Brickbat: Do You Believe Me Now?

Since August, a teacher at Atlanta's Harper Archer Middle School has complained to her superiors about a behavior specialist and a para pro working in a special needs classroom. She told them the two were disrespectful and rough with the children, but no one believed her. So she set up a hidden camera in the classroom. The video she recorded shows Alger Coleman and Keisha Smith, beating and berating students. Coleman has been charged with battery and cruelty to a child. Smith has not been charged with a crime, but she faces a disciplinary hearing.

Comments

[Old Man With Candy]

The union will no doubt defend these folks.

[antisocial-ist]

They may try, but public sector unions have almost no power in Georgia. We've got entire counties run by charter schools, and a pretty good voucher system.

[Cdr Lytton]

But what about the teacher? What punishment will she face? Some sort of voyeur crime or maybe failing to report child abuse?

[Snark Plissken]

Felony wiretapping, which they may graciously drop down to disorderly conduct.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Violating the privacy of the others?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. They can't allow someone to get away with doing the right thing.

[wareagle]

Ironic, isn't it? Surreptitiously tape your sugar daddy saying stupid things and he's banned from the NBA. Tape people actually mistreating children and you're the one more likely to face consequences.

[Snark Plissken]

Follow the money.

[Bean Counter]

NO, follow the outrage whores.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Never ceases to amaze me how it's never 'for the children' when it matters and counts most.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

You mean when it's actually for actual children?

[Bean Counter]

OH, GOOD ONE!

[Ted S.]

What the hell ever happened to the term "teacher's aide"?

My mom was a teacher's aide, and the local union and district insisted on calling the aides "paraprofessionals" too. I never could get anybody to tell me the difference between a paraprofessional and a paraamateur.

Perhaps even worse is that in the propaganda material the state and national unions put out, they referred to such people as "SRPs", or "school-related personnel". It comes across to me as a variation on Newspeak, deliberately trying to obscure the meaning by jargon known only to the insiders.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Oh, I thought "para pro" meant he was in a wheelchair.

[Rich]

I never could get anybody to tell me the difference between a paraprofessional and a paraamateur.

Oh, that's easy, Ted: A "para pro" is a "para con".

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Raymond Srp was a National Guard officer at Kent State.

[Dr No]

'Partly professional'. So you can't say they failed to meet the standard with an occasional beating or two.

[Will4Freedom]

Is there a statute of limitation on berating a child? I wonder if Sister Mary Sadist is still alive?

[Rich]

"SHUT UP!!"

[waffles]

+1 ruler rapping knuckles

[wareagle]

the NBA forces out an owner who is secretly taped saying stupid things. A teacher tapes people doing criminal things to kids and SHE's being disciplined. Orwell lives.

[The Late P Brooks]

Them kids was asking for it.

[Bones]

What are you guys talking about? Can someone show me where the teacher that reported the two assholes is getting disciplined? The school finally listened once she showed them the secret recording.

[Jerryskids]

The teacher who recorded and reported the two isn't mentioned as facing disciplinary action for her uncovering the problem - but if you've visited this site more than twice, you know that's the expected outcome.

Recent news items here include the kid who taped himself being bullied while the teacher did nothing and was arrested for the taping, the school that sent home the circular on how to deal with bullies that included the instructions not to tell on the bullies and to try to understand that the bullies are trying to help you, and the argument in court that the government should be free to fire whistleblowers who testify against their co-workers. So when you see a news item like this, you learn to anticipate the punchline.

It's like hearing that the cops found the body of a child drowned in the pond, went out to the childs home to notify the parents that their child was dead, and were met at the front door by the childs pet poodle yapping at them. What's going to happen next? We all know if the story is here it's because we all know what's going to happen next.

[Jerryskids]

Speaking of what's expected of this story, from the local news comes this copypasta:

The Director of Parent to Parent of Georgia, an advocate for families of children with disabilities, said schools need to provide more training for teacher's aids and para-professionals. "Unfortunately that's so much that's been cut with budget cuts in the educational system," said Debi Tucker. "The first thing to go is teacher training and on-going training for para-professionals, and that is critical."

See, we all know who's really to blame here. It's you and your damn opposition to paying more taxes. The schools can't even afford to send their teachers to a three-day "Why Abusing Children Is Unprofessional Behavior Even If It Doesn't Actually Say In The Employee Handbook Not To Abuse Children" seminar. I shudder to think that they may not have had the money to send the teachers to the "Don't Rape The Children", the "Don't Cook And Eat The Children", and the "Don't Use The Children For Sighting-In-Your-New-Deer-Rifle Targets" seminars.

[RishJoMo]

Dude tat makes no sense at all man, I mean like none.

http://www.GoGoAnon.tk

[Mr. Soul]

No charges yet on the woman but the man is charged. If I were an outrage whore, I'd be outraged.