Ohio Teacher Parades Long-Haired Boy as a Girl

[ccharles000]

An 11-year-old boy says that he was harassed and humiliated at school for having long hair. The boy, who lives in Milford, Ohio, in the greater Cincinnati area, says the bullying he endured included being forced to wear his hair in pigtails and being taunted with girls’ names. What shocked his mother most, however, was that the chief culprits in the boy’s harassment were a teacher and a teacher’s aide, reported a Cincinnati.com story on Jan. 26.

The boy’s mother, Amanda Anoai, has taken the case to court in a federal lawsuit that claims that the boy was paraded before his classmates with his hair styled into pigtails, while his teachers encouraged his classmates to hurl gender-based abuse at him. Anoai also alleges that the teacher, Tori Bothe, used her cell phone to photograph him. The boy was so badly traumatized, she says, that he had to be taken out of the school and sent to classes elsewhere. "They had no reason to touch my son, to embarrass him, to make him feel bad," says Anoai.

"He shouldn’t have to switch elementaries and start over," Anoai, who now needs to drive her son a considerable distance to and from school, added. "We’ve had to change our lives because of this."

The suit is based partly on the claim that adults were the perpetrators of the bullying, and partly on the claim that the school’s administration did nothing to intervene. The lawyer representing the family, Eric Deters, said that the boy was made the object of harassment throughout the school. "It wasn’t enough to humiliate him in one class, they had to march him around to other classes," said Deters.


http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=102094

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. awful

[Gabi Hayes]

2. I have an idea: maybe we can start combining the anti-Chavez and anti-teacher threads.

would that save electrons?

[Fumesucker]

5. So yuo think this was an acceptable thing for a teacher to do?

Assuming of course the story is true..

[Gabi Hayes]

18. what do you think?

what is the POINT of serial publishing of instances of craven teacher calumny?

I've seen very few examples of how badly teachers take it up the ass, both on a personal (while probably not literal), and professional basis every day

how many teachers are there in this country? of course there are going to be some maniacs. do you think the level is higher than in other professions? why don't we hear concomitance? why is there a plethora of teacher-horror stories here?

how bout some of my favorite dentist drills more than his patients' teeth gems?

let's keep reaming the pedagogy, though, here at DU, of all places, and make it that much harder for teachers to succeed in molding our most precious commodities

[Fumesucker]

26. Wrongdoing of all sorts gets published here..

It's not just teachers..

Maybe you haven't noticed all the anti-Toyota posts on DU lately? That's just a single example.

One of the reasons this sort of thing gets attention is that teachers are in a position of power over our children and grandchildren and despite the fact that the vast majority of teachers are good and kind people there are some who cross the line into abuse.

People care deeply about their kids, my ex had one horrible teacher that she must have told me about at least a couple of dozen times it made such a great impression on her. My own daughter had a HS coach who was a real jerk and was screwing some of the female students..

[Gabi Hayes]

31. If I want to get my fill sensationalistic stories like that, I can tune into my

nightly news

I fully well realize that there are LOTS of bad teachers (I work with some), and I'd like very much for all of them to stop being teachers, but that's not the way of the world

It saddens me to see this sort of thing happen, and my heart goes out to the kid who's been treated so horridly (bullying is a serious problem at my school, and I won't abide it).

I'm just tired of hearing these stories all the time (have you seen the other one that's currently up on this forum?). why not an equal amount of stories on how badly teachers themselves are treated/disrespected by their administrations, school boards, parents, students?

and what's the ratio of "teacher humiliates/bullies/beats/has sex with..." stories we see here to ones like these:

Teacher Says She Was Assaulted In Classroom - Baltimore News Story ... Apr 9, 2008 ... BALTIMORE -- A local teacher said she was beaten by a student inside her classroom in an attack ... Second Teacher Speaks On School Assaults ...
www.wbaltv.com › Local News - Cached - Similar

Student discipline If a student is removed for assaulting the teacher resulting in bodily injury, the student may not be returned to the teacher's class without the teacher's ...
www.atpe.org/protection/workingwithothers/studdisc.asp - Cached - Similar

Students' assaults on teachers hit high in 2006 Mar 5, 2007 ... From 2002 to 2006, there were 621 cases of students assaulting teachers on school campuses. The 179 teacher assaults recorded in 2006 were ...
www.post-gazette.com/pg/07064/766954-298.stm - Cached - Similar


Two teens assault teacher after he confiscates one's iPod -- Engadget Feb 25, 2007 ... Two students were arrested on Friday for assaulting their 60-year-old teacher Frank Burd, who confiscated it from a 14-year-old who was ...
www.engadget.com/.../two-teens-assault-teacher-after-he-confiscates-ones-ipod/ - Cached - Similar

R4411 Student Exclusion Because of Assault or Threatened Assault ... File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
If the principal determines that a student has threatened to assault or has physically assaulted a teacher or other employee, the principal, pursuant to the ...
www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/0/.../R4411.pdf - Similar

