Teacher accused of instructing kids to kick fellow student

khou ^ | 03/10/10 | Shern-Min Chow / 11 News

[TornadoAlley3]

HOUSTON -- A Memorial Middle School teacher is on administrative leave following allegations that she instructed all of her students to kick one boy for having kicked another child last Friday. “All of us had to walk around and kick this kid,” said Taylor Reed, a 13-year-old student who was in the 8th grade U.S. history class. “Some people drop-kicked him and kicked him really hard. He sits next to me and when I saw his legs they were all red and bruised up … his face was really red and he was starting to cry.”

[Celtic Conservative]

We should make sure this social retard(OMG. that word!) never gets within 100 yards of impressionable youth again.

IMHO

CC

[sniper63]

Sharia law imposed.....the teacher should be next on the kicking list.

[ClearCase_guy]

I'm not going to defend the teacher, but I suspect that the boy won't be a repeat offender.

I'm sure the school has a policy against corporal punishment. This action by the teacher would violate such a policy and therefore I cannot support the teacher.

However, if people had access to several local schools, and if one of those schools had a policy stating, "We physically punish students who bully other students", I suspect that a lot of parents would gladly sign up to have their children attend. I know I would.

[Qwackertoo]

That teacher better thank God that wasn’t my child she had kicked nor my child instructed to kick another child. What a moron.

[rrrod]

normal public school teacher.....

[ASA Vet]

My eldest son and I have taught dozens of kids to kick others.
Many went on to earn advanced ranks.

[GBA]

So, did the teacher turn tables on a bully or is she as crazy as it sounds or both?

[struggle]

>>normal public school teacher.....

No, a normal public school teacher kicks kids out of class for talking.

[Abathar]

The kid was wrong for kicking another child, but twenty other wrongs don’t make a right.

That being said if I was called in to the principals office and told my son was forced to sit there while every other kid in the class kicked him, many of them really hard, that teacher whether man or woman had better not be within striking distance when I was told.

In fact whoever told me this had better look ashamed or I probably would have taken it out on the messenger of that news.

[Doogle]

....school ignores initial problem of kid having problem “kicking” other kids. It escalates. Whats new?

[AD from SpringBay]

administrative leave = paid time off

[silverleaf]

I bet he won’t kick another kid again

[goldi]

Morally bankrupt public school. Parents should ask their kids why they obeyed this so-called teacher’s command to kick a student. Criminal charges should be brought against this “teacher” and kids should be taught not to obey an order they know is morally wrong and criminal.

[Spike Knotts]

"Some people drop-kicked him and kicked him really hard. He sits next to me and when I saw his legs they were all red and bruised up … his face was really red and he was starting to cry."

Damn...I don't blame him for tearing up. I bet his face was extremely red after receiving several drop kicks.



The teacher's involvement is rather weird and unprofessional, but if he really did kick someone, presumably smaller and weaker than him prior to this I have no sympathy for him. Maybe the one kick he delivered to the other kid made that kid cry and turn red. I doubt he had much sympathy at the time. If you use violence, don't expect sympathy when the tables are turned. Play with swords and sometimes you die by the windshield.

[ccmay]

Context is everything. I had an old Marine for a teacher in 6th grade who used methods not too dissimilar to this. He occasionally caught flak from parents, but by and large they appreciated the way he kept his class in good order.

If this was a repeat-offending bully, unresponsive to more gentle means of correction, this might be a good way to get his attention. A kick in the rear end is not going to do any permanent harm. In this circumstance, I am having a hard time summoning up much sympathy for the kid.

If he was instead the object of repeated bullying who finally fought back for once, then this would be wrong. I was picked on in 6th grade and once when I couldn’t take it any more I gave my tormenter a good beating. My Marine teacher later told my parents he wanted to cheer me on, but he had to stay neutral. He didn’t exactly hurry to break it up after it was clear I was getting the better of the troublemaker, and I faced no serious punishment.

Obviously, if the kid was getting kicked in the head or testicles or other places that could do permanent damage, this would be totally inappropriate. I also worry that so many of our teachers nowadays are so stupid and immature and so needy about being seen as a pal by their pupils, and maybe this was just more picking on an outcast kid who really did not deserve it.

As I said, context is everything.

[JimRed]

When I went to school, the teacher might just say something like “because of Mr. So & So’s actions, we will all be (writing long essays, staying in at recess, getting extra homework, whatever the threat of the day was).” Mr. So & So (unless he was the class tough) generally found out about playground justice quite soon thereafter.

[Married with Children]

[maine yankee]

If I had instructed my kid to go to school and kick another kid, I would be in jail. My kid would be in foster care.

If I were this young person’s parent he would be grounded until he learned about being a bully. Then the teacher and I would have a private ‘talk’ about bullying by proxy.

[IMR 4350]

I bet the other kids think twice before they kick somebody.