[Cicero]

Apparently this incident began with the teacher asking the boy if he was gay. The question came up because the kid used to dance in the back of the classroom with another boy instead of, say, taking notes.

Well, If I were a teacher, and two boys habitually danced at the back of the classroom instead of sitting at their desks, I might get a little annoyed too. Did they play rap music while they did it?

I find this "hit" story very difficult to believe. It sounds like a lousy school, with really difficult kids and probably most of the better teachers driven out because they couldn't take any more. I know a few idealistic young teachers who tried teaching in inner city schools, and most of them couldn't take more than a year of it. Full time trying to keep discipline, and not much chance to actually teach them anything.

[scottiemom]

I agree with you, Cicero. This story DOESN'T pass the smell test with me either. As for those who would choose to homeschool on the basis of this report, I'd say the reasoning is a little shaky. I am all for homeschooling but if the primary reason is fear of a teacher putting a hit out on the child, well just let's say, there are crazies all around us and many are in the clergy and church where we feel our young people are safe. Parents should homeschool for the right reasons: for the best educational reasons, for good curriculum, truthful history lessons, meaningful literature and for the choice to educate according to family beliefs.

I am no fan of public education here in Texas but I do my utmost to make a difference in the lives of those I teach. The system is corrupt, but I cannot make a living on what parochial schools pay. They pay half of what public schools pay and still, it is only an adequate living for a single person. The shame of school administrators is that they have lost all connections to teaching in the real world. Their agenda is testing your children and not educating them. You can thank "NCLB" for that little deal. How can you pass someone who refuses to be a success?

Frankly, I have had it with being the only person in the lives of my students who gives a d--n about the child's character. Try teaching a child to have character when the the parents are addicts or gang members who will curse you out because you care enough to discipline! In addition to that, I have students who come to school never having held a book in their hands, much less been read to. This is a travesty and it will be the undoing of our nation if O. does not bring us to destruction first.

Friends, it much worse that you think. The teacher is a baby sitter who risks assault at the hands of her students and is motivated (intimidated, actually) by an administration that is in the business of staying in business and not educating your child.