I watched Channel 8's report tonight on the substitute teacher that was beaten by a student in the middle of class and am just sickened by what is going on in our schools. At 5:00, Channel 8 had a report about fights at Seagoville High School that required the use of pepper spray to break up. Guess we had a really bad day in the DISD.

There are several things that really bother me about the Skyline incident. The first is the viciousness in which this young lady attacked the substitute teacher. She can be seen literally grabbing the woman by the hair as the teacher tried to exit the room. Did the teacher mishandle the situation? Who knows. But, even if she did, there is NEVER a justifiable reason for a student to attack a teacher the way she did.

The second thing that really gets to me about this is that NO OTHER STUDENT tried to step in and help this teacher! They were content to just stand by and watch, one of them videoing it on their cell phone. You would think at least someone in that room would have tried to get this student from continuing in her attack, but they didn't.

I just wonder if the depictions of teachers in cartoons, tv shows and movies have something to do with their lack of concern for this teacher. Our children are seemingly programmed to have no respect for teachers from a very young age. Cartoons depict teachers as blumbering old fools to be gotten over on. TV shows and movies treat teachers the same, or even worse. I guess after seeing this for several years, these teenagers feel this way, too.

The last thing, that the Dallas ISD Administration told the reporter that the substitute teacher would not be asked to come back and teach at Skyline High School. This could be interpreted many different ways, but to this viewer, I interpreted it that they believed that this teacher did something very wrong.

Which, really shouldn't surprise me anymore. Seeing as our association had to defend a middle school teacher all the way to a TEA hearing to keep the Dallas ISD from firing her after she was attacked in her classroom by a student much larger than her!

In this instance, the student jumped up and started choking the teacher in front of the class. The teacher grabbed him by his shirt collar, spun them both out of the door and into the lockers. He finally loosened his grip around her throat and other teachers heard her cries for help and came to her aide.

The student said she abused him by putting him into the lockers. The Dallas ISD, in their infinite wisdom, then tried to fire the teacher! Unbelievable!
We did win her case before the TEA hearing examiner, but it never should have gone that far.

This is just one of many cases we've dealt with in the last few years and I'm sure it won't be the last. Just sickening....