Sunday, February 17, 2008

Beating Up On Teachers

This week's story on Channel 8 about another DISD teacher getting beaten up was just sickening. I watched the story in horror as this teacher was grabbed by her hair from behind and then pummelled again by this student.

It all began over some money pinned to the student's blouse(shirt) for her birthday. According to accounts, the student kept playing with the money and was trying to make change when the teacher (who had asked her to stop playing with the money on several occassions) tried to get her to comply with her request.

The rest is video history. Appalling as the scene may be, it's even more appalling that not one of the students tried to help this teacher. To add insult to injury, the reporter stated that the DISD said they would not ask the teacher to come back and teach at Skyline again. Like she would want to come back! Duh!

There is never any excuse for a student to assault a teacher. Especially in this vicious a manner. I can only surmise that this incident is just one in a long line of incidents that have, at least some, of its roots in the programming our children see.

I have two sons, seven and five, and have watched the Cartoon Network and other popular cartoon shows with them. Almost every time that teachers are shown, they are shown as bumbling old fools to be gotten over on. Almost every other show on tv and at the the theaters show teachers in a negative light.

Maybe it's time that all of us teachers, and our friends and family, start boycotting these shows and the companies that advertise on them. If enough of us would do it, then the producers of this stuff would realize that what we already know. That if it weren't for teachers, they wouldn't have a job because they would be just another uneducated bumbling fool to be gotten over on!

1 comment:

abhaille said...

Considering the teacher shortage, it will soon become apparent that public education will not be supportable, especially in the light of such a vicious attack. Who is going to want to sign up for a job where disrespectful children can beat you up?

I'm horrified to see students laughing while the teacher is dragged back in to the room and beaten. What kind of upbringing have they had?

I don't think it's just the media that feeds this, but that's a good place to start.