Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman
Posted by yeah right on 6/21/08

Maybe you shouldn't vilify those 'no spank' people either.
Nonsense. Since you know so much...what possibly could be some
hidden agenda from people who want to get rid of beating children
in public schools? What-- the government should sanction
spanking??! No thank you. If a parent wants to spank a 2 year
old, that's their business. But it is not the government's
business to do so. I pay tax dollars for condoning an government
employed adult hitting a child wiht a wooden paddle.. Heck No.

On 6/18/08, UofCJD wrote:
> After reading the posts on this topic and then reading the
article, it is clear to me
> that only one side of the story is being told, and many facts
are being ignored or
> changed in such a way to vilify Mrs. Coleman.
> We need to be careful about always trusting what students tell
their parents about
> the way they are being punished. When children are angry, when
they want to
> misdirect parents off their own misbehavior, they exaggerate
stories. I did it as a
> child, and I'm sure many of you did as well. Indeed, let us not
forget that the Salem
> Witch Hunts were sparked by the exaggerated, trumped up
accusations of children.
> Once accusations are made they can then be fueled by parents who
refuse to take
> responsibility for the actions of their children and want to
pass the blame for their
> own poor parenting onto the public school system. These
accusations are then
> picked up by a media that exaggerates and recasts the stories to
sell papers and
> attract viewers. Exploitive interests groups (like these no-
spank folks) steal the
> stories and use them to further their own political agendas.
And all this without any
> research into the facts or consideration for both sides of the
story.
>
> Lets look at some of the issues raised by the other side:
> On the Bathroom:
> (1) The girls used mops and brushes to clean the bathroom. The
story is
> corroborated by the two janitors who supervised the clean-up (of
course, I'll be the
> first to admit that they janitors may be lying, but its best to
consider both stories
> before jumping to conclusions)
> (2) The girls were made to clean the bathroom for clogging and
overflowing the
> toilets (intentionally? accidently? We don't know for sure yet)
> If we take the set of facts presented by the administration and
the janitors, the
> consequences seem to flow naturally from the act - when you make
a mess, you
> need to clean-up after yourself.
> Certainly, we should not disregard the children's story, but
neither should we
> disregard the administration's story. The posts on this message
board seem to take
> the children's story as the undeniable word of God, and in doing
so risk demonizing
> a principal that was acting reasonably and with the best
interests of the school and
> the moral education of the children in mind.
>
> On "Running" up the stairs:
> (1) The students did NOT run up the stairs, they WALKED. (There
are unsupported
> claims that they may have run up the stairs when the discipline
first began, but
> certainly most of the time the punishment was used, students
WALKED.)
> (2) 6th Graders were the only students disciplined in this way.
> (3) The discipline occurred during PE time, a time when students
are supposed to be
> exercising. The rest of the class was exercising, they simply
were allowed to do it a
> way that would be considered fun.
> (4) Parents were informed about the discipline.
> (5) Parents were allowed to opt-out of the system.
> (6) Only 4 parents choose to opt-out of the system.
>
>
>
> Certainly the 'truth' is probably a shade of grey between these
two stories.
> But, do we really want to jump to the sort of conclusions
as "Get Tort Attorneys" and
> damage the careers and reputations of hard-working teachers and
administrators
> without really exploring the facts and considering both sides of
the issue? Besides,
> who are tort attorney's really going to help? Certainly
themselves. Possibly the
> pockets books of the parents. But who will they harm? The
school district itself,
> when the parents join them to the claim and go after their
pocket-book, which is
> certainly deeper than the teachers (and it will probably be the
district that has to pay
> because: (1) attorneys will go after the district because it has
more money, and (2)
> respondeat superior - especially if the board tacitly consented
to the discipline).
> Thus, the tort attorneys would really just be taking money from
the community.
>
> I implore you all to rise above the catch-phrases and
exaggerations of the media,
> parents, and students, read the article and try to make a fair
assessment of the
> situation. Please do not jump to the ill-considered,
unreflective conclusions of "Get
> Tort Attorneys" and "Fox".
>
> On 4/03/08, Get Tort Attorneys wrote:
>> I hope someone helps these kids/families. They need to
>> consider getting tort attorneys involved. If they are special
>> education students-- there are other federal statutes too that
>> would be considered.
>>
>>
>> On 4/03/08, Can you post the link wrote:
>>> This is happening in many places. It needs to be exposed..
>>> Send it to national media....
>>>
>>> martha@foxnews.com
>>> show.livedesk@foxnews.com
>>> yourcomments@foxnews.com
>>>
>>> They are covering a lot of education issues lately.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 3/09/08, Fox wrote:
>>>> Children are being abused in Shirley Elementary School and
>>>> it is in the Arkansas Times newspaper. Kids were first
>>>> forced to run stairs outside the building for nearly an
>>>> hour with out their parents being notified. These kids
>>>> were punished i this way for losing conduct points of 10
>>>> points or more. Conduct points were for talking out of
>>>> turn or chewing gum or not turning in complete work.
>>> Even
>>>> worse than this a young girl was made to clean the
>>>> bathrooms twice a day for a few days with a tooth brush
>>> and
>>>> it was only found out when the child was taken to the Dr
>>>> for medical treatment. The school says it didnt happen
>>>> but we know it did. In the Arkansas Times the Principal
>>>> and Superintendent admit to having kids clean bathrooms.
>>>>
>>>> Discipline is one thing and abuse is another.
>

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 3/09/08, by Fox.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 3/09/08, by Jane.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary, 3/23/08, by Jordan Riak.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/03/08, by Can you post the link.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/03/08, by Get Tort Attorneys.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/03/08, by Mr. B.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/03/08, by Well Mr. B.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/04/08, by Mr.B.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/04/08, by Mr.B.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/22/08, by Tarryn.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 4/22/08, by Tarryn.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 6/18/08, by UofCJD.
• Re: Abuse in Shirley Elementary by Cindy Coleman, 6/21/08, by yeah right.