If you recall earlier this year kindergarten teacher Wendy Portillo had her class vote out a autistic child, and now justice has happened. The St. Lucie County School Board voted Ms. Portillo out of class for one year – Irony huh?
I have to wonder though, is a year a good enough punishment or should there be more?
Article Source http://news-press.com/article/20081119/NEWS01/81119005
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay.
“I have to wonder though, is a year a good enough punishment or should there be more?”
Actually, so do I.
She’s made the international news circuit for doing this but, as history will tell, that’ll soon be forgotten. The only official record will be one year’s suspension (without pay and that her tenured status has been terminated (and yearly contracts put in place instead); and she is contesting the recommendation.
The lad, on the other hand, has a lifetime to remember what happened, and his classmates have a lifetime to remember how they were asked to – in essence – condemn their classmate.
I’m nto sure that the consequence on her is enough: she still maintains that she was trying to do right by Alex, rather than accepting that what she did caused him no small discomfort. That’s a signthat she’s learned nothing from her experiences in the case so far. She’ll do the same to more kids in the future.
Punishment doesn’t help anyone. But as long as this teacher doesn’t understand that what she did was wrong, she is liable to do similar things in the future. When a teacher needs to appeal to the collective opinion of a group of 5-year-olds, he/she is demonstrating his/her own weakness and lack of authority.
I think she should have been suspended for more than a year.
People like her should never become teachers in the first place. What could she possibly have been thinking? How could any teacher in their right mind think doing something like thta was okay?? Even if the kid WASN’T disabled! I would not want my kids in her class now, or in a year from now. She should find a new profession… one that doesn’t provide her any power over any other human beings.
I was reading another article a few minutes ago that suggested that the teacher only be suspended for ONE OR TWO WEEKS.
I was appalled.
I think a year is okay, especially a year without pay–that hits hard in the current economy. But for people to even consider that her punishment was too harsh… I don’t know. Kinda sickens me.