RSSAnother 6 Year Old Kindergarten Felon … This is Not an April Fools Joke
Its hard to believe that with all the crime we see going on around us every single day that a 6 
year old could ever be put in hand cuffs. Although this is not an April Fools Joke, that is not to say that there are not FOOLS involved in this story.
6 year old, Desre’e Watson, was handcuffed, arrested and jailed on felony charges. Why don’t you just ruin a child’s future by giving them a felony arrest, all do to the fact that school officials have no concept how to deal with children. The police might want to review some of their policies as well.
Police say the girl became violent. They say she threw chairs and hit a teacher. But her mom says she’s never seen that kind of behavior and believes something must have brought it on.
“I was upset simply fact they handcuffed her and took her to jail, but I just want to find out what really went on,” Lateshia Wilson said.
The 6-year-old faces three charges: disruption of a school function, battery on school employees and resisting arrest. The State Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to prosecute or drop the charges. (Central Florida News)
What in God’s name do we have working in our schools today? If the teachers and administrators are not too busy sleeping with their students, they are surfing porn, or dealing drugs. Now we hear endless stories of how school officials have less than a clue as how to deal with students, whether they are acting up or not. Arresting a 6 year old as a felon? These people should be ashamed of themselves and may want to think about a career change.
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32 Responses to “Another 6 Year Old Kindergarten Felon … This is Not an April Fools Joke”
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Have you people lost your minds??? For starters not all of us educators sleep with our students and that comment of yours alone infuriates me. So you apparently feel it’s ok for a student,no matter what age, to strike a teacher?? Please come teach in my classroom for a day. I’m sure you would have a VERY different opinion after your experience. How about sticking to topics you know because apparently you don’t know squat about what it is like to be a teacher these days.
________
SM: My God Michelle … having a guilt complex or what?
Please do not even begin to start by saying that there is not a rampid problem of educators having sex with their students. DO NOT EVEN GO THERE.
We are not saying that everyone does.
However, we are certainly seeing school officials over-reacting to students and not having a clue how to deal with issues.
THAT IS A FACT!
R
I’m sure you object vehemently to paedophile priest jokes, too, Michelle. Their point was–and I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all–that calling the cops to cuff a six-year-old and haul her down to the station is nuts.
Actually I don’t think it is ridiculous at all. If the child is out of control and harming people what else do you think needs to be done? Teachers don’t get paid enough to be physically assaulted by their students.
If you can’t control a 6 year old, maybe you shouldn’t be teaching.
Could some other intervention have taken place prior to the Police having to come to arrest this child?
I am not a teacher, however, I have deep respect for what our educators have to put up with now a days… there is little to no respect for our teachers. They are grossly underpaid, underappreciated and they are now the parent, disciplinarian,perhaps the only positive role model, mentor person in a childs life these days… they teach in classrooms that are over capacity in the number of children to teach, they teach in sick buildings, tend not to have teachers aids, have to teach children with special needs, along with their regular kids and it’s very exhausting ~ I’m sure.
I would have thought that this child would have had the school’s counselor, or principle on hand to help this child. I am greatly concerned for this childs actions ~ of course. For a child to have exibited such outrateous behaivor, speaks volume of something happening to her to act out in such a violent way. Intervention first, by the staff on hand, remove that child from the classroom, then a call to the parent, immediately upon the outburst as such and then call the authorities, if necessary. I doubt the police in my town would have cuffed a small child ~ I don’t think this is usual protocol for law enforcement.
I empathyze with this teacher, however, I am very concerned at the extreme measures that were taken to treat this child as a felon. Yes, intervention is very necessary, discipline, yes ~ counseling ~ absolutely YES~! Arresting a 6 year old? I question that greatly…
Years ago, in our middle school, a teacher went byserk and threw chairs around, screaming at students and it scared the heck out of the music class. This teacher was not arrested in cuffs and taken in for questioning. Perhaps, he deserved it, but disciplinary measures were taken and he is no longer teaching…
In not being present in this situation ~ there are always three sides to a story…his side, her side and the truth ~ it is absolutely unacceptable behaivor for any child to have such an outburst.
