Okay for Michelle Rhee but bad for lowly teachers

[proud2BlibKansan]

Michelle Rhee not only taped her kids' mouths, but laughed about it. I'm wondering what would have happened if one of those parents had gone to the media?

MIRAMAR, Fla.-- The mother of a Florida middle school student is upset after her 13-year-old daughter came home from school and told her a teacher put tape over her mouth.

"I came home from a hard day's work to hear that my daughter had her mouth taped up unwillingly," said Leah Freel, Fox7News reports.

Jazlyn Freel said that at school on Thursday her teacher placed tape over her mouth to stop her from talking in class.

"She asked me to stop talking, and then a couple minutes went by, and I started to talk again, and she came to me and put it on my mouth," Freel said. "I had to cough, so I took the first piece off, so she went into her desk, and she took another piece out, and she put it on my mouth again.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/02/florida-mother-angry-teacher-tapes-students-mouth/#ixzz1INfzaiA8

[Sabriel]

1. Adultism at its best

Let's treat kids as though they're of no consequence...objects to do with whatever we please.

Yikes. It's no wonder they hate school.

[1monster]

5. You'd be surprised at the number of students who thank the teacher for

keeping the rowdies quiet and who demand a disciplined classroom -- sometimes even the rowdies themselves.

And while I'd never actually tape a student's mouth (or any other part of them), I have been known to hand a student or two an "imaginary roll of duct tape" and to use it to "tape" their mouths shut. They, as I, consider it a humorous way of reminding them to stop disrupting the class.

Do you consider that "adultism"? Because if you do, I suspect that you haven't spent much time in the classroom as an adult.

By the way, teachers in Florida who use duct tape to enforce class room rules tend to get fired for that method of discipline.

edit: typos

[dkf]

2. What's with the parent though.

Her daughter can't listen to instructions, is probably disrupting other kids learning and the Mom is only outraged at the tape?

Blame on both sides if you ask me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Certainly no surprise

There are lots of parents like this. It's actually an amazing amount.

At any rate, taping a child's mouth is NOT okay, even if they do have a crazy parent who never holds them accountable. I have never done so and never will.

[dkf]

7. Now that IS a failure of the American parent.

If Obama wants to lecture the public about what we can do to help our kids, this would be a nice start.

I think parents do need a refresher on techniques to bolster discipline. If kids are doing this sort of thing in class I can only wonder at what terrors they are at home.

[Shagbark Hickory]

3. I had a teacher that told us to "shut up". I think the tape is fine. nt

[The Philosopher]

6. The only way for Rhee will be opposed

is if she becomes a teacher again. Only teachers are seen as attacking children; but if you become an administrator or even a public figure of education (reform), you're thinking about the children! Even though you attacked a child (in Rhee's case, an entire class, right?) and the way of thinking when you attacked a child IS STILL IN YOUR HEAD.

The day that the Rhees and Duncans are kicked out of Education and Education policy is the day we'll have real education evolution (rather than reform). It will be a great day.

[QC]

8. Thirteen is old enough to be quiet when told to.

Taping the kid's mouth is not right, but the teacher and the other students in the class should not be expected to put up with her disruption.