Posted on 06/01/2003 5:24:54 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Teacher sues over 'kindergartner from hell' Claims disruptive boy caused 'loss of enjoyment of life'
Posted: June 1, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A veteran teacher has filed suit against Orange County public schools over the humiliation, emotional and physical distress, and "loss of enjoyment of life" she claims she suffered because the district failed to remove a disruptive child from her class, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher Cheri Dean (Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel)
"What I want out of this is justice," the paper quotes teacher Cheri Dean as saying. "What's so amazing is that these kinds of things are going on in other schools, and teachers won't say anything because they are intimidated."
The lawsuit contains multiple pages of examples of the boy's bullying and reportedly violent behavior at Lockhart Elementary in the fall of 2001.
Dean, 51, claims she kept a log of his misbehavior after the boy was reassigned to her classroom from another teacher's class.
Among the child's offenses, the suit details how he purportedly stabbed a classmate with a fork at lunch, started another fight and then told a teacher's aide to "kiss my butt."
On another occasion, according to the Sentinel, the boy hit two students, one in the back of the head and the other in the face, swung his fists at a third student and then punched a fourth who was reading, calling him an "ugly faggot."
Other students support Dean(Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel)
Dean said she repeatedly asked her principal to remove the child from the classroom, but was rebuffed.
"She was angry because no one was helping her or helping the child, who wasn't at a place where he should have been," Don Dean, the teacher's husband told the paper.
It is unclear to what extent the parents of the child were consulted on the matter.
Ultimately, Dean was reassigned to Catalina Elementary.
According to the Sentinel, school records indicate she had become disruptive to the school. She was reprimanded for filing a false complaint against her principal just before her transfer.
The school district's attorney defended the administration's handling of the matter.
Frank Kruppenbacher told the Sentinel a committee considered Dean's complaints, the child's behavior and how it affected the rest of the class before recommending that the student remain in the classroom.
Kruppenbacher also questioned the authenticity of Dean's log about the boy's actions.
"I find it incredible that anyone would put this kind of litany of student problems in a court case," he said.
As for the boy, he has mended his ways, according to his mother, who describes him as easily bored, wound-up and has trouble sitting still.
"There's been no fighting, no kicking and no punching at the new school," she told the paper.
At the same time Dean was transferred from Lockhart Elementary, the boy was transferred to a nearby school where certain teachers are certified to deal with challenging students.
Dean didn't fare as well from her transfer. The veteran of 18 years claims the events of the fall of 2001 so traumatized her she has been on medical leave since last fall, using all the sick days she had collected through the years, reports the Sentinel.
She has formed an informal group called Teachers Against Violence in Classrooms.
Supporters describe Dean as a good teacher. The week she left Lockhart Elementary, parents held signs in front of the school protesting her departure.
My wife is a TA in a 'troubled youth' class. ( can't recall the PC name )
This is a middle school, 7-9th graders. They curse her ,etc. but have never gotten physical ,yet. I worry about her safety every day.
These kids raise so much he!! that they disrupt classes all around theirs.
I beg my kids to get my grandkids in private schools. One has.
My mother was a fifth grade teacher and taught at a school for two years in which the average age of the student was 13 and she had two 16 year olds. The second year she literally could not turn her back on the class for her safety.
One of the students sister was in jail for stabbing a teacher the year before, there were no doors on the bathrooms, there was no play equipment on the play ground because of the "little darlings" propensity to make weapons out of them, when school was dismissed the cops had to supervise, etc...
Needless to say the stress didn't help her blood pressure, heart condition or mental state. She was on some heavy duty meds to make it through the second year that she was contractually obligated to fulfill. She was finally able to get off the stress meds after moving to the country and teaching in a school where there was discipline, God and no juvenile delinquents. It did affect her long term health, she died at 56 of a heart attack.
About fifteen years ago, An 5-year old kid was ripping toys out of packing @ Kroger in KY...the mother wasn't around, I followed that kid back to his mom, whispered to her what happen...she looked @ the kid, emptied his pockets, pull his pants, gave him a spanking -there on the spot in front of everybody...hopefully the kid mended his ways...if the parents are told...good parents (hopefully) will take remedial action quickly...
There is not a doubt in my mind that the teacher is telling the truth. I've been substitute teaching while between jobs, and the level of obnoxious student behavior, disrespect towards teachers, and threatening or violent behavior is staggering - And the schools have little latitude in dealing with the problem students.
The typical approach is to shift students from school to school. In the district I teach in, there is no ability grouping (except for the so-called "learning disabled" or special needs/MR kids) until high school - so every single class in K-8th grade is polluted with troublemakers who suck up the majority of teacher attention. When they become bothersome enough, they ship them off to be someone else's problem.
Exactly. Whatever you do..........do NOT make waves in the bureaucracy. It's the cardinal sin for which there is no redemption. Bureaucrats.........and worse, educrats.........deplore "wave-makers", and they love to just cruise along nicely in their cushy jobs where nothing is asked of them.
I have absolutely ZERO respect for educrats.
I don't see how this gets the teacher all that medical leave (maybe the stabbed classmate). Lucky for her she was only dealing with little 5 year olds and not dealing with middle school kids who would come up with worse than "kiss my butt". To me it sounds like she might not be cut out for teaching.
Good Lord, you Neanderthal!!!! Violence is NEVER the answer. The child is obviously ADHD, a serious medical condition that needs treatment. (sarcasm off)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.