It seems as if Peggy Dean of North Carolina has taken her campaign a little too far by making ignorant remarks. She was referring to a case against a Ms. Rissler of Gans, saying that she was being charged with felony child abuse for beating a child in her custody with an
extension cord, rope, and a cutting board. She stated that Ms. Rissler is no more guilty of child abuse than the teachers whose behavior she was modeling. The teachers' behavior that she is talking about is that of Oklahoma teachers.
It must be easy for someone who doesn't hold a teaching position to be critical of those who do what you won't or can't do. Ms. Dean also stated that Oklahoma teachers who spank children should be charged with child abuse. There is a big difference between "spanking" and "beating." Plus, I don't know of any school using extension cords, ropes, or cutting boards.
It would be nice if every child behaved as they should while at school. But when many teachers have to play mom, dad, caregiver, nurse, disciplinarian, lawyer, and lastly teacher, it becomes extremely difficult to just "teach." Many times teachers are responsible for educating, parenting, nursing, and loving those who sometimes or are often not given any of these. Teachers also have to teach manners and values that the children have not often seen or heard.
Maybe if all children came to school fed, rested, loved, and disciplined, it would make teaching that much easier. Also, the blame should be taken away from the teacher when children are disrespectful and misbehave.
Someone besides the teacher needs to get the blame or take responsibility for how someone else's child behaves at school. In this case, a RN in North Carolina wants to condemn Oklahoma teachers and say that parents or caregivers who beat their children are modeling teachers. Should we then say that children who are unruly and disrespectful are modeling their parents or caregivers?
I know at our school that corporal punishment is a last resort. Ms. Dean makes it sound as if it's the first thing and someone is standing paddle in hand beating children in the office. It sounds like Ms. Dean needs to spend sometime in public schools and experience everything before she
judges others. If Ms. Dean wants to do something; maybe she should fight for stiffer laws against those who actually beat children.
What does she suggest that we do with children who find it OK to beat other children? All too often, bullying results in children picking on or hurting other children. We, as educators, have found that children who are not punished or held responsible for their actions, are the first ones to really hurt someone. Or they grow up and their actions find them to be in the headlines of a local paper.
Our society needs to wake up. We are constantly giving more rights to the guilty and taking rights away from the innocent. Also, many times it is left up to the schools to put all the pieces back together when the innocent have been broken by our society.
DENESSA DUDLEY, ROLAND
