when kids think adults are just older kids. The good news is, I didn’t have much trouble in my class.
In this situation, perhaps they should be looking at disciplining the staff not the children.
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