Philadelphia student admits role in teacher assault Today's top education-related news headlines and articles from around the nation compiled by American School & University magazine student violence crime ...
asumag.com › Daily News - Cached - Similar

InsideEd: When students assault teachers - Baltimore Sun reporters ... That video doesn't show a student that hit the teacher accidentally. I'm sorry, but even one assault in the school system is too much. ...
weblogs.baltimoresun.com › ... › Education › InsideEd - Cached - Similar

SeattleCrime.com | News | Student Assaults Teacher at Cleveland ... Jan 29, 2010 ... Student Assaults Teacher at Cleveland High School. By Jonah Spangenthal-Lee · Recommend this story (0 votes). Report abuse | ...
seattlecrime.com/.../student-assaults-teacher-at-cleveland-high-school - Cached

[Fumesucker]

42. Again, I encourage you to post any incidents you would like to get attention as OPs..

In fact my former mother in law was a teacher and was severely hurt by a student on the playground who ran into her, probably deliberately.

I think you would be surprised at the reaction you get here to stories both of teachers doing great things and of teachers being hurt.

[sybylla]

114. Wow. Seems to me you're the best person for the job

you're complaining isn't being done.

[tonysam]

43. I don't think you understand this is a fucking CIVIL suit

and teachers' names should NEVER, EVER be printed by the media because their reputations are so easily RUINED.

I guess you don't care about that.

[Fumesucker]

47. According to one poster the teachers have already admitted their actions..

People in all walks of life are wrongly accused of things and have their lives ruined every damn day, it's really not just teachers.

[noamnety]

60. Yes, the school's own records showed they admitted doing it.

"School administrators gave verbal reprimands to a teacher and teacher's aide who were accused in a lawsuit this week of humiliating an 11-year-old by tying his long hair into ponytails, according to personnel records.

The records released by the school district also show that two employees said they considered the Sept. 29 incident a joke ..."

http://www.examiner.com/a-2448501~Ohio_teacher__aide_say_boy_s_ponytails_were_joke.html

[Fumesucker]

65. That's what wingnuts *always* say when one of their stunts backfires..

It was a joke son, a joke.. -F Leghorn

[sendero]

89. Now that they've been outed..

.... the give "verbal reprimands".

Too little, too late. Teacher's reputation ruined? She should never set foot in a classroom again. Good.

[noamnety]

120. I think the verbal reprimand may have happened before they were outed.

I agree about not setting foot in a classroom again, and the only reason I think the teachers involved are still there is that sexism is so acceptable in our culture. Imagine if the kid acted or looked some way the teacher didn't like, and instead of likening it to being a girl - and therefore worthy of humiliation - the teacher likened it to being black, put the kid in black face and paraded them around from room to room.

Would they have gotten the same verbal reprimand?
Would DUers still demand that we not discuss it publicly, and instead just let the school handle it internally?

[AngryAmish]

86. Should doctor's names be withheld from media if they are accused of malpractice?

They have reputations too.

[TommyO]

99. They were in the process of ruining a child's life

Screw 'em!

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Really bad doctors kill people. Really bad lawyers ruin lives.

We don't spend time talking about them here. But teachers are in the center of the DU dart board.

[Fumesucker]

51. There was a thead today about John Murtha's doctors and how they killed him

I've seen thread after thread on John Edwards, raking him over the coals for a consensual affair.

Our children and grandchildren occupy a special niche in our psyches..

Blame those who abuse the kids, not those who find the abuse intolerable.

[proud2BlibKansan]

54. The teacher/public education bashing is on steroids here

There is no other group of professionals that is attacked here as much as teachers.

Well, maybe Republicans. But no other group.

[proteus_lives]

59. Try LEOs.

Compared the abuse they receive here, teachers are lucky.

[Fumesucker]

62. Another group with more than average power over others..

[proud2BlibKansan]

66. Nah LEOs are in distant 2nd

[proteus_lives]

68. You're kidding right?

When was the last time you and your co-workers were called fascist pigs?

[proud2BlibKansan]

70. I'll go with child abusers and raise you 20

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

94. This subthread is so pathetic it's funny. "My special group is more abused than yours!"

"No, mine is!"
"Mine!"
"MINE!!!"

[farmout rightarm]

122. Reminds me of this

[Fumesucker]

61. Politicians come in for a fair amount of bashing, not just Republicans..

I guess you missed the Dennis Kucinich bashfest/bashathon today?

I'm a blue collar worker and we come in for a good deal of abuse on a regular basis here.. I used to live in a mobile home too and talk of trailer trash is pretty damn rampant. Not to mention I live in the South and all Southerners are ignorant rednecks.. I don't like team sports and anyone who doesn't like team sports was always picked last for games in school..

I don't suppose that because you are a teacher you might notice criticism of teachers more than you do other groups?

[liberalhistorian]

74. That's the way it is in the "real world", too, and one of the

many reasons why I didn't follow in my parents' teaching footsteps. And it's getting much worse, not better, even among so-called "progressives." They should all be made to be a teacher for two straight weeks ALONE with NO HELP, period. Only then would they maybe even try to understand.