It seems a bit over the top to me ~ to arrest a little girl, who obviously is crying out for help. Yes, lessons need to be learned ~ and this was an opportunity to show this child her behaivor was totally unacceptable ~ remove her from the situation and room, get her away from the other children and the teacher, get everyone calmed down, safe and share with all the children who were probably frightened, hysterical even… bring it to a calm situation ~ express that her behaivor was not acceptable and that she was being helped. (what were the children thinking that saw all this take place? They must of been scared too!)…
Express with love, as a teacher, that you do not condone her behaivor. (separate her bad behaivor, from her being a “bad person”… Have intervention with a certified counselor and get to the bottom of her actions.
I would think, that if she was cuffed, taken in a cruiser,in front of her peers, that was humiliating, frightening and she must of been scared to death by it all, she would not be open but shut down further from expressing herself as to why she had such an outburst… (sigh)… The children in the classroom, must of been too and they need to learn in a safe environment, along with that teacher ~ no question, but what are we teaching this child and other children? Act out and you’re going straight to jail? That is extreme.
I think that the local PTA, the School Committee, school psychologist~counselor, along with the School Superintendant could come up with some proactive mindful way to discipline students that is amenable to all.
Unfortunately, that could not have been in place to have this happen. I feel, it’s too extreme and will have far damaging consequences in this childs psyche than a loving firm hand could have comforted this child in crisis. I’d of been shocked at this students behaivor ~ and have wanted intervention, absolutely ~ this was over the top.
This was a perfect opportunity to teach in a crisis. Wow… how sad.
-kitty-
Fear, handcuffs are not the kind of discipline I’d of wanted my child to experienced.
-kitty-
Well said Kitty!
We live in a totally different world anymore. Children are armed, even with “natural” things. Look at the girls who tried to poision their teacher the other day so they wouldn’t have to go to class.
Respect is something that is dwindling daily. Having taught kids of all ages, I see over and over where parents are not respected by their children and then that disrespect is brought to the school. No matter how much of a disciplinarian you are, you cannot control every child. Many are armed these days, no matter what kind of security you put in place. Many stir up other kids and then you have a classroom that is out of control because respect is the underlying missing element.
However, even knowing those things, a child at such a young age perhaps could have been treated differently. Even if the authorities had to get involved to try and subdue her, I don’t see how pressing charges against her would help her situation. Maybe she needs some sort of medical attention. She could have a condition that was the result of some kind of trigger. Bottom line, it seems a bit harsh.
If this child has repeatedly been ill-behaved and destructive, then it seems like social services needs to look further into the matter, not a felony charge.
Our prision systems are overloaded already and the problem continues to grow in this nation. I think society has failed because of huge loss in morals. Respect was a moral value taught at home and that disappeared when it was “cool to be a friend” to your kid. Now we have a big mess!
Throwing a 6 year old into a system that is already not effective (prision as a place to rehabilitate) is not the answer. Kitty pretty much summarized my feelings on the matter.
Michelle in TN,
Thank God you were not a teacher in my Elementary School.
Yeah, those 6 year olds are just hardened criminals. They are holly terrors capable of so much damage.
Actually, incompetent teachers who have no clue how to deal with students are much more dangerous.
Well said Kitty.
There is no way that the answer to a 6 yo who may be out of control is handcuff and a flony arrest. Wait until this school district is sued beyond words by these parents.
