Grade school teacher tells student "go shoot yourself" (Gets reprimand, apologizes, moves on)

WWMT ^ | 1/20/11

[Libloather]

Grade school teacher tells student "go shoot yourself"
January 20, 2011 10:02 PM

LAWTON, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A veteran Lawton Public Schools teacher is coming under fire.

In the middle of class Mary Botas told one of her students to “go shoot yourself.”

**SNIP**

“I had her as a teacher when I was in school,” said Pam. “I had no problem with her then.”

However, no one, not even Botas feels that in any way excuses or justifies her comments in class.

“She was very upset that she had reacted the way she had,” said Trimboli. “She was remorseful, she was tearful when she was sharing with me.”

Trimboli says Botas apologized to Nathan and his class, but has not apologized to Nathan's parents.

Trimboli also says with Botas' record, there is very little chance she'll be fired. Since she is tenured, the firing process could cost the school $80,000 to $120,000 in legal fees. However if a similar incident were to happen again, suspension or termination is very possible.

[goldi]

If the kid said something like that to his teacher, he would be in juvy by now.

[brushcop]

The teacher needs to experience the same treatment as kids who have been susupended for drawing a gun, pointing fingers like a gun, etc. They want to be PC? It works both ways, or should.

Suspension, forfeiture of some $$, let’s make this equitable. Do this enough and some school administrators might start thinking, naw, I must be dreaming.

[momtothree]

To me, context is everything. The kids in the class were “rowdy” and wouldn’t settle down. One boy complained he couldn’t do his art work because his fingers were hurting. The teacher then replied, “go shoot yourself”. IMHO a simple “don’t say this again” is suffice. My own parents would say “cry me a river” when we complained about stupid stuff. Just a different sort of saying in a way. Just a thought.

[RipSawyer]

Some things just happen that way. Once I told a young fellow at the plant where I worked that he had better watch out. He was bragging about how fast his new Chevy would run. I told him that one day he would be scraped off the side of a big Oak tree if he didn’t stop trying to see how fast his car would run. What happened? I am sure I don’t have to tell you.

[ExSoldier]

Well, once upon a time when I was but a young teacher and still feeling my oats as an army officer (then in the reserves, still) I had a mealy mouthed punk at the first inner city school where I worked say to me: Hey DUDE... why you so MEAN? To which I instantly replied: Hey DUDE, I'll try being nicer if you'll try being SMARTER. DUDE? No sweat then, except a lot of class laughter.

[ExSoldier]

We have zero tolerance, too. But I guess nobody told the punk that jumped a math teacher in my school a couple of years ago right outside his classroom. Busted the teachers jaw in three places. He never returned to the profession and he was a GOOD teacher! His attacker? Placed on outdoor suspension. Any of you guys who wanna walk a mile in my shoes, just come on over. I've had my life threatened innumerable times and I've also been swung on several times in my 22 + year career so far. After the math teacher had his jaw busted, my students asked me if I was now "afraid" to come to work. I replied in a tired voice thusly: "Look son, I'm too young to die and too old to take an A$$ whuppin' so... I'm just gonna kill ya!" They all whispered: Yeah, we sorta figured you'd say that. But all my classes fill first and I have been a social studies Teacher of the Year, so I guess I'm still at the top of my game.