[proud2BlibKansan]

85. Hey forget about two weeks, I'd support one day

[liberalhistorian]

102. The problem with that is that it wouldn't really

have that much of an impact or affect since it'd be a "novelty" and they wouldn't really get a sense of the reality of it in just one day. My parents always thought two weeks would do the trick. Anytime someone started bashing their profession and asking if they enjoyed the easy life, they'd invite the idiots to take over for two weeks. Shut them right the hell up. Of course, you'd have the idjits who'd say they would do just fine and they'd show 'em, etc., etc., but they never once took them up on the offer.

[proud2BlibKansan]

136. At my school, one day is all it would take.

Seriously.

Most people wouldn't last an hour.

[MilesColtrane]

128. Cops

The Military

Religious leaders

Bankers

Media figures

Democrats



The list goes on...

Everybody's got an ox to gore, and everybody takes umbrage when it's their ox.

[DiverDave]

129. Bashing teachers?

No, just bashing the idiots that thought it was alright to humiliate the poor kid.
Over HAIR LENGTH??
You are wasting your time trying to defend these assholes.
If it was my kid, there would be an assault charge involved, because I would have slapped them silly to treat my son this way.

[mzteris]

130. Really bad teachers can ruin lives, too.

Just like really good teachers can save lives.

Nothing's stopping you or anyone else posting "good teacher stories". I think you should, actually. Teachers get a bad rap, you're right.

But I think part of it is just the way people are - you point out the bad while tacitly accepting the good. I'm very guilty of that in my own life.

Expected behaviour is - - expected! - and not usually noticed or praised. AND IT SHOULD BE!! Unacceptable behaviour is unacceptable and should be pointed out and - if possible - corrected.

My daughter used to get so mad at me when I proofed her papers.
"MOM, you only point out the mistakes!"
"But honey, I'm proofing it. I'm helping you correct your paper. (I'd mark the mistake but not make the actual correction... she had to.)
"You never tell me what I did RIGHT." (her becoming increasingly upset)
"well, if it's not marked wrong, then --- it's right." (me, becoming increasingly baffled)

What I SHOULD have done was told her how wonderful I thought her writing was (I did think so- she wrote VERY well), but I assumed that was a given and I shouldn't have.

My son in highschool now?? ha - when he asked me to proof his paper I went on a long thing about how I was going to help him find his errors so he could correct them but that I thought his writing was good and . . .

"Hey mom. you're PROOFREADING IT! You're SUPPOSED to be finding what's wrong!

Kids.

:shrug:

[liberalhistorian]

73. I know exactly what you mean and it's getting worse here, which

is truly disturbing. I had a major testy exchange yesterday with a DU teacher-hating idiot who had no clue what teachers really deal with, wouldn't listen to any details, and thought they had the cushiest, most stress-free and secure jobs ever, that they were a "special breed" who wailed and while incessantly despite being "treated very well", and who thought they had it as good as Palace Princesses. No connection to reality, no understanding of it at all. Of course, this DUer also bows down to the banksters. But this attitude is growing and getting endemic here, of all places, which I once thought was actually intelligent in such matters. Truly disgusting and disheartening. And people wonder why I didn't follow in my parents' footsteps and go into teaching myself. No fucking thank you. I saw what they went through and how little they were compensated both financially and in respect and appreciation.

[tonysam]

41. That's the point; it's one-sided allegations by a mom's attorney

and in turn the media prints the teacher's name, which is totally, fucking WRONG, considering few of these cases have any merit at all.

This mother will get a big, fat settlement because the school district's insurance company will pay it out rather than fight it in court.

[Fumesucker]

44. According to one poster here the teachers have already admitted to what they did..

Given the number of witnesses it seems unlikely this story was made up in its entirely.

[LisaL]

69. Still we only heard one side of the story.

[sendero]

90. If even half of this story is true..

... THERE IS NO OTHER SIDE.

[FormerDittoHead]

91. Exactly. The boy could have been participating in performance art.

:sarcasm:

[farmout rightarm]

123. Playing Rapunzel

:silly:

[Gabi Hayes]

6. have you EVER seen a thread based on any of these:

North College Hill Teacher Saves Student's Life - :: Cincinnati ... Performed Heimlich on choking student. ... North College Hill Teacher Saves Student's Life. Last Update: 1/20 11:12 am. Print Story | ... Save/Share Story ...
www.local12.com/...Teacher-Saves-Students-Life/GYOyUmSoVkeF6c8w1Ls76Q.cspx?... - Cached

WHDH-TV - Teacher saves students life after collapse Dec 12, 2007 ... Teacher saves students life after collapse. ... A teacher has been credited with saving a student's life. The incident happened at Peabody ...
www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO68815/ - Cached

KOB.com - Teacher saves student's life with CPR Teacher saves student's life with CPR. Posted at: 01/06/2010 8:47 PM By: Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com. Nicholas Rowden is alive thanks to his teacher's courage. ...
www.kob.com/article/stories/S1348829.shtml - Cached