R
My husband taught for one year ~ I never knew what a teacher went through, until we lived it. My husband had a 4 year college education and I was making more money than him 26 years ago, without a Bachelors degree… imagine? He taught High School level at an Ag/tech school. It was so revealing. Most of the kids, had NO respect for him. He was filling in for one year, for a teacher on sabbatocal ~ the kids thought they’d take advantage of him… well, thanks to my husbands wisdom, integrity and characture, the kids who were rude, disrespectful, hopeless, a lot of them were on drugs, feet on desk, etc…walked out of that school, with a degree. Most teachers, would have given up… it’s exasperating to be in that environment every day.. it’s definantely challenging!.. however, it’s an OPPORTUNITY ~ to bless, to encourage the kids who have no hope, have no goals, dreams… what a fantastic opportunity my husband had to teach these kids… he taught them, respect is earned, he taught them, they are worth something, they are cared about, they had a safe place to come and study and that he was not going to tolerate their rude behaivor and he believed they were better than what they were presenting him and he gave respect and he earned it. The boys used to have their hats on when entering the room… that didn’t last long, when they addressed my husband, he said, from now on, it’s Mr. C. Sir ~ yes Sir! and they caught on… at first, they didn’t like it, soon, they didn’t have to address him that way, just Mr. C. ~ they had a man who cared enough to see beyond the tough act and that they were hurting inside… many were self medicating to rid themselves of pain… all it took, was wisdom,love and caring to bring out their best side and not tolerate their worst… The kids couldn’t wait to get to school by Monday… Many to this day, come by our home Thanking my husband for turning their lives around… many have gone into business immediately after graduating and I’m thankful, my husband graced their lives ~ he was an affirming, encouraging mentor in these kids lives… it is a chosen proffession… it is a gift, to teach our youth…and an immense responsibility… yes, the system is dysfunctional ~ yes, the kids are out of control ~ look at what they are bombarded with on a daily basis… Does Mom and Dad live together? Probably not.. my dear friend, who taught for 30 years, share upon retiring, that when she began, it was abnormal to have parents divorce.. perhaps, one in the classroom… upon her retiring, there were 5 students in a classroom of 28, that had 2 parents living together… the rest were of broken homes… turn key kids are the norm today… we’re working with so many issues here… the teachers, may God Bless them, for the environment they have to teach in… many are not supported even by their teachers unions and I’m speaking from experience dealing with sick building syndrome and thankfully, 3 of us parents made a difference and they are now working in a totally 6.5 million dollar renovated building… are they devalued, yes… can they speak up, no, their jobs are at stake.. it’s disguisting…
A teacher, may be the only role model a child has in his/her life that is somewhat positive… it is such a huge responsibility and a priviledge to empower a child, with knowledge ~ the children are our future and the beautiful flowers in our garden of life… The children have more time with their teacher(s), than time spent with their parent, if they even have one or two… isn’t that sad?? The pressures of society for parents to make a living, to clothe, feed, want the best for their kids is daunting!
I feel so badly for this child, the teacher and also the other students who witnessed this. It must of been chaotic!
I too, wondered if there was some medical issue, or abuse issue here… that child needed intervention and I pray, she’s getting that now… she is needing support and safety. Cuffing her ~ that school flunked the test of how to intervene when a violent situation presents itself.
Report Card: Failed miserably!
What lesson taught here… act out violently, get cuffed, Mom and Dad, whomever, will sue the school system, the authorities butts off and you can go to private school now and college is paid for… perhaps, not a bad deal afterall.
A lawsuit, whoa, most definately… did that town need that burden?… I’d rather see that money used for books, after school and inschool programs that are being cut for the kids ~ what is it all coming to???
R. & Annikwa, it’s all gone mad! Our kids are mirroring what they are learning in society… t.v., media, etc., we all have responsibility in what our kids are being immersed in today… actors,singers,sports folks have such a responsibility to be a positive role model… however, most don’t realize, kids are watching… they mimick what they are shown ~ taught ~ most come home to the computer and t.v. babysitting them… sad, but true… thus the result… is there an answer, perhaps… the beauty of problems is it presents opportunity to make change and kids are not allowed to be kids any longer… they are unfortunately, well beyond their years with what they are being bombarded with ~ on a daily basis… not to mention the stress of life in general.
