5 year-old IN student called "ignorant" and "selfish" by teacher (public school, homeschool)

[miamiman]

Seems like the story's about 5 year-old male students keep coming daily.

14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: IN: Teacher accused of verbally abusing student

I don't feel nearly as bad for this child as I do that 5 year-old in Florida.

The child in Florida had Asperger's syndrome. This child in Kentucky was a disruption to school staff for the entire school year for no apparent reason. The fact that his teacher sent him home with his daily behavior folder, and the parents didn't take action to correct his behavior, is very problematic to me.

While some of the actions and names the teacher aimed at the student were inappropriate, such as calling the child "pathetic" and asking the entire class whether or not they wanted to be around him, I really side with the teacher on this end.

It is not the job of school teachers to raise and discipline children. On the first day that the parents saw a negative behavior report for their child, they should have called a meeting with the teacher and the principal. The fact that they didn't allowed the child to run around like a tornado all year.

Enough is enough. Some parents need to start learning how to parent their kids, and stop placing the responsibility on people who did not birth them.

[RDSLOTS]

For a child to be 'ignorant', that is the fault of the school, the system, and/or the teacher. To be 'stupid' is entirely something else, and one might need to consider the parents and the gene pool. Regardless, calling a child either is incredibly immature on the part of the school personnel and most unprofessional.

I'm not saying that teachers don't become frustrated, or pushed hard and far, but the teacher is the adult in the teacher:child mix, and is the professional in the teacherarent mix. Certainly the teacher should be reprimanded -- not in front of the child or the parents, and if the teacher can muster it somehow, should apologize to both the child and the parents.

As for selfish, the teacher could have better modeled being unselfish in a classroom setting, and brought it to the parents' attention the child's short-comings and consequences, immediate and longterm. Even a kindergartner would benefit from a trip to the school counselor's office -- possibly his parents, too.

I am not suggesting that all of this is a school's, system's, teacher's responsibility, but the teacher and the school and system must always conduct themselves in mature, professional manner(s). They set the example. Always. It's a 'given.'

[booker_one]

when teachers get absolutely no support from administration and parents it become extremely frustrating and some people just snap. i'm sure the parents are getting involved now huh? that kid should have been disciplined from the start and it may not have come to this.

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by RDSLOTS

For a child to be 'ignorant', that is the fault of the school, the system, and/or the teacher. To be 'stupid' is entirely something else, and one might need to consider the parents and the gene pool. Regardless, calling a child either is incredibly immature on the part of the school personnel and most unprofessional.

I'm not saying that teachers don't become frustrated, or pushed hard and far, but the teacher is the adult in the teacher:child mix, and is the professional in the teacherarent mix. Certainly the teacher should be reprimanded -- not in front of the child or the parents, and if the teacher can muster it somehow, should apologize to both the child and the parents.

As for selfish, the teacher could have better modeled being unselfish in a classroom setting, and brought it to the parents' attention the child's short-comings and consequences, immediate and longterm. Even a kindergartner would benefit from a trip to the school counselor's office -- possibly his parents, too.

I am not suggesting that all of this is a school's, system's, teacher's responsibility, but the teacher and the school and system must always conduct themselves in mature, professional manner(s). They set the example. Always. It's a 'given.'

Education has to begin at home. Parents need to stop entrusting the school system to teach THEIR children everything about academics AND basic life skills. It is BOTH the fault of the parents and the school if the child is ignorant. I agree that for a teacher to call such a young student is ignorant is inappropriate, but I definitely am siding with the teacher on this one.

The parents should have called a parent-teacher-principal conference when they saw these negative behavioral reports about the child. If these parents really had a vested interest in their child's education they would have done what they needed to do to make sure THEIR child was getting the most out of HIS classroom experience. The teacher probably has at least 10 or 15 other students to educate, and she should not have to compromise every other child's education by dealing with this kid's discipline problems.

Parents need to take responsibility for their children's education. I feel that the teacher did the best job she could. I hope the parents of the student work with future teachers to ensure that these disruptions cease and that he gets the most out of HIS education.

[vter4ever]

As a teacher I can attest to the frustrations associated with kids who have behavioral issues. I can also say that in no way is taking out the frustration on a kid the correct route. Not only did she do harm to the child but she also taught a very terrible lesson to the other kids in her class. If my child was in an two of the classes in which the teachers made the class partake in such events, I would be equally if not more angry. By the sounds of the article, it seems the parents are ignorant and selfish in not taking the blame for their child's horrendous attitude. Kids model their behavior after their parents.

[sweetmichelle28CT]

The child is 5 years old. Your right it is the parents responsibility to discipline the child, so therfore the teacher should've contacted the parents and called a meeting with them, not take out her frustration on a 5 year old and resort to name calling in front of his classmates!

[breeze823]

All 5 year olds are "ignorant" lol.....so many stories out there about the public school system now days really makes me wish I had gone the homeschool route. Although we have always been very pleased with our schools/teachers.

[Tricky D]

Originally Posted by vter4ever

As a teacher I can attest to the frustrations associated with kids who have behavioral issues.

Be that as it may, it still is no excuse for an adult to vent his frustrations on a 5-year old.
I mean that would be like calling a blind kid slow, simply because it could be dangerous for them to run.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I find if I went to insult someone, its best to use words that they recipient can understand. I imagine tht a 5 year old has no idea what "ignorant" means.

No seriouly, I find that pretty disgusting that someone who is in charge of children would act like that.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by Lindsey_Mcfarren

I find if I went to insult someone, its best to use words that they recipient can understand. I imagine tht a 5 year old has no idea what "ignorant" means.

No seriouly, I find that pretty disgusting that someone who is in charge of children would act like that.

so, poo-poo head? :P


Look, I think we can all agree that the teacher in this scenario was out of line. Thats a given.

The issue is truly though, why are people not taking responsibility for their children? More and more people seem to believe that the 'system' will take care of their children from start to finish. I'm really not sure where they got this idea from. I know I was always in big trouble at HOME if they got negative remarks from one of my teachers. Unless I could prove that it was unjustified, then they got upset and marched straight to the school. That only happened to my brothers.