I will be the first to admit that my news intake has been remarkably limited lately. On purpose. However, that doesn't stop me from having an opinion about everything, as I learned while we were having dinner at the nearby pizza joint (one of those places with multiple televisions tuned to multiple channels). The TV directly above my head was tuned to FOX "News", the channel that makes me want to cut off my own ears. To make it even more interesting, it was the right time to catch my best pal, Mr. Bill O'Reilly. As I have mentioned before, I find O'Reilly to be intensely offensive and repugnant. Rarely does he complete a sentence that fails to set my blood boiling. He is followed by HANNITY and Colmes, another program the incites me to mutter under my breath about societies downward spiral. Anyway. Where was I going with this? Oh. Right. Kindergarteners in Handcuffs.
H and C made mention of the incident where the kindergartener was arrested for acting out at school. I have only read one article on this (and unfortunately cannot find it again), but what I read made it sound as though:
a) the child has had major behavior problems before - to the extent that I suspect she may have some kind of behavioral disorder (no evidence, just a hunch).
b) the teacher responded in a rational manner that protected her other students (removing them from the room) and herself (calling in assistance), while using generally accepted methods for de-escalating a situation (calm voice, avoidance of physical contact, presentation of alternatives).
c) the parent (who is now trying to sue the school) was called and asked to pick the child up, but told the school that she was unable to do so.
and
d) the situation had greatly improved when the police officers arrived and grabbed the child, handcuffing her.
This article also stated that the officers refused to release the child to her mother until the DA informed them that they WOULD NOT be prosecuting a 5 year old.
It is my understanding from some brief research tonight that part of the problem was the calling of the wrong officers. Most schools have some kind of campus police or at least a police liason who is used to dealing with school issues. Had that individual been called, some of the drama of this situation may have been avoided. My real concern is about the teacher involved, though. I know enough about how districts operate to know that if they think it is more cost effective, they will hang this teacher out to dry. If this parent continues with her lawsuit, there is a very good chance that the district higher-ups will try to lay the blame on the classroom teacher, sacrificing her in order to protect their "image". I sincerely hope that the media coverage of this story includes praise of the teacher for keeping her cool and protecting all of her students. Regardless of the outcome, it doesn't appear that she did anything wrong.
As always, if you disagree, I would love to hear your reasons.
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