Joshua Vannoy, 17, says he was humiliated in class. (Courtesy of Vannoy family)
Posted on 01/23/2006 12:43:45 PM PST by Cagey
Embracing diversity and practicing tolerance had been mainstays of Joshua Vannoy's Pittsburgh-area high school ethnicity class - until the student wore his Denver Broncos jersey to school.
A die-hard Steelers fan and teacher at Beaver Falls High School made Vannoy, 17, take a midterm test on the floor because he was sporting a John Elway No. 7 jersey. The honors ethnic relations teacher had Vannoy sit in a circle of desks, then instructed his classmates to throw paper at him.
The treatment wasn't part of any classroom lesson, his teacher says. He had warned students before not to wear another team's jersey in his classroom.
"I was humiliated and shaking. I couldn't finish my test," said Vannoy, a Broncos fan even though he's a native of Pittsburgh Steelers country.
Teacher John Kelly thought he was "just messing around" with Vannoy, telling him he couldn't sit at any desk in his class Friday.
Vannoy said Kelly grabbed him by the neck of his jersey when he tried to sit in his chair and told him he would give him a zero on the exam if he didn't sit on the floor. Kelly told the 12 other students that part of their midterm was that they had to throw paper at "the stinking Denver fan" - or lose points, he added.
"Some threw the paper at me, some threw it at the ground," Vannoy said.
Kelly said he didn't threaten Vannoy's grade or grab his shirt. He said that he told students to do those things but that nobody took it seriously.
"When you are joking and everyone's laughing, it's obvious," Kelly said.
And it's not the first time Kelly has employed the tactic. "I did the same thing last week with one of my ninth-graders who wore Peyton Manning," Kelly said of the Indianapolis Colts quarterback.
Principal Thomas Karczewski said a concerned Vannoy later came to his office. Although Vannoy is probably "the only Denver fan in the entire school," Karczewski said he was sure Kelly had no intent to harm him and that it was a joke that went too far. He plans to talk to the teacher Monday, Karczewski said.
"If he felt uncomfortable, then that's a lesson; that's what (the class) is designed to do," Kelly said. "It was silly fun. I can't believe he was upset."
Vannoy's mother, Virginia, is worried her son will get a lower grade in the class. She wants him to be able to retake the exam.
Joshua Vannoy, 17, says he was humiliated in class. (Courtesy of Vannoy family)
Some teacher needs a life.
All Denver Fans were humiliated yesterday.
There's no crying in football!
"honors ethnic relations teacher "
Johnny can't read, but he can relate.
an HONORS class????? HONORS???
pardon me, but OMFG. Neal Boortz is right.
It is times like these when I consider it totally appropriate for the students to beat the living crap out of the teacher.
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. I think this kid needs his diapers changed, a bottle of warm milk, a burp and nappy-poo time.
Humiliated? Good grief talk about sensitive. If he didn't like it he should have stood up and either told them to knock it off or left the room. Doesn't sound malice.
some teacher needs to be given a pink slip
Dumbass teacher. Needs a reprimand, if not a pink slip.
Watch the union circle the wagons around the teacher... We really need school vouchers in this country!
Does he have a right to wear the shirt? Sure.
Is it a good idea? Hmmmm, I don't think so.
if not a pink slip, then a new job title. What a joke.
What a freaking idiot. (The teacher, not the student.) Any teacher who would humiliate one of their students like this just for rooting for another football team--and yes, I know it's Pittsburgh, where pro football is a religion--deserves to have his teaching credentials yanked.
This needs to be investigated, and if the kid's story is true, I hope the teacher gets fired. If the teacher's story is true, I hope the kid gets suspended for lying.
}:-)4
Suspend the teacher without pay for a couple of weeks. Then require him to wear a Broncos jersey to school for the rest of the year. And give all students in the school a free pass to harass the Broncos-jersey-wearing teacher for the rest of the year.
There are classes in "ethnic relations" now?
I mouthed off to teachers all the time, and look how great I turned out. :)
It may not have been a great idea, but the student has a right to expect that a TEACHER won't instigate harassment for wearing the shirt.
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