Video results for teacher saves student's life
Teacher saves student's life with CPR
1 min 22 sec - Jan 6, 2010
www.youtube.com

Video: Teacher saves student's life with CPR
www.mefeedia.com


Teacher Spots Tumor, Saves Student's Life - ABC News Jan 23, 2008 ... Teacher Spots Tumor, Saves Student's Life. ... "She saved her life -- there's no way around it!" 1. Read 22 Comments and Post Your Own ...
abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4171160&page=1

Ellis teacher saves student's life with CPR - WREX.com ... May 20, 2009 ... ROCKFORD (WREX) - A Rockford teacher saves the life of a student who collapsed on the playground. Sixth grader Corrina Carlos isn't sure ...
www.wrex.com/global/story.asp?s=10400253

Brashear Teacher Saves Student With CPR - Pittsburgh News Story ... Jun 9, 2009 ... PITTSBURGH -- A teacher at Brashear High School is credited with saving the life of a student who collapsed during gym class Thursday. ...
www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19708738/detail.html - Cached - Similar

Student's paper helps save Teacher's daughter's life - KDAF Jan 11, 2010 ... Days later, she took her daughter Hope Escalante to see a doctor who diagnosed the 14-year-old with juvenile diabetes and caught her ...
www.the33tv.com/.../kdaf-southwest-diabetes-student-paper-story,0,3358982.story - Cached

[The Straight Story]

12. Can't say I have, did you post them? (nt)

[Fumesucker]

16. What does that have to do with this OP?

Nothing at all..

And no one is stopping you from posting each of the positive incidents you enumerate as an OP, in fact I encourage you to do so.

[readmoreoften]

17. I'm a teacher-- this is not an anti-teacher post.

And any teacher who supports this kind of behavior is suspect.

[Gabi Hayes]

22. there are myriad threads like this. what's the POINT????

the cumulative effect certainly creates a negative impression of teachers

why not post every single negative article you can find about some miscreant, deviant teacher?

better yet, let's begin an entire forum on bad teachers and their outrageous behavior

sounds like great fun!!!

[readmoreoften]

27. It creates a negative impression of right-wing teachers. Those who want to dismantle public

education will likely approve of humiliating and harassing students' gender presentation.

[Gabi Hayes]

32. the cumulative effect of this story, and others like it, generate negative emotions, overall,

of not just RW nutball teachers, but of all teachers. it's all about emotions, and the short circuiting of logical thought.

ever read Ellul's "Propaganda"? my most interesting Ed class (Social Foundations of Education) used that as a centerpiece. loved that class....

couldn't agree more with your take on destroying public education, though. that's the goal of the corporatist/christian reconstructionists who are making very frightening strides in doing just that

[Fumesucker]

49. Why not blame the perpetrators?

You seem to be blaming the wrong people, those who are upset by this sort of thing going on..

In reality you should be blaming the teachers who did such a despicable act.

[Gabi Hayes]

58. if the story's true (which it seems to be), of course I blame the teachers

again, my point is that the ratio of stories highlighting teacher misbehavior seems to far outweigh stories about malfeasance in other professions, and I wonder what the point of endlessly parading them, at the expense of, oh, I don't know, stories like this:

http://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/countdown-with-keith-olbermann-student-skips-exam-to-prevent-family-from-being-homeless/724930498'

people choose to post stories about all the horrible teachers that exist in the world, as opposed to monsters with real power, like David Steiner, who seems to be doing all he can to coporatize education in New York

do you even know who he is?

you do know, however, all you need to know about the crank in Ohio who bullied his student

thank you

[Fumesucker]

64. I'm just an ignorant, redneck, trailer trash blue collar worker who lives in the South..

I've never encountered any bashing of my group at all on DU.. ;)

If you want people on DU to know something, make an OP, that's the only way we are going to learn..

[Alcibiades]

52. No, I'm pretty sure it's right-wing nutball teachers

We're a pretty smart crowd here at DU. I doubt this was any sort of liberal/leftist/progressive, and I think most folks know this. When someone in authority abuses it, whether they be a teacher, a cop, a parent, a correctional officer, the president, a member of Congress, a pet owner, a member of the clergy, or anyone else, it's wrong. I think I have seen more posts on DU involving many more members of these groups just mentioned apart from teachers, so I don't think educators are being singled out.

If you want to get mad at someone for slandering teachers, how about Pink Floyd?

[Gabi Hayes]

63. WADR, I think you miss the larger point

of course the guy's a wingnut, but if you follow the pedagogical threads, you'll find that there is a large number of posters here who really have it in for the rank and file teacher, and are quick to blame most of the ills of public education on teachers themselves, for a variety of reasons, while failing to admit the myriad other factors contributing to the decline in educational standards

I daresay that the chief culprit among the malefactors destroying our educational system (if you read the threads on this subject), according to a large number (perhaps a majority) of commenters is not the corporatization of public education, not the policy of NCLB and its almost completely test-based standards, just to name the most obvious of several vitiating factors, but teachers and their dastardly unions, who, according to them, stand trogladytically, rocklike, in the way of education reform.

