Possible mistreatment by a teacher

[caribbeanmama]

Hello parents!

I have not been active here in ages, but I decided to write this post because I have been tormented by a comment my 9 year old son made at dinner time this evening. I am hoping you would give me some feedback and advice.

My son, who is in the fourth grade, all of a sudden said to me at dinnertime that there is a teacher at school who should not be a teacher. When I asked who, he replied that Mr. X should not be a teacher because he pulled a child by the back of his collar when he was taking the kids to specials. Now, the child that he apparently pulled by the collar could be anywhere between 3 and 5/6 years of age since Mr. X's class is a multi-age Montessori class that is part of our elementary school.

My son said that during lunch, he and his friend witnessed the teacher pull the kid by the back of his collar (actually, son said the kid was wearing a t-shirt and showed me how the teacher pulled on the kid in the line). I asked if the kid was misbehaving or running in the line, but son said no.

We have been part of this school since 2008 and have come to know a vast majority of the teachers/staff. Mr. X has always struck me as a teacher who does not enjoy his job and he does not seem warm, which is troublesome to me as he teaches the youngest students in the school. Another teacher confided in me a few months ago that if she had a child in the Montessori program herself, she would not place him/her in his class. NOT a comforting remark coming from a colleague.

I would like to add that my son would never make up such a story. He said he and his friend (who is also very honest) did not like what they saw and thought that it seemed wrong for a teacher to do that.

I believe my son 100% and am thinking of that little boy the teacher allegedly pulled by the back of his t-shirt today. OTOH, I completely do not know what to do with this information.

Thank you so much for reading this.

[HannaAddict]

Make an appointment with the headmaster tomorrow and let him know. Stress you do not want your child identified to the teacher or confronted, this is not a criminal case, but you thought he should know. This is assuming you have an administration you trust. I'm sorry.

When I was a child my mom was picking up a friend's child from a Montessori school and the teacher at recess was having a complete breakdown, screaming at the kids, freaking out. My mom called the school later and asked to talk to the head, explained what she saw and how concerned she was, and after a long pause, the woman admitted it was actually her. She apologized and seemed sincere, my mom told her friend about it and she kept her daughter there. It was a wrinkle my mom did lot anticipate! Hope this teacher isn't in an authority position.

[AngB]

Make an appointment with the headmaster tomorrow and let him know. Stress you do not want your child identified to the teacher or confronted, this is not a criminal case, but you thought he should know. This is assuming you have an administration you trust. I'm sorry.

:yeahthat:

I worked in daycare with someone who should not have been working with small kids. She got angry/frustrated easily and I hated having her in my room with 2 year olds. (She would get in kid's faces and yell at them, completely inappropriate.) Multiple people told our director about her and she was bad enough that they never put her in a room or let her be alone with kids (and she had had a background check and appropriate training). Eventually something bad enough happened for her to get fired, it is a huge shame that it took something relatively bad (though no child was physically injured, thank goodness) for them to terminate her...they were just really paranoid about getting sued for wrongful termination, etc. I think. Definitely tell them. It sounds like they already know. But complaints from parents make a huge difference vs. complaints from other teachers/caregivers-they can argue that the coworkers just may not like the person or something dumb like that. (I think in our case a few parent complaints instead of just caregiver complaints would have made a huge difference. But parents were rarely around when she was since they used her to float between rooms to fill in for breaks and lunches and emergencies.)

[poppy]

Sorry your son had to see that kind of abuse. Really shocking.
Where are they getting these teachers from?! I've had amazing teachers and some bad, but no one has ever laid a hand on me or my kids.

I would speak with the headmaster and write an email or letter as well letting them know. Stories like this make me wonder. Pls go to the school board if no one listens, write and email at the highest level.
This is so terrible. I thought taking recess away from children was bad...this is unspeakable.