On October 7, 2008 Principal P. told me that I was accused of verbal and physical abuse related to something that happened on September 11 (See posts Feb 22 Bathroom Emergencies and Feb 28 Bladder Problems” ). However, I knew trouble was coming long before that. What tipped me off? The kids, of course.
During the weeks that followed September 11, Boris of class 7H would stop by the classroom every chance he got, stick his head in the door and yell out, “We’re going to MISS you!!!!”
Then, on Sept. 24 I was absent. When I came back the following day, Samuel of 7H said to me, “I thought you’d been fired”. “Why did you think that?” I asked. “Some of the kids said you’d been fired because you wouldn’t let Domingo go to the bathroom.” He replied. “Samuel, what’s my rule about emergencies?” I asked. “That you can just leave without a pass,” He replied.
When I met with 7H that day, I told them that I had heard that they were still a little confused about my bathroom policy with regard to emergencies. I gave them paper, and asked them to write down the rule that we had discussed during the first week of school.
That’s how I got approximately twenty statements. Here are some examples:
“Ms. Moriah’s rule if you have a bathroom emergency is to get up say emergency and go.”
“You get up and go to the bathroom”
“Ms. Moriah’s rule is that you have an emergency you just leave the room cause if it is an emergency there is no time for her to right a pass. “
“Go without a pass”
“You can run to the bathroom without a pass”
“ Ms. Moriah’s rule for bathroom is if it is an emergency you run to the bathroom without a pass.”
One student wrote a little more:
“I heard a roomer about Ms. Moriah was getting fired today and yesterday and a day 911 because half of are class made a complent to Mr. B. so half of are class worte a letter to some body about Ms. Moriah about the bathroom roomers some people said Ms. Moriah suck, mean, crazy.”
Fourteen days later I got to read the "complents". Prepared as I was, they really upset me. They complained that I had refused to give passes and had ridiculed the boys while they were out of the class, saying they had bladder problems. These statements were totally false. Why would they do this? I barely knew these kids. They had no reason to dislike me. On the contrary, I had thought we had gotten off to a very good start.
Twenty-six days after the incident, I tried to figure out where they had gotten the stuff they wrote about me.
I always start the school year by saying, “If you have an emergency—just go! But don’t abuse the privilege. If you do, I’ll call your parents.
I have had that rule since my first year of teaching. We were not supposed to give passes during the first and last ten minutes of class. A girl asked to go to the bathroom when she came into my class. I told her to wait, but she couldn’t. She started back to her seat, and then vomited all over the floor. I wasn’t brought up on charges, but I felt terrible for her.
Then, many years later, a similar thing happened to a colleague of mine, Adila. She was brought up on charges because a student had an accident on the way to the bathroom. She was later sent to the rubber room. But she was much more innocent than I had been. The student couldn’t make it because the bathrooms were locked, not because she had denied him a pass. (See June 22, 2008 “Blowing the Whistle”).
In spite of what happened to Adila, administrators continued to give out the same rules about bathroom passes at the beginning of every school year. This year, I raised my hand and pointed out the dangers of following these rules, and I received a disciplinary letter for doing so. (See “Bathroom Emergencies” Feb 22).
During 8th period on September 11 three boys left the room at the same time claiming they had emergencies. They stayed out of class for a long time. I checked the section sheet and noticed that they had lunch 6th period every day, so I had reason to suspect they were testing the parameters of my rules. I decided to call their parents.
Now this was the very beginning of the school year, so I was extremely diplomatic. I introduced myself as the boy’s science teacher, and then I informed each parent that his or her son had had a bathroom emergency 8th period, and was gone for quite a long time. He wasn’t in trouble. On the contrary, he seemed like a very nice boy. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t ill.
As I say, I knew there was going to be trouble regarding bathroom passes, but I wasn’t prepared for the statements. They were so well-organized, so consistent, and yet so false. It broke my heart. I was never able to look at those kids the same way again. As I spoke to them I couldn’t help wondering if 30 days later I would be reading some twisted version of what I was saying at that moment.
Showing posts with label Verbal and Physical Abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Verbal and Physical Abuse. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bathroom Emergencies
FLASHBACK TO
Sept. 17, 2008
Mr. Zippo:
This letter is in reply to your letter dated September 12, 2008 which was given to me today, September, 17 2008.
On Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM, you met with me and my union representative, Mr. Clyde Baker, in your office, room 304, to discuss my actions and behavior; your actions and behavior; and the actions and behavior of Principal P during the opening week staff organizational meeting on Friday, August 29, 2008.
During our conversation you showed me a Power Point handout presented and distributed at the aforementioned meeting. You attached a copy of the Power Point handout to your letter. I have numbered each Power Point slide from 1 to 17 for easier reference.
You state in your letter that “We agreed that you had asked several questions and made comments regarding the student bathroom policy and Chancellor’s Regulations regarding Corporal Punishment and Verbal Abuse.
This is a false statement.