[liberalhistorian]

75. Amen and no shit. And most of them have never

spent, and will never spend, a day in a classroom. They have NO fucking clue what they're talking about at all.

[Fumesucker]

81. Actually I largely blame parents..

It's really the responsibility of the parents to see the child gets an education, I know I took that responsibility seriously when I was a parent with a school age child and I watch my daughter and son in law taking it seriously also with my three grandchildren.

Without proper parental training and discipline the teacher has no chance of imparting the necessary knowledge to the child.

[AngryAmish]

87. Would a parent who really wanted to educate their child allow in public schools?

Doubtful.

[Fumesucker]

92. Around here the public schools are better than most of the private ones..

I'm in the deep South and most of the private schools are "Christian Academy" types, if you want your child to get a serious dose of crackpot theology along with their readin' ritin' and rithmetic just send 'em to one of those.. I was talking to a fourteen year old kid of a coworker a while back that was seriously interested in science and went to one of these schools, I mentioned Neanderthal man and the kid had never even heard of it. So much of science depends on the world being over six thousand years old, everything from astronomy to zoology and this poor kid had not a clue.

The education is there at public schools if the student is prepared to learn, so many are not these days.

[Alcibiades]

104. WTF?

I attended public schools throughout my primary and secondary course of education, and went on to attain a doctorate. My children will attend public schools, as will most American children.

If you want to blame parents for anything, blame them for not reading to their children, and allowing them too much access to television and computer games. We are where we are today because of our system of universal public education, and outcomes will not improve without support for that remarkable institution.

[Alcibiades]

105. I don't read most of those threads

So I cannot speak to that. I don't construe a post that notes something that shows misbehavior by individual cops is automatically as a cop-bashing thread, by the military as a military-bashing thread, etc. I agree entirely with what you have to say substantively with regard to education reform.

I did not know troglodytic had an adverbial form. You must teach English! :hi:

[noamnety]

33. Thank you. Agreed.

Like many DU posts, it's an attempt to expose sexism and homophobia in this culture. The people involved in these types of incidents should have mass bad publicity regardless of their profession; they shouldn't be allowed to hide in dark corners like the cockroaches they are.

I'd like to see a culture where anyone in a position of power over others, be they CEOs, cops, teachers, or politicians - understands that if they act like a bigot it will come back a hundredfold to bite them in the ass.

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. + 1,000,000

[Hugabear]

72. You're free to post any or all of those as original threads

Why haven't you?

[readmoreoften]

13. Yes because clearly one can't support Chavez while hating gender bias assaults on children.

The two are just intricately linked in some way I can't fathom... :crazy:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. Wait, what? There are three possible explanations for your post.

1) You think this is a lie and the described abuse didn't happen.

2) You think it happened and it's no big deal.

3) You think it happened and it's bad, but online discussions of it shouldn't be started for whatever reason.

So, which is it?

[Gabi Hayes]

24. wrong, wrong, and wrong

keep guessing

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

93. I could, but that would get me a mod warning, so I won't. -nt

[flvegan]

78. Wait...this is an anti-teacher post? Really.

The two accused were also humans. So, obviously, this is also an anti-human thread.

Where is the :facepalm: smilie anyway?

[Fumesucker]

3. To the Wayback Machine Sherman..

I thought this crap was over forty years ago or more..

-Mr Peabody

[Yurovsky]

8. Ah yes, Peabody & Sherman...

one of the great comedic duos of our time.

[Randall Flagg]

9. Really.

In 1970, I had a new teacher ask "is the new student a boy or a girl?"

I asked him if he'd like to drop trousers and compare to figure it out.

I didn't fare too well at that school.

[liberalhistorian]

76. The problem is that Cincinnati is still an extremely

conservative area, where shit like this is not only tolerated it's often tacitly encouraged. And when parents complain about it, THEY are the ones blamed.

[Enthusiast]

88. You are correct.

Cincinnati is a mess. No wonder Boehner was elected there.

[liberalhistorian]

101. And don't forget

"Mean Jean" Schmidt, also, who beat the Iraq war veteran Dem candidate by smearing him and his patriotism. Friends in that area absolutely hate her guts, they say she's even worse than what she seems.

[Enthusiast]

110. Forgot that one.

And they even have the dubious claim to fame of the Creation Museum, lol.

[Canuckistanian]

4. OMG

They marched him around to other classes?

WTF were these "teachers" doing? And I use quotation marks deliberately.

[HeresyLives]

7. Jesus had long hair.

Since when did your hair length affect your gender, your character or your school career?

[msongs]

20. oh, did you know him then? nt

[MineralMan]

23. Yabbut, Peter had a mullet. Which just goes to show

you never can tell.

[marmar]

107. Jesus had cornrows....or a short afro.

nt

[Lefta Dissenter]

10. unbelievable

I don't even know what to say. That's so sad, and so infuriating.