Schools may be that one place where they are getting a couple good meals, being with adults who care and influence them, or may not care… I’m thankful, for those role models in my life, and one teacher in particular who said: Do not settle for less in life, you deserve the very best ~ and she inspired me, made me feel loved and special and believed in me! Me!~ Thank God for her and others like her. Will this child now think of Ms. as the beast who cuffed her? wow… what a legacy that teacher left that child… and each time she sees a police officer, is she going to think they’re going to come and take me away in handcuffs…? Or are the other children present in that classroom going to think, if I act out, I’m going to go to jail!… I’d rather have a child, think that the Police are there for them, to help protect them and someone they can confide in and go to when there is trouble… there is a lot of unraveling to do on this one… intervention… etc… what a shame!
It should be an interesting School Committee meeting coming up ~ in that community~! wow… and it was all unavoidable, that’s the tradgedy in all this.
God Bless our educators, truly… may they use the gift they’ve been given them to empower and educate these precious minds and beings… it may be the only positive example being shown them in their entire day/week/lifetime.
Education is empowering. Literacy, can change cultures. Have you hugged your student today? (not that you can now adays… but you can, with encouragement, with words that heal, empower… offer hope… they are our future!)…
problems present opportunities… what an opportunity!
-blessings, Kitty-
I’m so thankful, my kids are in college now.
I thought that by law, a child 7 or under could not be convicted of a crime to start with. At age 7 is when the “age of reason” begins (for some, anyway).
I read that the “perfect defense” to any crime is to prove that you are 7 or less. So how can all this happen?
Michelle – you have no children of your own do you? First, most (and i say Most, because not all have a clue) anyone who has children would have some clue as to how to deal with this situation before cops were even called. Secondly these people who are in our schools and teaching our children are supposed to be trained in some form or other to deal with these kinds of problems(or at least I would hope so). But lets just stop and think about why this girl acted this way. Maybe something inappropriate was happening to her, and her parents to her if anyone tries to hurt you in anyway raise wholly hell. That is what i tell my kids(in more appropriate words of course). As far as i can see this is a one sided story, not that the Scared Monkeys misreported but this is all that was put to the press in general. The fact that the report fails to say WHY this little girl acted this way shows they are trying to hide something, and going to the press first is a preemptive strike to worse accusations from the little girl and family. Did you ever think to question why she was so upset that she reacted so drasticly…….Seriously she is only 6.
MHO…if MY 6 year old picked up chairs and started flinging them at people and acted the way this little girl did, they had better arrest him!!! He would be darned lucky the cops got there before I did!! I am sorry, I just don’t agree with many of you on this one. My son IS 6, and there is absolutely NO REASON I was condone behavior from him like this!! Fortunately, my guy is the greatest in the world and I KNOW I would never find myself in this situation. There has to be a history of behavior like this with this little girl. I don’t believe this was a once in a lifetime accurance. And I really feel for these teachers and administrators. Lay a hand on a child and you are sued, so just how ARE they expected to gain control of a child acting in this manner other than to call in the police? Once they called in the police, they were relived of the responsibility of what happened next. And as I said, I don’t blame them.
You people should not judge Michelle she has to work with children for her job. My son-in-law is a police officer and he has to visit the schools in the area where he works nearly every day because kids are out of control! And he said 9 times out of 10 when the parent arrives he knows where the child gets it from! No one thinks there little angels would do anything. Well wake up America most kids are running their parents! I think good old ass wimping needs to come back,time out don’t do a thing. My girls are grown up but they were taught right from wrong and knew not to cross the line. Now they are both harding work members of our commuity. And now teachers hands are tied.
