Incidents

The other TFA teacher at my school, who taught at the middle school last year, was suspended for 2 days this week because she pulled a hysterically laughing child who was rolling on the floor in her room out into the hallway. The mother wanted to sue for child abuse, which makes me nervous because the sister of the offending boy is in my class, but since the child was not injured in any way, no dice.

The superintendant even admitted that the teacher is a good teacher, with high test scores and very few discipline problems. The problem, it seems, is that she is white. The black teachers at my school can (unofficially) paddle, swat, push, pull, curse, threaten, and pinch. But when you are white, you had better watch yourself.

Another "incident" happened the same week that the TFA teacher pulled T- out of her room. This one was with a black teacher, who actually did hurt the child. And her punishment was almost exactly the same as the punishment for the white teacher who didn't hurt the child at all. The upshot is that behind-closed-doors paddling/pinching/cursing out has now been officially ordered to stop. The principal, they reminded us in two long faculty meetings, is the only one who can paddle (or otherwise injure or insult small children.)