When you reached slide number 10, “Hallway/Bathroom Passes”, Mr. Clyde Baker raised his hand and asked a question. He asked if the bathrooms would be locked during passing. You replied that they would be locked. I then raised my hand. You called on me by name, giving me permission to speak. I commented that several years ago a child had soiled himself because he had not been able to reach a bathroom because the bathrooms were all locked during passing, and during the first and last ten minutes of each period. A teacher had been blamed for the incident, had been brought up on charges, and had been removed from the school. My question was: How can I avoid being brought up on charges, like my colleague, Adila Hassan? The rules remain the same. The bathrooms are locked at certain times, and we are being asked to limit the use of passes. I am not a mind-reader, and don’t know if a child has an emergency unless he or she tells me; I also don’t know if it is a real emergency. If it truly is a real emergency, then the child might not have time to wait for a pass to be written out. It has been my policy, after Ms. Hassan was brought up on charges, to allow children who say that they have an emergency to leave the classroom without a pass. You agreed that this might be necessary, and I was satisfied that I had permission to continue with this policy, and said nothing further about Ms. Hassan or bathroom passes.
There was a total of two questions asked about bathroom and hall passes: One from Mr. Baker, and one from me. The total question and answer time regarding bathroom passes was less than five minutes.
After my comment about Ms. Hassan’s case, you appeared agitated. You said that there was very little time left and there should be no more questions or comments during the meeting. All questions and comments should be made in private and not in the public forum of the faculty meeting.
I had no more questions until you reached slide 15, “Verbal Abuse”, Chancellors Regulations A-421.”
You read from the behaviors which could cause a teacher to be reported immediately online to the Office of Special Investigations.
1. Language that tends to cause fear or physical or mental distress.
2. Language that includes words denoting racial, ethnic, religious, gender, disability, or sexual orientation which tends to cause fear or physical or mental distress.
3. Language that tends to threaten physical harm.
4. Language that tends to belittle or subject students to ridicule.
I raised my hand. You and Principal P repeated that you did not have time for teachers to ask questions. I asked: Are you sure that we do not have time to discuss questions about a regulation that could end a teacher’s career?
Principal P came over to me and told me to stop talking immediately. I said nothing more to you or to her until our meeting of Sept. 11, 2008.
The total of time in which you allowed questions from teachers during the faculty meeting was less than five minutes.
You say that I asked questions about Verbal abuse. What were they? You never heard them. You never allowed me to ask them, and I did not bother to ask them in a private meeting, because these are questions that should be addressed in public, not in private. Chancellor’s Regulations on Corporal Punishment, and Verbal Abuse can result in the destruction of a teacher’s career. If anyone has questions, they should be heard. Time should be allowed for questions, comments, and discussion during staff meetings on serious issues such as these.
In your letter, you state: “…therefore you continued to ask questions and make comments at the meeting after repeated requests to refrain.”
This is a false statement.
You and Principal P appeared very agitated when I referred to Ms. Hassan’s case. Perhaps it seemed to you that the exchange was longer than it really was. However, my questions and comments about bathroom passes were made with your permission, and were short and to the point. What is more, as Mr. Baker stated in our meeting, all teachers need to understand how to operate within your rules so as not to cause harm to children and/or lose their jobs. The only other question that I asked was: Are you sure that we do not have time to ask questions about a Regulation that can cause a teacher to be dismissed?
I asked no further questions because I was ordered to stop speaking by you and by Principal P.
You stated: “I reminded you that despite repeated directives from the administration, you continued to interrupt the meeting and call out.”
This is a false statement.
I asked one question with permission, and you gave me an answer that satisfied that question.
I called out one other question: Are sure that we do not have time to address a Regulation that could end a teacher’s career?
You state in your letter that you asked me why I had continued to interrupt the meeting and call out.
Your question was based on a false premise. I had not continued to interrupt the meeting and call out. There were no questions before slide 10. There was a short question and answer session after slide 10—totaling less than 5 minutes. And there was one question after slide 15 “Are you sure we don’t have time for questions about a regulation that can end a teacher’s career”?
There was no continued calling out. There was no continued interruptions. These are false statements.
You state that “your behavior at the meeting on August 29, 2008, constituted insubordination when you disobeyed the administration’s repeated direction to hold additional comments for a later time, and disrupted the meeting by repetitively calling out.”
This is a false statement.
My questions about bathroom policy were concise and to the point. There was no repetition. They were made with permission.
My question: Are you sure that there is not enough time for questions?” was not repetitive, was not disruptive, was not insubordinate, was not disobedient.
On the contrary, your refusal to allow time for appropriate questions and comments from staff during a staff meeting shows that the administration of I.S. 666 insists on one-way, top-down communication, and does not welcome, but in fact punishes questions, comments and feedback from teachers and other staff members.
Moriah Untamed September 17, 2008
Sept. 17, 2008
Mr. Zippo:
This letter is in reply to your letter dated September 12, 2008 which was given to me today, September, 17 2008.
On Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM, you met with me and my union representative, Mr. Clyde Baker, in your office, room 304, to discuss my actions and behavior; your actions and behavior; and the actions and behavior of Principal P during the opening week staff organizational meeting on Friday, August 29, 2008.
During our conversation you showed me a Power Point handout presented and distributed at the aforementioned meeting. You attached a copy of the Power Point handout to your letter. I have numbered each Power Point slide from 1 to 17 for easier reference.