I to have a 6 year old and he is the sweetest thing in the world. I cannot imagine him being arrested and put in jail. The thought makes me sick. As does the thought that are some people out there that think it is OK to arrest a child of 6 ON FELONT CHARGES. I agree many kids are out of control these days but that does not mean she is one of them. The other problem this country has is jumping to conclusions so very easily and believing everything we read in the MSM. Again where is her side of the story? She may well be a little hellion, but she may have also been a girl pushed and pressured to far and couldn’t take it anymore. i feel the majority of teachers out there are probably good. i have to in order to send my kids to school everyday. But i also know there are some real stinkers. Or this may not have been a reaction towards a teacher at all it may have been other kids, as you all have said kids these days are out of control. A child who acts out this way needs help(and maybe protection), because it is so out of control, and not the kind of help that starts with going to jail at age 6. Imagine this kids future with judgemental kind of people like you. She will never have a chance to succeed because she has already been labeled a criminal.
ldstlou – I seriously hope no one ever tries to hurt your little boy in any way. It would be a shame if he allowed himself to be hurt because he is more afraid of you.
December…I am a volunteer for recess duty at my son’s school. I see on a weekly basis how kids emotions can cause situations to get out of hand, my son included!! But picking up chairs and throwing them…in my mind..is absolutely out of control. I have seen kids come to blows with each other, yell, scream and throw themselves to the ground. NEVER have I seen one pick up chairs and start throwing them at a teacher. In fact, for MOST kids, the moment they see a teacher is the moment they get a grip on their emotions.
My son and I have a phenomenal relationship, absolutely the best. I don’t HAVE to use physical force with him, never have. I have taught him healthy ways to vent his anger and frustration, we are able to talk things out, and when we are not, raising my voice is enough to capture his attention and gain control of the situation. Although I have NEVER!! used physical punishment with my son, I am telling you now, he definately knows if he EVER threw chairs around a room and did anything but show respect for his teacher…he darned well better be afraid of what was coming!! It is absolutely unacceptable in my mind, that any teacher, or child in a classroom, should be subject to that kind of behaivor. What if another child had been hurt by the flying chair?! What would we be saying then? Probably that the mother of that child should be sued and held responsible for the child’s behavior. And let’s be honest…at 6 years old…that little girl is not going to be tried for a felony.
december star, I did not say it was O.K. to lock a 6 year old up in jail, but I do believe that kids act out when they are not happy. For a 6 year old child to pick up chairs and throw them across the room there is something not right with this child. And I don’t want to here maybe she is ADD. Has anyone noticed that if a child is out of control now it’s all blamed on some kind of disorder. I’m sure this will all get turned around and the parent will sue the teacher, school, and police department. And I’m sure the parent want get no help for the child.
Ummm…personally I just put my children in time out, but hey, they don’t carry weapons or anything…
I would like to say I am shocked by the arrest of a six year old but last summer I got to watch my neighbor call 911 on her seven year old son after he kicked her. They sent police and ambulance and hauled the kid away in a straight jacket. The 250 pound woman and her nanny said they didn’t know what else to do, and that they feared for their lives. It just makes you stop and think…”why?”
Nowadays there is a strange combination of extremely aggressive children combined with adults who can’t handle them. Not a good situation, that’s for sure.
I’ll tell you what my son could expect if he ever pulled this kind of stunt. Anger of course, but controlled and he could expect to have a chance to tell his side of the story, because things are not always as cut and dry and many people like think they are. I am shocked to see that you don’t even care what happened to make this child act this way. You have already tried and convicted her as a problem child with bad parents. This is all you can see by reading between the lines. Well let me tell you what I see about you from reading between the lines. You will solve violence with violence, if your son ever did the same thing….”he definitely knows if he EVER threw chairs around a room and did anything but show respect for his teacher…he darned well better be afraid of what was coming!!” You want your child to be afraid of you and that is NOT respect. I am probably way wrong here, but that is just what I see when reading between the lines. Your comments about not ever physically punishing your son are the exact same as this girls mother saying she never saw her child act this way at home. It could be the truth, but then it could be someone just trying to cover their a##.