I wish I could give him and his family a hug, and I hope the teachers and the administration get their asses kicked (figuratively) in court.

[Jennicut]

11. My brother has hair as long as me. Has had it since he was 15 and he is 36 now.

Stupidest double standard ever.

[bluestateguy]

14. DISgusting

nt

[Raine]

15. What rock do these people live under

ever since the 1960's long hair on guys is nothing unusual. :silly:

[MineralMan]

21. Jebus is their rock, and Paul has some stones...

Paul said that men should keep their hair short. What old Paul said goes with some folks, it seems.

I Corinthians 11: "14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? "

This is pure religious harrassment.

[Raine]

84. I didn't realize they took it from the bible

good thing Jesus doesn't didn't have one of these as his teacher.

[EFerrari]

25. My mother in law used to joke in the 70s that she couldn't tell us apart

from the back because my ex and I were about the same height and both had light brown long hair that we wore tied back. LOL

[TK421]

28. Soooooooooo.....they're no longer teachers, right? RIGHT?

of course they fucking are, fucking assholes

[noamnety]

67. They got a "verbal reprimand."

That's one reason why I'm in favor of the publicity - apparently the district needs to be pressured by the public to recognize that teachers who sexually harass and bully children need to find another profession. I get pissed off when I see cops circling the wagons around other cops who are clearly abusing citizens. And I get pissed off when I see teachers circling the wagons around other teachers who are acting in sadistic ways toward kids. I figure the teachers in that article are a few bad apples ... but it's up to the other people in the profession to decide if they will stand with the bad apples or with their victims.

[liberalhistorian]

77. In this case, however, the publicity would have the

opposite effect. That's an extremely conservative area, and the majority likely approve of such abuse and put the blame on the abused. Disgusting, but that's the way it is there.

[AlinPA]

29. Wouldn't be in Schmidt's or Boehner's district would it?

[PSzymeczek]

34. I think Milford

just might be Schmidt's district.

[noamnety]

30. In addition to the abuse aimed directly at the boy

The teachers should also be fired for being sexist pigs - what kind of teacher calls someone a girl as an insult? What's the message to the girls in the school?

[tonysam]

36. You don't know it's true--it's a fucking lawsuit, for cryin' out loud.

And it's ONLY the plaintiff's allegations. The media has NO FUCKING RIGHT TO PRINT TEACHERS' NAMES when there are civil suits filed.

[noamnety]

37. The teachers involved already admitted to doing it.

They already said they did it so it's a bit of a stretch to pretend it's not true at this point.

[LisaL]

55. I've not seen anything to support that idea.

[jberryhill]

83. They have every right to print the names

Whether they should as a matter of etiquette is a separate question from whether they have a right to publish information from a public court docket.

http://pacer.uscourts.gov/ - your court system at work.

[TommyO]

116. These pathetic excuses for human beings

had no fucking right to do this to a child. Why are you defending these pieces of crap?

[noamnety]

119. No, it's not only the plaintiffs allegations.

It's the internal records from the school as well, with the teachers involved saying they did it but they thought it was "a joke" - and the administration giving them a verbal reprimand. acknowledging they did it, and deciding that an appropriate response would be a verbal slap on the wrists.

I find it disturbing that some teachers jump to the conclusion that if a student claims they are being bullied or abused, they are lying.

I also find it disturbing that some teachers think maybe it was true, but the most ethical thing for the sake of the profession's PR is for people to not discuss these things, best to hush it up and sweep it under the carpet. If you don't support sweeping it under the carpet, it's because you are a teacher-basher.

The children are the people teachers are charged with protecting, first and foremost - not other teachers. That doesn't mean be unfair to other teachers, solidarity is important - but not to an extent where it causes teachers to talk about the students - the people in the building with the least power - as if they are the enemy and the teachers (the ones in authority) are the real oppressed people. That's messed up. If someone's attitude has shifted that far away from seeing their position as the protector of children rather than of other teachers maybe it is time to move on. If you hear about a teacher parading a student around with the specific intent of sexually harassing and humiliating them, if your first thought is "oooh, the poor teacher" - maybe it's time to move on.

That attitude bothers me because it's not so far from the classic way rape victims are treated in courts (they must be lying, she must have asked for it, she was friends with the rapist/it was date rape so it wasn't really rape) - in other words, put the victim on trial and blame them.

Upthread, a person correctly states that police are regularly assumed guilty on DU, and I think that's probably true. If you look at the Gates incident, I don't recall you - or anyone else - jumping in complaining that Sgt. James Crowley name shouldn't have been published. I don't know, did you do that? The reason we don't come jumping to policemen's defense generally when there is a story about them being abusive is that we know they hold power, we know that people have a tendency to abuse power when they get too much of it unchecked. And we presume - from past patterns - that if one policeman does something abusive, others will help to cover it up, because they often have motive, opportunity, and more solidarity with fellow officers than with the people they are charged with protecting.

