Posted on 01/23/2006 1:04:06 PM PST by Rutles4Ever
An ethnic studies high-school teacher and die-hard Steelers fan in Pittsburgh has "humiliated" one of his students who wore a Denver Broncos jersey to class, making the boy sit on the floor and having his classmates pelt him with paper.
According to a report in the Denver Post, Joshua Vannoy, 17, showed up for his midterm test sporting a John Elway No. 7 Broncos jersey. Not only did his teacher at Beaver Falls High School, John Kelly, make him take the test while sitting on the floor, he had the teen sit in a circle of desks and told others in the class – under threat of losing points on the exam – to throw paper wads at him.
"I was humiliated and shaking. I couldn't finish my test," Vannoy told the paper.
Kelly defended his actions, saying he had warned students not to wear a team jersey other than the Steelers to class. The teacher claims he was "just messing around" with the boy.
According to the Post, Vannoy claimed 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.
"Some threw the paper at me, some threw it at the ground," Vannoy is quoted as saying.
Kelly claimed he didn't threaten Vannoy's grade or grab his shirt, adding, "When you are joking and everyone's laughing, it's obvious. … It was silly fun. I can't believe he was upset."
The teacher claims he took similar action when a ninth-grade student recently showed up in class wearing a Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts shirt.
Principal Thomas Karczewski was scheduled to talk to Kelly about the incident today, the Post reported.
Vannoy's mother, Virginia, wants her son to be allowed to retake the midterm exam.
and this is news because?....
What would you have done in the same situation?
Funny, but it sounds like a law suit. I remember one of my co-workers made a bet with another person that whonever was late to meeeting the punishment would be push-ups. Well the other guy was late and the co-worker insisted on the him doing push-ups.
The guy latter quit and subsequently sued claiming discrmination based on his Muslim faith. The company settled in the low $$$,$$$ figures.
GROW UP BABY
The kid needs to develop a thicker skin or he's going to have a hard time getting along in life. This is much ado about nothing!! I feel for the teacher.
Get over it, and move along.
No matter what the truth is, this is another example of how our public school system has failed:
1) Students can wear football jerseys to class, causing a distraction
2) A teacher not only allows the distraction to take place, but engages in it.
3) Students are forced to waste their time taking an ethnics studies class, but cannot pass basic math tests.
I could go on, but this is depressing me.
That was way over the line. Had it been a regular class and simply a joke, it might have been okay (although still excessive, IMHO). But the kid showed up for a midterm, and this stuff doesn't belong there.
As for the kid striking back - which a number of folks here have suggested - who do you think would be off the football team, probably out of school, and possibly even looking at a felony charge? Not Teach.
Totally agree with you. There are times when you get called to meet with the principle that aren't always bad, like when your kid gets suspended for beating the snot out of a bully, you can walk out with your head held high and treat him to a candy bar on the way home. If my kid complained over this I would be apologizing to the teacher for wasting his time while dragging him out by his ear.
We weren't there. It seems more likely that the teacher was poking fun of the kid in good fun and the kid (or someone) had no sense of humor and blew it WAAAY out of proportion.
I guess it's possible the teacher meant to be abusive, but the above sounds like a much more likely explanation.
I feel terrible for this kid. He'll have to wait until 2009, but I'm gonna invite him and his jersey to the Bronco's at Eagles game as my personal guest. I won't be standing too close to him, but I'm sure he'll have a nostalgic time.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
"Throwing paper wads"
hmmm....sounds like a new form of torture, you know like panties on the head
Article about the same thing in chat. NOT an identical article.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1563435/posts
Too bad the kid didn't sit on the floor and wail "Lawdy! Lawdy! I surely do feels like a N*****! Yes sir! Yes sir! I do feels like a N*****! A N*****, I say!"
I bet language like that would put a stop to the game. And if the kid got any grief, he could shrug and say, "A situation like that? I'm surprised the school didn't understand that it was fun and games."
I would have told the teacher to screw! The kid is 17. He's old enough to enlist with his parents say-so, don't you think he should have enough balls to tkae a stand?
If you are talking about the teacher/Steeler fan, I agree.
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