Yes what this girl did was unacceptable and she should be punished(if she did not act in self defence), but should she really be handcuffed, arrested and facing felony charges. Who says she won’t be tried(you sure seem tho think she should be)? They went as far as to arrest her and state charges, why not go all the way.
#5 – Well said, Kitty.
#11 – Are you so willing to have your child arrested because he/she has exhibited this type of behavior already and you are at your wits end? If the child has a history of violent outbreaks and professional counseling has not helped, I can understand having the youngster arrested. I cannot, however, imagine any six year old child being handcuffed for essentially throwing a hissy fit. The first thing they should have done is to remove the child from the classroom and call the parent(s) to take the child home immediately, and then schedule a follow-up meeting with the appropriate school staff, parents and child. There is a reason this little girl was acting out in such a violent way. She may very well be a victim herself.
#12 – I agree, Michelle should not be judged so harshly. We have to remember that children learn some very bad habits from home and then come to school and only then learn that their actions are inappropriate. Children have to learn self-control, and if self-control is not something they are learning at home, it makes it much harder for the teacher to teach the student because she has to teach them things they should have already learned at home, such as the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. I still don’t think a 6-year-old should be hand-cuffed and hauled away for the outbreak as it was described in the article, but I certainly understand that some teachers are now living fear of their students and feel safer letting the authorities handle an unruly child, even if she is only 6 years old.
Now this little girl has to deal with whatever emotional distress that caused her to act out as well as dealing with the ridicule from other children about her being arrested at school. I hope she and her family get some counseling so they can get to the bottom of what caused the violent behavior. I also hope the teacher gets some training in how do deal with an out-of-control child, other than having her handcuffed and hauled off in a police car in front of the entire school.
Unreal…. I teach in a low income school where parents are hardly involved with their kids. We teachers are the only stabilizing, caring support these kids get. How dare you boldly slap all teachers with the same brush. There are bad apples in every career. I undersatand it is more sensitive because we deal with children, but come on! “If you can’t control a 6 year old”… obviously an imbecile with no children wrote that! First – how do you control a child throwing chairs… WHEN WE AREN”T SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THE KIDS? Secondly – I am currently 7 months pregnant – I am not going to jeopardize myself or my baby by putting myself in the way of a child throwing chairs.MIND YOU – if the child was risking harming other kids, I certainly would get in the way. But I get sworn at, disrespected, verbally & physically abused all daily, for what? Because I love kids & want to make a difference. And despite the treatment – I still show up to work each day & give it my all. I used to come to this site frequently – but after reading your ignorant post on teachers, I’ll find another site to peruse.
I have a friend that is an educator for K-12 behaviorally disordered children. The horror stories of what these teachers endure at the hands of young children and an educational system ill-equipped to handle them is incredible. It starts with being called every foul name in the book, proceeds to being referees for in classroom fights, and ends with the school sending the three (count ‘em) three children in her class home on separate buses in the middle of the day for a variety of infractions on the taxpayer’s dime. This woman earns $140 a day and I wouldn’t do it without a whip and a chair. oh, and she has a para in the room, too. Two adults to handle 3 5th graders and their have their hands full.
Parent teacher conferences? Forget it…no one shows. Quite frankly, after hearing some of the stories, I can’t blame someone for hand-cuffing the kid to control them. You can’t physically restrain them because you’ll be hauled into court for assault. And don’t think for one minute these kids don’t know that. My guess is this little darling has been a behavior problem for a long time, and finally the school and the teacher had had enough. Good for them.
After hearing the stories, the next stop for most of these kids is juvenile detention followed by prison. The educational system is charged with educating students that do not want to learn, from families that do not teach respect for authority, in a society that looks down on discipline or anything that might damage their little self esteems. This is the wake-up call for Desre’e's mother — let’s hope she wasn’t sleeping through it.
