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Going to the media is a mistake in my opinion. Nothing good will come of that, and the backlash from the folks in the school and your neighbors will be worse than your current situation.
Get a lawyer, one from your state but not in your town. They are out there, and there are plenty of advocate lawyers who would listen to you and consider your case. They may end up telling you that you can't win, and then you need to make the decision to fight it even though it will probably cost you a bit of money to do so.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA
Going to the media is a mistake in my opinion. Nothing good will come of that, and the backlash from the folks in the school and your neighbors will be worse than your current situation.
Get a lawyer, one from your state but not in your town. They are out there, and there are plenty of advocate lawyers who would listen to you and consider your case. They may end up telling you that you can't win, and then you need to make the decision to fight it even though it will probably cost you a bit of money to do so.
The problem I have with a court settlement is it may be sealed and the guilty protected. I know a media circus leaves a lot to be desired but teachers like this need to be exposed and removed from the system, a child abuser is a child abuser and IMO has no business being a techer.
The problem I have with a court settlement is it may be sealed and the guilty protected. I know a media circus leaves a lot to be desired but teachers like this need to be exposed and removed from the system, a child abuser is a child abuser and IMO has no business being a techer.
And my problem is that you may be underestimating the backlash, and those folks (including the kid) have to live in that environment on a daily basis.
The press could cover a trial, if they found the subject to be of sufficient interest.
Thanks for all of the great exchange on this. In my opinion, there is really no one recipe for success with this issue, in fact, the combination of persistent and constant pressure on a school district or individual is needed to produce any change or accountability. Unfortunately, that comes at a price. Victims have a lot at stake. Here is a list of tried and failed measures that should have brought closure to this incident:
1. Law enforcement failed the family, a report was filed, no action to be taken
2. Local district attorney failed the family, family told there was no criminal intent
3. Local principal and superintendent failed to return calls
4. State board of education says this is an issue of "local control," and does not allow any public comments at its monthly board meetings.
5. Department of Social Services acknowledges that this is child abuse, but has no jurisdiction over those who are not parents or caregivers. The department has no regulatory power over teachers.
Where else can a parent go? Media and lawsuits come to mind. Getting the word out to as many people as possible. This forum has opened some people's minds and eyes. Any person who becomes aware of this issue is one less person who is in the dark as to the level of abuse that is tolerated in some educational settings.
McDowell County Schools needs to be recognized and shamed for being a school district that has failed a child, and allowed a child to be abused, and is absolutely not taking any steps to prevent future incidents of abuse from occuring. It is inexcusable. In fairness to this school district, they are far from alone in being the only district that has abused children and tried to get away with it. My hope is that this is the last school district in my state that will bruise and abuse a child without being stopped.
Last edited by pegmomof4; 12-29-2007 at 12:03 PM..
Reason: spell check
SHERA,
You are in the right. Your child was physically abused by a teacher in North Carolina. He certainly was not the first, but I hope that he is among the last. For those of you who have any doubt as to whether or not children are being abused in North Carolina school, look at the link on my home page. Let me know if any of the children you see are not victims of child abuse.
You need an attorney, media exposure, and you also need to leave a huge paper trail documenting your failed attempts at justice within your own educational network. Be prepared for backlash in your own community, and be prepared to stick this out, it will not be fixed overnight.
Educators are mandated reporters of child abuse, and each adult who fails to respond to allegations of abuse is another person who can be held liable. Keep track of each and every adult in this system who fails to respond appropriately.
Do this not only for your son, but for all children in your county, who we know are now at risk for being abused in your school district. There seems to be mass confusion on what constitutes child abuse. We can help to clear that up.
When school resumes after the first of the New Year, I know that there will be one less person at that school. It will be the boy who was abused, because I know that this mother is going to home school this child to protect him from further harm. Should it not be the abusive teacher who does not return?
I only have grandchildren in school now, but it one of those pictures were one of them, pitty the person that beat them like that.
I looked at the photos at the link and all I can say is this: Some of those people who spanked those kids need to not be teachers anymore. I wouldn't even let them work with animals, let alone kids.
I would get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. You'll be doing something good for the community if you get rid of this teacher. No kid should get bruised/abused like that.
Animals have more protection than NC school children
Quote:
Originally Posted by UB50
I looked at the photos at the link and all I can say is this: Some of those people who spanked those kids need to not be teachers anymore. I wouldn't even let them work with animals, let alone kids.
I would get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. You'll be doing something good for the community if you get rid of this teacher. No kid should get bruised/abused like that.
Ironically, animals, to include all with vertabrae with the exception of humans, are protected more under NC law regarding cruelty to animals than the children in North Carolina schools are protected.
