Posted by DRD #37 at dsl-65-188-246-138.telocity.com on August 02, 2002 at 13:37:28:
In Reply to: I can't believe this. DRD, you taught, right? posted by The Bastard on August 02, 2002 at 13:21:04:
The reason I am no longer a teacher is because I resigned a few years ago, right at what I thought was the peak of my career as an educator.
One of my rules was that if a student was overly disruptive or was caught cheating, that the student in question would have to stand facing the chalkboard, which I smeared with chalk so that the student's face would be covered in it when class was over.
Well, one day a student was banging his desk repeatedly. I politely asked him to stop, and warned him that he would have to stand against the chalkboard if he didn't stop being disruptive. He simply yelled out "fuck you" and continued to bang his desk. I pointed at the chalkboard and told him to go stand facing it. He said "fuck you" again, and continued banging his desk. I gently (I repeat: GENTLY) took him by the hand and pulled him toward the chalkboard and made him stand there. I told him I was going to call his parents and refer him to the administrators to have him suspended for being disruptive and using foul language towards a teacher. I assinged one of my trustworthy students to watch over the class while I went to the office to look up the disruptive student's home phone number. When I got back, he was back in his seat slamming his fists on the desk again. I gently (repeat: GENTLY) took him by the arm, pulled him to the chalkboard, and made him stand with his face pressed against it. After I called his mother and told her what happened, she said that she would pick him up, and whatever punishment the school thought was necessary she would agree with.
Well, when I get to school the very next day the principal calls me into his office. He tells me that the disruptive student's mother had spoken to him and said that her son told her that I had forcefully grabbed him by the arm and slammed him against a wall twice. I told him that's not how it happened, and the principal knew me pretty well and understood that I was strict with discipline, but I would never physically harm any of my students. Over the course of the day, he called all the students in that particular class to his office to hear their side of the story. All of them told similar (if not coinciding) stories, that I had warned the student, taken him gently by the arm both times, and led him in as unforceful a manner as I could muster to the chalkboard. All the students agreed that I was an upstanding and nice teacher, and that the disruptive student was way out of line.
The day after that, the principal called me into his office again. He told me that the mother was threatening to sue the school if I wasn't fired immediately. He was afraid of being fired himself for not getting rid of me, so he gave me the option of resigning. I understood his position, and accepted. I've never been back to the school again after that day.
These are ridiculous times we live in, and I am but one of many of their victims.