I am a teacher of students with emotional/behavioral disorders at the junior high/secondary level. I was distraught to see Dr. Phil attacking a teacher for standing up for her rights as a human!!
School districts and teachers are constantly in fear of "upsetting" the wrong parent and getting dragged into due process. (Don't get me wrong, there are MANY times when this is a wonderful thing for parents to do! Many parents are very justified in this!!! ) However, for once a teacher has shown parents that they can be held accountable by the courts too.
As teachers, we must have million dollar insurance coverages from teaching organizations to protect ourselves from parents suing us. Why shouldn't we be justified in suing parents for some direct attack on our safety? Is Dr. Phil afraid that teachers will rebel and ALL start suing for similar or less severe offenses? Just think of the chaos if we sued for all the wrong-doings we see parents inflicting on their children!
Here's my questions to these parents:
Where were they when the video was being made?
What did they immediately say or do when they found out about the video? If they smiled, laughed, or even simply ignored it... there's a MAJOR problem...
WHY WHY haven't they spoken to the teacher they so gravely injured? Speaking to her would show TRUE sincerity.
I don't know anything about the boy's family. I wouldn't be teaching in this position if I didn't care deeply about families who have difficulty. Most parents work with schools and teachers on the best ways to shape their children's personalities and behaviors. However, it gets increasingly difficult when SOME of these parents defend the inappropriate actions of their children.
These behaviors and the response they get from their parents will feed into their success or failure in the future. Shaping their sense of right and wrong is critical to the development of their success as a contributing citizen. It's absolutely imperative that families across the country see this show and realize that they have a responsibility to society and to their children above all.
Stop making excuses. If these boys were adults when they did this, the consequences would be much more severe. The teacher who is suing will probably not win a huge victory, but it's the message her actions are sending that is so important. She wants justice. She wants America to wake up and take responsibility for its children. WE ARE NOT OUR STUDENTS' PARENTS!!!! WE ARE TIRED OF BEING BLAMED FOR THEIR MISTAKES AND THEN PERSECUTED FOR INAPPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT. Give me a break America. It's the courts decision anyway. That's why we have a judicial system. Don't punish a teacher for her reasons for taking them to court. Let the court decide.
I love my job. I love my kids. I love my parents. I even love my angry kids and angry parents. I pray for them and myself every day . I'll be adding this teacher, the boys, and their families to my list as well. For now I'm very tired and have to get to bed.
Kids across the country are playing pranks and harassing teachers. Tericka, a high school science teacher who loved her job, lived in fear of her scandalous past catching up with her and getting her fired. Students eventually found out about her shocking past and the news spread throughout town like wildfire. Are other teachers taking her side, or do they feel her punishment was justified? How can she move forward? Then, Anna, an assistant principal, was harassed on the Internet when two students created a fake MySpace page alleging to be her. She says they completely attacked her character and need to be held accountable for their actions. Was this just a practical joke gone bad, or were these students out for revenge? Find out what Anna did to show these kids that some jokes just aren't funny. Could the mischief your kids get into end up costing you thousands of dollars? Talk about the show here.
