FL Teacher Sues Orange County District over "Kindergartner from Hell"

WND.com ^ | 06-01-03 | WND.com

[FITZ]

On another occasion, according to the Sentinel, the boy hit two students, one in the back of the head and the other in the face, swung his fists at a third student and then punched a fourth who was reading, calling him an "ugly faggot."

Don't you think a truely disturbed 5 year old couldn't come up with something worse than what's being described? Little boys sometimes like to fight ---it's not exactly unusual behavior ---never was. I know teachers expect all children to sit quietly at their desks with their hands folded and paying close attention ---but at 5 years old, many kids aren't ready to do that for hours on end.

[=Intervention=]

My mom taught jr. high in the 90's and the lack of control that teachers are allowed in their own classroom is amazing. Hearing story after story of how the kids must be allowed to get away with everything or else the parents will sue on trumped-up-charges, no support from administration, and so on, causes me to also trust the teacher in this story. What too often happens is that the teachers are already pushed into a corner and so do nothing, passing the kid so they don't have to deal with him next year. Meanwhile, the disruption, the violence, and so forth the kid does worsen every year...

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It is unclear to what extent the parents of the child were consulted on the matter.

It is very clear. Not at all. Either that, or the parents are the root of the problem and called the prinicpal an "ugly faggot" when he complained to them.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...why was the teacher ALSO transferred to another school?

Obviously, the administrators at the Lockhart Elementary school have no tolerance for what they see as "troublemakers".

Methinks whistleblowers wouldn't fare much better.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Also soap in mouth for the young does wonders in controlling obscenities.

Make sure you use the "Lifebuoy" !

[Theodore R.]

I haven't noticed Lifebuoy on the shelf for years. Is it still sold? Perhaps I just go automatically to "Dial" and pay little attention to the rest.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

My son did that. I considered it entertainment.

The funniest home video we have is the one my wife made of our (then) 2 year old daughter throwing a hissy fit on the living room floor. It lasted for 15 minutes. She then went to sleep right where she lay.

To this day, we cannot figure out or remember what she was upset about. But we laugh until we cry when we watch the video.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I just sent the the link to this book to a good friend of mine who is quitting his job as an editor in the sports department at a major Boston newspaper to go into teaching.

I think he needs his head examined. Very carefully.

[FITZ]

The funniest home video we have is the one my wife made of our (then) 2 year old daughter throwing a hissy fit

I know a couple where both like to pull out a camera when they are having a heated discussion and take a picture of the other looking angry. They have the funniest pictures you could imagine.

[MarkL]

. I have sometimes wondered if liberal administrators really believe their own rhetoric, or if they are just opportunistic and greedy for tax and tuition funds? Also, have you ever wondered why nearly all administrators are liberals?

It's been my observations over the years that lead me to believe that a big part of the liberal mindset is "knowing" what's best for others, even though the liberal doesn't have a stinking clue about the subject matter. As long as they can rule what is going on, they're happy, and the final results really don't matter much. Because they care...

Mark

[Mini-14]

When my father was an elementary school principal he kept two spanking boards in his office. He allowed the students to participate in selecting their punishment: board #1, or board #2.

[Jhoffa_]

As for the boy, he has mended his ways, according to his mother, who describes him as easily bored, wound-up and has trouble sitting still.

hummm.. No mention of the father.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Single parent homes are "liberating" and stuff..

Otherwise there might be some terrible man there beating this kids a** for acting up, and we couldn't have that..

[GummyIII]

In fact, liberal administrators say that POOR teaching methodology is the cause of unruly student behavior. They say that if the teachers will "get the student involved in the learning process" that all will learn and succeed. I have sometimes wondered if liberal administrators really believe their own rhetoric, or if they are just opportunistic and greedy for tax and tuition funds? Also, have you ever wondered why nearly all administrators are liberals?

As a public school teacher, the quandary with this is how to balance the time it takes to POSSIBLY do the above without neglecting the other 90+% students? Supposedly, tolerance should not impose upon the education of the rest. In my classroom, if a student disrupts to the point my time is spent dealing with him/her rather than teaching those who truly try to learn, then he's out. Thankfully, I teach in a conservative system in VA who support me. Secondly, I teach in a technology HS where students apply for entrance and want to be. So, I deal with little of this. (We take students of all abilities, not just "gifted".)

[Eaker]

Little boys sometimes like to fight

Some little boys don't want to fight. Some little boys just want to be left alone and then are preyed upon for this very reason.

When I was in school there was this shy little guy with thick black frame glasses that caught hell from the bullys. One thing that Wayne forgot to do was to quit growing. By the time we were in the 10th grade he was a BIG boy!! One of the bullys started a fight with him and got his ass beat just about off.

Wayne felt terrible; his parents punished him; he just wanted to be left alone.

Eaker

[FITZ]

It is unclear to what extent the parents of the child were consulted on the matter.

It said parents. I still think the teacher wasn't up to teaching 5 year olds because 5 year old boys can sometimes act up and be a little rowdy ----to me his language isn't all that unusual ---lots of 5 year olds try using phrases like "kiss my butt" ---they hear that on tv. I wonder if this was an all-day kindergarden and the child just wasn't quite mature enough to sit still for long periods of time. He may have been an only child so his social skills weren't developed. I remember some brats back when I was in kindergarden.

[netmilsmom]

>>My son did that. I considered it entertainment. A crowd would gather and we'd all watch him. Eventually, he got too embarassed to do it.

Crying is good for their little lungs. A tantrum at any age is a bad time to negotiate. I don't have a problem with them wallowing around, screaming like banshees but when they try anything destructive, they get their ass whacked. They've outgrown it now. I rather miss it.<<

Are you kidding?!? At 5 or 6 you let the child do this?? You have set no boundries for his behavior and by "becoming embarassed" you have let the child discipline himself.

I have a parent like you in my kindergarten class. Her kid lies kicking and screaming on the floor until he gets "embarassed". Great for you, but in the meantime I have to put up with this little darling. Better you pick his butt up and walk him out of the mall to a spanking. He would learn immediate consequences and no one else would have to hear him bellow while you stand there waiting for him to get the point.

[FITZ]

I'm not saying that it's right when they want to fight ---it's just not that unusual ---siblings close in age will provoke fights among themselves. My grandfather told me how they would get in fist fights back when he was in school and I remember seeing some fist fights back when I was in school. Even little girls will sometimes get into fights but they aren't necessarily the girl from hell.

[Jhoffa_]

Whoops..

You're right.. I missed the "parents" reference.

Apologies.

[Freebird Forever]

then punched a fourth who was reading, calling him an "ugly faggot."

Couldn't the little brat be suspended for committing a hate crime?

[radiohead]

maybe times have changed. i went to catholic school for 12 years. none of the sisters had a problem turning a kid over thier knee, wacking some kid's hands w/a ruler, or on a good day, throwing an eraser across the classroom to bean an unruly student.

for some children, catholic school was held out as a punishment because parents and kids both knew that the nuns were only going to take so much distruptive behavior. moreover, they had no problem telling your parents - and they expected something to be done about it.

while parochial schools may need the tuition, i have a feeling there are plenty of parents willing to foot the bill to get their child out of a terrible public school system. parochial schools generally don't keep kids who won't behave.