Dallas teacher accused of telling class to hit boy

[CShine]

DALLAS - An elementary school teacher was placed on emergency leave after allegedly ordering second-graders to line up and take turns hitting a classmate.

Dallas Independent School District officials said the Seagoville Elementary School teacher was placed on emergency leave Monday, and several parents said they have pulled their children out of the teacher's class.

Shellee DeChant said her son, who takes medication daily at school for emotional problems, came home May 6 saying he "got in trouble" for hitting another boy.

She later noticed a bruise on his arm and filed a police report alleging assault. DeChant said school officials called to tell her the teacher had allowed other students to punish her son by hitting him.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2567735

[boobooday]

1. That's just freakin' psycho!

Where are they getting these people?

Did they pass all the "standardized teacher tests" without anyone discovering they were whacked?

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[oreocat]

2. Rummy should enlist the teacher

Nice.

Thanks W* and Rummy.

[rabid_nerd]

3. "He hit me"

"Well hit 'em back"...

I've heard that so many times..

[TahitiNut]

4. Where's the Nuremberg Defense in this one?

Are the children who did the hitting innocent because they were told to do it? Don't they know the difference between right and wrong? What's wrong with the parenting? Hmmmm...?
:eyes:

[JNelson6563]

17. It's the system! Never the parents!

So I have seen lamely argued here at good ol' DU.

Ugh.

Julie

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

5. Bad Apple of a Teacher

.. but Mom doesn't sound too great either ".. She later noticed a bruise on his arm and filed a police report alleging assault."

HER son gets in trouble for hitting and SHE files assault on someone for hitting him???????

Guidance begins at home.

[Scooter24]

10. They

did an interview today on NBC and the boys mother has been trying to get her son into a special class but has been repeatedly rejected by the school. The mother is making a conscious attempt to correct her sons behavior.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

12. Thanks!

That's good to hear.

A horror story on the other side is from a friend who is a principle in a local grammar school.

This past week he was called into an emergency situation where a kid had 'lost it' and was standing on the window ledge in the bathroom shouting and going berserk. It took 3 men to subdue this under-12 year old.

AFTER speaking with the parent(s?), he was informed the child had emotional problems and had been removed from a number of schools in the previous year.

If the parent is working WITH the school, great. The above situation still doesn't warrant letting classmates take a swipe at him, but definitely hi lights the disparity in some situations.

[Ilsa]

13. She needs to get a real diagnosis

on her son so he will qualify under IDEA for whatever educational setting suits him best. Both the child and the rest of the class will have better learning experiences for it.

[Scairp]

6. Overreaction on both sides

The teacher, of course, had no earthly business telling other children to retaliate against the first kid with more violence. At the same time the mother is a dumbass for filing an assault report on this thing that her own son started. They should all be counseled to not settle problems with hitting and violence, even if the other guy started it.

[Wright Patman]

8. "They should all be

counseled to not settle problems with hitting and violence..."

This is a classic case of the U.S. 'adults in charge' saying, "Do as we say, not as we do."

As one of the Black Panthers, H. Rap Brown, once said, "Violence is as American as cherry pie."

[Bandit]

9. I disagree completely

Boys will misbehave and sometimes hit people. That is why they should be disciplined by someone who has had training in such matters such as the principle. You don't have other students dish out punishment especially if it involves hitting. Any mother would be derelict for not reporting such behavior to the proper authorities. If the teacher will do this once they will do it again and again and the lesson taught is immoral and totally out of bounds. This mother should in fact seek redress in the form of a public apology from all concerned.

[Lars39]

15. If the students were older, wouldn't she be commissioning a crime,

ie, assault? :shrug:

[Mountainman]

7. This happened to me in Catholic grade school

I was in the 3rd grade and was on the playground when a bunch of boys demanded to know were my gang was. I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. They then proceded to beat me up. I decided to tell the nun that was in charge that day, something I had never done before but I thought it was the right thing to do. She said I was just a big baby and walked away. I later found out from one of he kids that beat me up that the nun had put them up to it. To this day I don't know why it happened but I now hate authority figures. It might be because I stuttered by then.

[TahitiNut]

16. I'll merely repeat a line from "Good Will Hunting" ...

It wasn't your fault.
It wasn't your fault.
It wasn't your fault.
It wasn't your fault.
!
!

[xchrom]

11. what? the kids were just blowing off

steam.
c'mon this teacher was just showing these kids how to behave like brave little soldiers!
sarcasm thingy.

[northofdenali]

14. Teacher's training young frat-boy recruits

for future "pranks" in Iraqi prisons.