This makes my stomach turn

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

What's amazing is that:

1. The teacher has been teaching for 12 years
2. She was "reassigned", not even suspended
3. No legal action can be taken

What if, the next time, she does this to a kid who can't come home and tell his parents?

Teacher lets class vote kindergartner out :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Nation

An excerpt:

Last week, Portillo held a vote in her classroom in which the students "voted out" 5-year-old Alex Barton, who is in the process of being tested for Asperger's Disorder, a type of high-functioning autism, said his mother, Melissa Barton.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Alex the teacher said they were going to take a vote, Barton said. They said he was "disgusting" and "annoying," Barton said.

"He was incredibly upset," she said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."

By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted him out of the class.

Barton, who said she is considering legal action, said Alex began the testing process in February for an official diagnosis under the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marsha Cully.

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

How disgusting!

Some people should not be allowed to teach. She needs to go back to college/uni and learn the profession of effective pedagogy. She and others like her should not be allowed near children until they pass educational psychology.

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

Some people should not be allowed to teach. She needs to go back to college/uni

I'd like to know how this one got through college/uni in the first place and managed to keep her job for 12 years. There is something amiss here.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

The pecking order starts early.

Shameful, beyond shameful.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

The last paragraph in the article states...

"Barton filed a complaint with the school resource officer, who investigated the matter, said Port St. Lucie spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said."

Unbelievable

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I'd like to know how this one got through college/uni in the first place and managed to keep her job for 12 years. There is something amiss here.

Being unable to teach is not sufficient grounds for dismissing or even suspending a teacher. The only offenses that are sufficient are those that involve moral turpitude.

The way the system works is that a deficiency must be identified and documented. A corrective action plan is then implemented, which probably involves taking remedial classes. The teacher remains in the classroom while the program is completed. Upon successful completion of the remedial classes the corrective action program is completed and the teacher is restored to full status.

There is no requirement the teacher actually implement or use any of the information from the corrective action plan. If performance problems continue, the corrective action program is restarted.

I write this from having some personal knowledge of a school district that tried for 15 years to fire a spectacularly incompetent teacher. After we left the area I heard from friends that they actually wound up having to give him a raise because he had accumulated so many additional credits in classroom management - despite the fact it was all remedial instruction the class hours still counted as professional development time.

[Elan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Elan]

I know it's not becoming of me, but if this teacher was at my kid's school I'd give her a talking to that I promise she'd never forget --- and probably do it repeatedly. I hope the parents at the school make life as miserable for her as she has for this little boy.

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

It seems to me that the staff group of that teacher should be doing some voting right now...

[buff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close buff]

Heres another spin.

Teachers in the county where she works are paid very little. The average teacher works 5 years and quits. The quality of teachers are not going to be on par with so many other areas who pay alot more.

You get what you pay for. I know this because I've been a teacher in Palm Beach County for 3 years which is right next door to Port St Lucie. I work in a low income area running a Criminal Justice Academy

I have teachers at my school 24 to 40 who work two jobs to pay the bills.

The teacher Sharon mentions is a horrible excuse for a teacher but its important for everyone to realize about salaries.

In my home town new cops were getting 25 thousand to start . Thats a disgrace. Getting knuckleheads for that money

[chemteach Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chemteach]

Unfortunately, it truly is very difficult to fire a teacher. This story is awful. Hopefully, the parents at the new school to which she is assigned will be aware of the situation.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

This exact same thing happened to my dd when she was in 5th grade. We never pressed any charges, but the teacher did not return to the school the next year, and supposedly the whole thing was hushed up. We pulled dd out of school before the school year ended.

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

That woman is not only a terrible teacher, she is a terrible human being. What kind of person humiliates a child, and in front of his peers to boot?

Luanne - your child was VOTED out of her class???

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Luanne - your child was VOTED out of her class???

She wasn't voted out, but the teacher did have the other students write down what they didn't like about her. And in order to make things "better" for a period of time my daughter wasn't allowed to go to recess with the other kids. The only positive was that for awhile she spent recess time helping one of the kindergarten teachers who she loved.