[quote]defenderofTruth wrote:
[quote]TSpoon wrote:
As a citizen of a Country where the right to carry a gun wasn’t the second most important thing on our founder’s minds when they wrote up our constitution,I can’t say that I have experience with this mindset of a constant need to defend myself.I can however,put myself in the shoes of the kid in the video from an unbiased point of veiw.About a week ago a teacher at my high school repeatedly shoved one of my buddies for blowing a goal horn during a ball-hockey game.A year or so past a teacher swung at a kid (in a law class none the less) for throwing bits of eraser a him.While the teacher in the video is obviously not that kind of ass-hole(it says she was voted teacher of the year last year)there were definately other options for her to pursue. Many of you have stated that she “was backed into a corner,up against a door”.she could’ve OPENED the DOOR and left the class room to get help from more capable teachers.she also could’ve pushed him back instead punching him twice in the face.
It says in the article that the kid licked a window.WTF? if you silly americans weren’t so concerned with beating your kids you might realize that there is something wrong with this kid.he needs to see a doctor.going back to those examples of teacher induced violence i mentioned earlier,the kid has probably developped a very anti-authority figure attitude from past experiences with douche-bag teachers who didn’t do much to help him with his problems.sorry to go on for so long but it seems like most of you can’t see the real problem here.kids all over the world have new mental health sicknesses(not helped by getting your face kicked in by your parents-hhmmmm aren’t you brave eh ?)and problems that old fashioned teachers can’t deal with appropriately.she’s 64,its time she retires.[/quote]
You sound like some of the kids I have taught: self-centered, sanctimonious, and well, annoyingly so. However, out of good faith, assuming that a constructive conversation can be had (alas, that is not always the case on these forums), and respecting that internet impressions aren’t always correct (perhaps you are not the self-centered, sanctimonious high schooler you have presented in your post), I will rebut your “analysis” of the comments and the situation:
Point 1: the Second Amendment was put in place due to the experience with the British confiscating weapons that colonists needed 1) to defend themselves from American Indians, and 2) hunt for their food. The British were essentially depriving the colonists of their ability to defend themselves and provide sustenance. The framers of the Constitution were acting under the premise that “All men were endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, namely: LIFE, liberty, and happiness.” If you were educated, as you say, in American history, this would have been painfully obvious to you. You are only showing your lack of knowledge in this regard.
Point 2: the Second Amendment and the right for citizens of the Unites States to defend themselves and provide for their families is irrelevant to the discussion of a teacher who, when threatened, responded via a natural instinct to fight back. No commenter mentioned the Second Amendment, even in passing. Your use of it to sound superior is illogical, and does not help with the image you have painted yourself (i.e. self-centered, sanctimonious teen-age twit). Unless, of course, you are wishing to demonstrate that Americans, who “cling to the god and guns” as our president is so keen on saying derisively of 65% of his electorate, are inherently violent, and it is only because of our obsession with guns that we are so violent. If that is your reasoning, I rebut with a fact that you either don’t know or choose to ignore: a staggering majority (approaching 90%)of gun crimes in the US are committed with illegally obtained guns (which is easily verifiable by a quick internet search). In addition, the most violent cities in the US tend to be the ones with more strict gun laws.
Point 3: As a parent and a teacher I will state that our “obsession” with beating our kids is not why this child is the way he is. The cause of his behavior is strongly rooted in his homelife. Increasingly, parents in the US are abandoning their kids to impersonal institutions like daycares (but, when 47,000 of the 57,000 our government “created” in April are McDonald’s jobs, and fuel prices continue to rise, its understandable for some). In many cases, in order to relieve the guilt of not spending time with their kid, the parents give them free rein to do what they will…and defend them the whole way (“There is no way, sir, that my Johnny [name was changed to protect the innocent] could ever have written that, its just not like him.” To which I responded, “Ma’am, I admire your concern for your son, BUT I SAW HIM WRITE THE WORDS!!”). So, it is not the obsession with beating our kids that causes twits like this, it is the self-centeredness and obsession with self-gratification that causes this.
Point 4: The point about the window is that the teacher requested the student to clean it, which the student immediately refused and continued a menacing tirade of derogatory comments with no provocation. It is obvious that the student is acting out for attention, possibly from his classmates, or from the teacher. Students, in my experience, who lash out for attention do not get it at home, from their parents or siblings. In this case, it is likely that school has tried to intervene, but any intervention must be approved by the parents…if they don’t see any problem, then the student remains the way he is…until he assaults someone (or like this situation, almost assaults someone), then he gets forced intervention.
Point 5: It is highly unlikely that the teachers you described would cause such an overt disrespect for authority. In my experience (which includes dealing with numerous teachers and students on a yearly basis), it is more likely that the young man has a disrespect for women teachers (possibly out of his history with an absentee mother…I’ve seen it happen numerous times).
Point 6: The teachers you described, in my experience, would have been terminated almost immediately. In fact, when I heard that this teacher was supported by her district (suspended with pay is a sign of support…suspended without pay means you’re screwed), I was shocked. Districts in the US are more and more willing to throw a teacher under the bus for less than what you described. The only groups defending teachers like the ones you described are the state and national teachers’ unions (and the NJEA, of which I was a member for a year).
Point 7: Age has nothing to do with a teacher’s ability to cope with adversity in the classroom. At 64, she is demonstrating a love for her job and her students. Being named “teacher of the year” means that she is not an “old fashioned” teacher, it reflects her ability to adapt with the times and with her students. Often, teachers who are older (not the crotchety fogeys that count down till retirement, but those that are excited for each day and only retire because they have to) are better at dealing with adversity in the classroom. Something about “with age comes wisdom”.
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With point 6, Texas teachers are not allowed to unionize so they don’t even have that.