Soldiers - same thing. Look at Abu Ghraib. A hell of a lot of soldiers knew it was going on, knew it was wrong. Those photos were passed all over the local area before one person decided to report them. I've got good friends who saw them and passed them on. I'm saying that as a former sgt, one who does feel a lot of solidarity with other soldiers. That doesn't change that I recognize a systemic pattern of soldiers being able to abuse their power over civilians and covering up for each other. When I hear of a specific case of a soldier being abusive, I assume it's true. And simultaneously, I assume that the most gratifying part of the job for many soldiers is helping the local population, distributing food, running health clinics, befriending the children. When I hear of a specific case of a policeman being abusive, I assume it's true. and I would still assume if I call for help that a policeman would come help me, that's still the norm.

With teachers, the norm is caring about the children, using our own money to feed them if need be, spending huge amounts of off time trying to do what's best for them. That's the norm. But within the system, the norm is also that some teachers will abuse their power and torment the students in ways that can damage them for life.

[tonysam]

35. Well, let's see.

The suit COULD be true, but at least 90 times out of 100, these suits are bullshit, as one who has been the subject of one such sensational case which is totally groundless can tell you from personal experience.

What in the fuck is wrong with the media to print teachers' names, and, if it is found that indeed this is a bullshit case, their reputations are RUINED?

Remember, we have only ONE side to this; school districts and personnel typically don't say anything publicly.

[noamnety]

39. The names are probably a matter of public record

if there's a court case involved. And it's likely the court hearings will be open to the public as well.

[LeftyMom]

45. Public records are public. Lawsuits are matters of public record.

With certain exceptions (for minors, rape victims, whistleblowers, etc) people's names are certainly normal to print in news about them. The public's right to be informed generally outweighs the desire for privacy in those instances.

Privacy-seekers should avoid public employment.

[Initech]

38. You know who has long hair? Um every rock musician ever!

Man there's a lot of dumb fucking people in this country. :argh:

[salguine]

40. Wow. We have the teacher's name. Pity if her school/ home address were to be made public.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. That is completely uncalled for.

Why go there?

[Quantess]

57. How big could her hometown be?

I'm sure most people in her hometown have already heard the news, and some of them know where she lives.

She probably is getting the proper level of dirty looks and scorn at the local level. No need to harrass her from long distance.

[Quantess]

46. This is inappropriate on so many levels.

* teachers humiliating kids publicly
* encourages bullying
* wastes class time
* sexist
* amounts to fashion police
* extremely unprofessional

[winyanstaz]

53. This teacher and aid need to be forbidden from EVER being around children again.

That was criminally cruel and beyond excuse.
I hope the teacher and aid get sued big time. I think they need to go to jail for assault and battery against a minor.

[Echo In Light]

96. Yes. And if it were my kid, they'd be hospitalized, and I'd be in jail.

[marshall]

71. The incident happened back in September

The lawsuit was filed last week. Apparently the boy participated in having his hair put in pigtails (otherwise I suppose the adults would also be charged with assault). The boy was accustomed to being teased by his peers, and for some reason he was talked into this by the teacher. Then things got out of hand and probably and I guess it has bothered him for the past four or five months.

[Fumesucker]

79. "The boy was accustomed to being teased by his peers"'

Yeah, I was "accustomed" to being bullied in school, doesn't mean I didn't hate it..

And as for "participating" in having his hair put in pigtails, did he have to physically resist? If he had he would probably have been the one put up on assault charges the way a lot of schools are being run these days.

[TommyO]

118. Thank you for blaming the victim here.

That's so wonderfully adult and compassionate of you.

[marshall]

133. He's not to blame at all

Even if he was a willing participant and got talked into it by the teacher and the aide, he is a child. His mother said he is accustomed to being taunted by the other children--that in fact probably made him trust the authority figures more, and seek their approval. The situation of being taunted probably seemed familiar at first, and then came the growing realization that he was not only the butt of the other kids' joke, but also the adults. And he probably was not emotionally strong enough to stop it, to speak out. I do think the joke probably went on long beyond that day back in September, which is why the present suit is filed.

[TexasObserver]

80. Recommend

[donheld]

82. .

[MineralMan]

108. Yah, Jesus would have looked just like that, with the light

brown hair and all. Neatly-trimmed beard, too.

WE HAVE NO CONTEMPORANEOUS IMAGES OF JESUS, even assuming that he existed as more than an aggregate of Jewish rabble-rousers.

[Echo In Light]

95. Amazing how many 'pillars of community' are actually evil douche bags in need of a beat down

[Tailormyst]

97. I can't believe those teachers were not fired

They would be gone in a second if that happened here.

