Substitute Gets The Teacher She’s Covering For Fired Because Of The Way The Kids Were Being Treated
The school did not know about the teacher's behavior for weeks.
Andrew Angelov / Shutterstock Teachers are supposed to be role models to their students. Unfortunately, not all educators set a good example for the little minds they are molding.
In one example of this, Katie Walton shared the experience she had as a substitute in a third-grade classroom. It took less than a day for her to figure out that the teacher was not setting a good example for the students and was causing more damage to their emotions and thoughts.
Walton got the teacher she was substituting for fired after discovering how the kids were being treated.
Almost immediately, Walton noticed that something was amiss in the third-grade class. During her first few minutes alone with the students, they asked her to be their teacher.
When half the students brought up that their homework was not finished because neither the kids nor their parents could understand how to do it, Walton brought up the issue to the teacher, who dismissed the anxious students' concerns and instead tried to bad mouth them individually.
“She called these kids lazy to their faces,” Walton claimed. “She pointed out kids to their faces and said they were problem kids.”
What made the situation worse was that three students in the class had learning disabilities, and the teacher was in their faces, telling them they were bad students. Walton added that during a break from an on-site training session, the teacher made her way back to the classroom and in that short period of time made a student cry in shame for having a blank assignment. As the tears were running down his face, the teacher then yelled at him for crying.
Once the kids went to lunch, Walton immediately went to the principal's office to report her findings.
Other users shared their experiences of being traumatized in the classroom.
With over 8 million views, Walton's video resonated with viewers not just out of concern for the kids but also because of their own personal experiences with bad teachers.
In response, Walton made a response video to prove her point that “bad teachers leave scars."
Thankfully, these kids had Walton to advocate for them.
School administrators were equally horrified and agreed that this should never have happened, especially with younger children involved.
If Walton was not there to witness the teacher's behavior it's hard to know if it would have been resolved for the benefit of the children.
Ultimately, the teacher was fired from the job, and the school offered Walton a long-term substitute position with a fifth-grade class at the same school. She was unsure if she would take it, however, because she admitted she was "traumatized" by the experience as well.
Students deserve to be respected by their teachers.
This unfortunate incident harkens back to the childhood lesson of being respectful to others, no matter what age you are. Being in charge of a class of students does not give a teacher the right to be hurtful and cruel and there is a major distinction between running a tight ship as an educator and being abusive.
It's important for parents to talk to young children about their teachers and the school environment. They need to know that their classroom is a safe and happy place where even if they misbehave or fail to do well on an assignment, they will not be ridiculed, or shamed.
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.