I have refrained from commenting so that I wouldn’t say something in haste that I might later regret. First of all, let me start by stating that I do not condone teachers who violate students (having sexual relationships). There is no place for someone like that in the education field….I believe those individuals should be fired; they disgust me!
Now, that being said…I am a teacher, and I am surprised at how quickly people will jump on a bandwagon and bash teachers in general. We are not allowed to have control over these kids…we are not allowed to touch them…and they know it, which gives them the upper hand. I feel that I have excellent control of my classroom; however, there are times when students cross lines. I have been told (while I was pregnant) to F*** off, I have tried to break up fight between boys who are bigger than I am, and I have witnessed some “off-the-deep-end” behaviors and remarks (on two occasions the police have been called). That being said, I believe our community is a rather safe one, so I hate to see what some of our city school teachers must have to deal with.
I would be interested in seeing what the girl’s previous “behaviors” have been like. Perhaps there was need to call the police…perhaps the teachers knew something that they couldn’t do something about themselves, but the police could…(catch my drift?)
I love teaching, and I work hard at it. However, our rights are not really there anymore…a teacher touches a kid on the shoulder to say “sit down” and the student says “you can’t hit me”…when all the teacher did was touch a kid’s shoulder. The problem is the students know they have the upper hand, and unfortunately, some of them use that knowledge to create havoc. I like to hear all aspects of the story before judging. Are there bad teachers?…sure…but I resent the “generalizations” that people are making of teachers overall.
All of the teachers’ rights have pretty much been stripped away…and we wonder why India and China are so much more advanced than we… What a shame. Sorry this touches on many issues, but I was tired of being quiet.
Dear alt,
Thank you for not being QUIET!! Thank you too, for being an educator.
I have a few questions and if you feel led to answer, or shed light on this topic, I’d so appreciate it!!
My husband was a teacher for a very short time and has changed professions, so I empathyze a little with how you feel and appreciate you taking time to enlighten us all.
What could be changed or implemented within the educational system to make it easier for you to teach? What needs to be done?
How would the perfect day of teaching look like to you or your associates? In other words, give a visual of how you’d like your day to look like to us all… what should/could/can be done to have that happen…
I have my thoughts and am curious on what needs “correcting” in todays public school systems…
No child left behind is one thing, but No teacher left behind is just as important too!
Could a forum be raised up to make change? Why do kids have more rights than adults? How can this be shifted/changed?
When I was a kid, this was unheard of. You respected your teachers or you were sent to detention or to the principles office…
My friends who live in a suburb of Atlanta, GA ~ have their kids in public schools. It is a new school building.. while driving all around Atlanta, there are new schools popping up everywhere! Literally, new neighborhoods have their own public school, that is like a private school, truly… they are looking for educators down there! The kids are so well mannered, respectful and say Miss Kitty, yes Ma’m and so on… they would not even dare, behaive otherwise… interesting observation ~ up here in the North.. (not to make generalizations, there is that lacking element of respectfulness when a teacher enters a room)…In my day, we were quiet when a teacher walked in a room, or when we entered the room, we sat down and were respectfully quiet and when the teacher spoke, you replied by raising your hand, and when called upon, you then replied. (unless the teacher addressed the children by saying good morning.. we simultaneously replied good morning in return)…
Why has it all gone so wrong?
Thoughts?
Thank you, for being a teacher ! I could share so much more, but won’t… (my girlfriend is getting her Masters in Education at Boston Univ. and she’s questioning this now as she’s student teaching in an inner city school and she’s exhausted at the end of the day… she spends a lot of time refereeing and it’s taxing her… she’s from another country, is a citizen here now and the differences from how we tolerate nonsense that is not tolerated in her country is very revealing)… perhaps, our school systems should adopt foreign practices in education, discipline, etc… it may help? Uniforms, that’s another thing I’d like your thoughts on.. sometimes, I think it would induce pride, have the kids on the same fashion playing field and take away the pecking order from kids… in foreign countries, that is more the norm, than the exception…
Thoughts?