[Lucky Luciano]

98. Reminds me of new years day in 1999, when my friend and I had long hair.

The coat check at the bar we were at ducked up and did not order the jackets causing chaos as people tried to retrieve their coats. These preppy fuckers were shoving my friend to get ahead in the line and my friend ordered them to back off. Then they shoved my long haired friend again. My friend shoved them back forcefully to which they said, "oh look! I got pushed by a girl!". One second later my friend's fist made direct contact after a full wind up on both of their upper lips and blood spattered everywhere. Then I remember one joker on the line said, "hey, look! That girl just kicked their asses! Haha!". A bit of a mess ensued outside the bar in NYC. I missed the part where my friend was outside the bar taking on all theirs friends on a one on five melée. He held his own, but got bloodied when he slipped on the pavement. He left walking down the street to get a taxi and saw two guys asking about his bloodied face. My friend said, "there are too many of them.". Then these two said, "well, now you got two more on your side. Let's go get 'em!". Glad my friend had the good sense to turn down their offer! Funny story thoughthat a couple of strangers would offer to help out like that!

[Echo In Light]

100. My hair is nearly waist-length, & I've worn it long since my teenaged yrs

Never had any trouble in school, though, aside from some occasional hostile vibes from some of the jarhead crowd and their perpetual cheerleaders. In fact, oddly enough, I've never actually gotten into a fist fight over the length of my hair - other matters, yes, but never hair. And I played in metal bar bands for several yrs too, w/other long hairs, and can't say I ever saw anything like what you described just over hair alone. I do know there were certain areas back in the 80s when the cross-over metal/punk thing tended to become violent over perceived ideologies.

[Lucky Luciano]

113. My experience mostly mirrors yours with merely the occassional hostile vibe.

The incident described above was unique in my experience.

[jimmyflint]

103. is this article from 1948 ?

I can't believe this is modern I have Had shoulder length hair and never had any problems. It just seems surreal this would be happening today!

[MindPilot]

106. "you pretend it doesn't bother you but you dare not make a stand...

its the same old cliché; is that a woman or a man?


"Long-haired freaky people need not apply, so I tucked my hair up under my hat and went in to ask him why"

Didn't we finish this bullshit like 40 years ago?

[fascisthunter]

109. institutionalized homophobia brought to you by right wingers

with obsessive sexual hang-ups.

[Echo In Light]

111. Realistically it's astonishing to realize how their sexual hang-ups fuel so much of their time/energ

[fascisthunter]

115. I Agree.... same thing is evident in all Hate Groups

whether it be against ethnicity, sexuality, nationality or race... they all commit themselves to a neurosis of their own making and project that onto the World around them. They themselves are the root of their own problems, yet expecting these people to be responsible for their own issues is just too much to ask of them... poor poor bigots.

[Echo In Light]

125. If you removed their hatred of specific people, there'd be no RW movements

And that's most definitely not the same as those who, politically, identify w/liberal/left ideology and values being critical of RWers - something that moderate dem voices tend toward trying to align as a means to smear "loony" lefties. RW movements are fueled by ignorance/prejudice, and organize against those who are proponents of equality for all, and transparent govt. Hardly the same thing as those liberal proponents being wary/critical of groups that seek to have their prejudice legislated, and their 'enemies' attacked by the police state.

[fascisthunter]

126. well said... I don't even consider them a political movement as much as I consider them to be a cult

a culture of hatred and ignorance.

[Joanne98]

112. SUE THE SCHOOL!

[JoeyT]

117. It's kind of funny how some people

are yelling about how posting this sort of thing makes teachers look bad.
Because a story about a single teacher and aide's wrongdoing doesn't make teachers look nearly as bad as a bunch of teachers leaping to their defense and demanding people stop criticizing them. (Try a week in our jobs? Are you kidding?)

A verbal reprimand for psychological abuse that will likely leave a lifetime of trauma? I hope the school is sued into bankruptcy, and I'm one of the people that regularly defends public schools. I'm not about to defend this, and anyone that does should be ashamed of themselves.

[mzteris]

132. good point.

People who make excuses for bad behaviour make themselves look suspect.

[liberal_at_heart]

121. There are good teachers and bad teachers. These two are obviously bad teachers.

and should not be allowed to be teachers. I hope they have their teaching licenses taken away.

[TwilightGardener]

124. I once had a teacher, in third grade, imitate the way I walked for the amusement

of the rest of the class. I had a tendency to slouch/hunch my shoulders, and I guess that was funny stuff to this lady. Will never forget the humiliation of watching her go around the classroom making fun of me while the other kids laughed.

[spanone]

127. fire the teacher.......now

[KamaAina]

131. Anyone who would do such a thing is NOT a teacher

she only plays one on TV. And not for long, hopefully.

I was quite surprised to find out it was a woman teacher who did that!

[Blue_In_AK]

134. Good grief.

I thought we were done with all this "boys can't have long hair" stuff over 40 years ago. This teacher should be fired and never allowed in a classroom again.

[BrklynLiberal]

135. Wow! Not merely a horrible teacher..but a horrible human being..

[BreweryYardRat]

137. Time to permanently revoke that "teacher's" license.

And beat the shit out of him for good measure.

[varelse]

138. That is so wrong I don't even have the words

to describe it. What in the hell were these fuckheads thinking??????