You state in your letter that “We agreed that you had asked several questions and made comments regarding the student bathroom policy and Chancellor’s Regulations regarding Corporal Punishment and Verbal Abuse.
This is a false statement.
When you reached slide number 10, “Hallway/Bathroom Passes”, Mr. Clyde Baker raised his hand and asked a question. He asked if the bathrooms would be locked during passing. You replied that they would be locked. I then raised my hand. You called on me by name, giving me permission to speak. I commented that several years ago a child had soiled himself because he had not been able to reach a bathroom because the bathrooms were all locked during passing, and during the first and last ten minutes of each period. A teacher had been blamed for the incident, had been brought up on charges, and had been removed from the school. My question was: How can I avoid being brought up on charges, like my colleague, Adila Hassan? The rules remain the same. The bathrooms are locked at certain times, and we are being asked to limit the use of passes. I am not a mind-reader, and don’t know if a child has an emergency unless he or she tells me; I also don’t know if it is a real emergency. If it truly is a real emergency, then the child might not have time to wait for a pass to be written out. It has been my policy, after Ms. Hassan was brought up on charges, to allow children who say that they have an emergency to leave the classroom without a pass. You agreed that this might be necessary, and I was satisfied that I had permission to continue with this policy, and said nothing further about Ms. Hassan or bathroom passes.
There was a total of two questions asked about bathroom and hall passes: One from Mr. Baker, and one from me. The total question and answer time regarding bathroom passes was less than five minutes.
After my comment about Ms. Hassan’s case, you appeared agitated. You said that there was very little time left and there should be no more questions or comments during the meeting. All questions and comments should be made in private and not in the public forum of the faculty meeting.
I had no more questions until you reached slide 15, “Verbal Abuse”, Chancellors Regulations A-421.”
You read from the behaviors which could cause a teacher to be reported immediately online to the Office of Special Investigations.
1. Language that tends to cause fear or physical or mental distress.
2. Language that includes words denoting racial, ethnic, religious, gender, disability, or sexual orientation which tends to cause fear or physical or mental distress.
3. Language that tends to threaten physical harm.
4. Language that tends to belittle or subject students to ridicule.
I raised my hand. You and Principal P repeated that you did not have time for teachers to ask questions. I asked: Are you sure that we do not have time to discuss questions about a regulation that could end a teacher’s career?
Principal P came over to me and told me to stop talking immediately. I said nothing more to you or to her until our meeting of Sept. 11, 2008.
The total of time in which you allowed questions from teachers during the faculty meeting was less than five minutes.
You say that I asked questions about Verbal abuse. What were they? You never heard them. You never allowed me to ask them, and I did not bother to ask them in a private meeting, because these are questions that should be addressed in public, not in private. Chancellor’s Regulations on Corporal Punishment, and Verbal Abuse can result in the destruction of a teacher’s career. If anyone has questions, they should be heard. Time should be allowed for questions, comments, and discussion during staff meetings on serious issues such as these.
In your letter, you state: “…therefore you continued to ask questions and make comments at the meeting after repeated requests to refrain.”
This is a false statement.
You and Principal P appeared very agitated when I referred to Ms. Hassan’s case. Perhaps it seemed to you that the exchange was longer than it really was. However, my questions and comments about bathroom passes were made with your permission, and were short and to the point. What is more, as Mr. Baker stated in our meeting, all teachers need to understand how to operate within your rules so as not to cause harm to children and/or lose their jobs. The only other question that I asked was: Are you sure that we do not have time to ask questions about a Regulation that can cause a teacher to be dismissed?
I asked no further questions because I was ordered to stop speaking by you and by Principal P.
You stated: “I reminded you that despite repeated directives from the administration, you continued to interrupt the meeting and call out.”
This is a false statement.
I asked one question with permission, and you gave me an answer that satisfied that question.
I called out one other question: Are sure that we do not have time to address a Regulation that could end a teacher’s career?
You state in your letter that you asked me why I had continued to interrupt the meeting and call out.
Your question was based on a false premise. I had not continued to interrupt the meeting and call out. There were no questions before slide 10. There was a short question and answer session after slide 10—totaling less than 5 minutes. And there was one question after slide 15 “Are you sure we don’t have time for questions about a regulation that can end a teacher’s career”?
There was no continued calling out. There was no continued interruptions. These are false statements.
You state that “your behavior at the meeting on August 29, 2008, constituted insubordination when you disobeyed the administration’s repeated direction to hold additional comments for a later time, and disrupted the meeting by repetitively calling out.”
This is a false statement.
My questions about bathroom policy were concise and to the point. There was no repetition. They were made with permission.
My question: Are you sure that there is not enough time for questions?” was not repetitive, was not disruptive, was not insubordinate, was not disobedient.
On the contrary, your refusal to allow time for appropriate questions and comments from staff during a staff meeting shows that the administration of I.S. 666 insists on one-way, top-down communication, and does not welcome, but in fact punishes questions, comments and feedback from teachers and other staff members.
Moriah Untamed September 17, 2008
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