Thanks for posting as I have the deepest respect for our underpaid, underappreciated teachers all across America!
No teacher should be left behind either!!!
Hugs and Love,
Kitty
My little guy is 6. He better NOT EVER ( I know poor english hah) through things at anyone. However, ARRESTING a 6 year old is “punkish”. I understand that they can’t spank her or hardly physically restrain her. I say they should’ve cleared the room, leave her there, Call her mom. Let mom deal with her and pay for any damages. Michelle I am so sad that you are unhappy in your profession. I am also very thankful that you don’t teach at our school. or in our state…Nikki
When my son started school, we put him in a private Catholic school, because everyone said Catholic schools were good. He was an active 5 year old, some might call him rambunctious, very intelligent. His kindergarten teacher had many years of experience, but in middle school, not kindergarten. She had no background in early childhood development. She had no idea what to do with the children who weren’t willing to sit quietly in their desks for 6 hours per day. At that age, there are wide variances in development, and some kids are not going to be able to sit still all day. When the kids didn’t sit still, they lost their recess, which just made things worse. I’m sure she was a good teacher, but she was a horrible kindergarten teacher. We finally changed schools, and put him in a school that actually encouraged the kids to get up and move around when they needed to. He is 14 now, and in a Catholic high school, and doing very well. And no, he doesn’t have ADD, and he’s never been medicated. My point is, there are many good teachers, but there are also many who don’t know what they are doing. Maybe the child in this story really was uncontrollable, I don’t know, but I know that it’s very possible the teacher was simply inadequate to the job. I think having a 6 year old arrested and handcuffed is simply ridiculous, and I seriously doubt that it was necessary.
Bottom line: Bet the kid won’t throw chairs again.
Unless she gets the help she needs I bet she does worse. She already figures she a bad kid right, she went to jail at age 6. If she lives in a community were crime thrives, she will now be an easy target for those who think it is cool to live outside the law.
Why blame the teachers and say they are busy sleeping with people, snorting drugs and looking at porn? That is a horrible stereotype and poor reporting…. The blame lies on the parents, and the parents alone! Stop blaming teachers for kids unruly behavior and only ignorant people stereotype an entire group of people because of the actions of a very small percentage. No wonder you blog; no reputable organization would allow you to do that!
“only ignorant people sterotype an entire group of people becuse of the actions of a very small percentage.”
Kinda like you just did with parents…..hmmmm
The teachers are not the problem. It’s the students. This girl was behaving like a thug and so she deserved to be treated like one.
she threw a f***ing chair! she deserved to be cuffed. that’s what happens to adults who behave like that. serves her right.
I am sad to say there are children this messed up in the world. I am a Therapuetic Foster Parent for 13 years now. Recently, a little boy 8 Years old beat me up..I am now 59 years old. I am retired law enforcement and retired to help children with these sorts of issues. This little boy beat up the teacher at school and it took 4 grown men to restrain him. He has early onset physorenia … Spelling?}. I get him in respite when he explodes because parents can not deal with his mental illness. Meds galore! Nothing helps. So sad people but oh so true. We have some really sick children in this world and it breaks my heart! Chemicals in the water and in the food and polutions in the air contribute to all of this. Not to mention using drugs and or alcohol while in the mothers womb is certainly making matters worse. I never realized how bad it was until I got into this line of work BUT I do agree! Teachers are there to teach children not be abused or break up brawls. There are alternative schools in Ohio for children with these problems. Our teachers get a bad name because there are a few criminals in the midst but there are some good Law Enforcement officers out there too and some bad ones as well. I have 4 children in my home as I write this with these issues! We need your prayers not your critisism! Teachers are wonderful people to the most part! Tell me.. What would you do with a child out of control? Whatever you do do not get too close they will punch your lights out!!! Pray!! God must help all of us deal with these issues…