When we tried to pass a law to ban corporal punishment in schools, one legislator spoke up and told the entire House of Reps that he had been "beaten like a rented mule" twice a week or so growing up.........yet, even a rented mule has more protection from being abused in North Carolina than our school children. It is very disheartening to think that such ignorance is actually a guiding force for our state. He also came from the county where a child was beaten so badly in 2005, and whose case was the premise for the legislation. Our lawmakers did nothing more than place a stamp of approval on school sanctioned child abuse in 2007. We must change this, and I will continue to work on this issue until the child abuse is ended in our schools. I am very glad that this forum is a means of informing others of the factual data.
We could debate the argument of to spank or not to spank, and that has surfaced on this site in another thread. This is a different slant to the topic of corporal punishment. I believe that most people, whether or not they are in support of corporal punishment in the home or at school, do not support children being injured or bruised when being hit.
Here is my story and question for discussion.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, a child in a North Carolina school was paddled for telling another student to "shut up". The teacher paddled him with two wooden boards taped together, and as a result of the corporal punishment, the child ended up at the Emergency Room, his buttocks covered in bruises. The district has not returned phone calls or emails placed by the mother of this child, reporting the bruises. I have seen the photos.
There seems to be NO ONE who will hold this teacher accountable for what to me constitutes child abuse. The Department of Human Services is unable to assist this family, as they are only allowed to investigate parents or caregivers, not teachers. Local law enforcement and the district attorney will not press charges, as they say the law allows for corporal punishment, policy was followed, and there was no evidence of criminal intent. The state board of education will not hear public comments, and supports local control on this issue.
I say at a bare minimum we should hold teachers to the same standard and definition of child abuse as we hold parents to.
So here is the question.....is it child abuse when a teacher hits a child with a paddle, or two paddles taped together, or a belt, or any other implement of choice, and leaves the buttocks covered in bruises and welts? What would you do if this were your child? I can't imagine that in 2007, almost 2008, we are having to even ask this question of our educated sector.
What do you think? If you wish to view photos of the types of injuries that I speak of, you can email me and I will send you the link. You need to see the photos to really understand the types of injuries that are tolerated in our schools.
I will post the link if I am allowed to, but not sure if that will fly.
Thanks,
Peggy
Peg -
I don't even know where to begin. I have been a child support professional for over 20 years. I have been an advocate for children since I can remember. I read your story and appauled wouldn't even describe how I feel.
I wanted to share with you what I have learned about the "great State of North Carolina" and our "capital city" with it's so called government. I refer to this time period of my life as "the day a child support check changed my life".
My now husband has two minor sons who are 12 and 13. After their mother learned we may be relocating to Arizona because of my job, her and her husband went on a tear to try to destroy us and these poor boys. They threatened not to feed or cloth them as well as not allowing them to use any of their "facilities" or electricity. We couldn't run and save them as it occured during a non-visitation period. We called the police - big help there, and tried reaching out to other government services. To make a very long story as short as I can, the boys woke up the next morning and was told it was a joke to see if their father would come get them. Imagine! We were up all night and wondering if the children would even be fed before going to school. We filed domestic violence charges the next day. After hearings being adjourned, etc., we got temporary custody.
Mom hired an idiot attorney and took us to court saying we didn't follow the judge's orders (none of which were reduced to writing). She created false evidence and comitted purgery and we ended up being ordered to pay her attorney bill of $9,500 and he gave the kids back to her when there was no change to show they wouldn't do something like that again.
It has been a battle. We can't even do visitation because we are required to take them anywhere, anytime, with no notice if "mom" decides to sign them up for an activity - which are ALL MORMON!!! I am a catholic and will not participate in that CULT.
As you can see, we have been screwed by the Court system, the police, etc. and have nothing. Financially we lost quite a bit of money since mom doesn't have to pay for the time the boys were with us.
So, if there is ANYTHING I can do to help you, I will. This garbage has got to stop.
I am a 25-veteran teacher and I too am apalled at the bruises on those children. We haven't allowed corporal punishment in many years in Chas. County, SC where I teach. It was allowed back when I first started teaching, though. The teachers didn't administer the punishment, the principals did. In the years when spanking was allowed, I only took one child to the office for a spanking (believe me, it took A LOT for me to reach that point). Our principal was a former Marine drill instructor and he swung that thick, wooden paddle so hard that the boy fell to his knees on the first blow. He was about to swing again, when I yelled for him to stop (I was later reprimanded for speaking to the principal like that in front of the student). I never again referred a student to the principal as long as corporal punishment was mandated.
I have never agreed with teachers being given the authority to spank, but did give my son's school principal permission to spank him if he needed it - which, thankfully never happened.
I absolutely think this teacher crossed over the line between discipline and abuse. I think that if that had happened here in our county, that teacher would be long gone by now, and rightfully so.
We can't even do visitation because we are required to take them anywhere, anytime, with no notice if "mom" decides to sign them up for an activity - which are ALL MORMON!!! I am a catholic and will not participate in that CULT.
Her cult is no more stupid than your cult.
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