Teacher caught on video beating 13 y/o

[Balog]

So, I'm all for corporal punishment in schools. However, this is not reproof administered even-handedly, this is some crazy woman wigging out and thrashing a kid. It's amazing to me a woman with an outstanding criminal warrant was allowed to teach. I've bolded the interesting parts, and do mash the link for the video. I also note this was a charter school, not a normal public school. Yep, glad we'll be home-schooling...


http://www.examiner.com/x-38158-Cultural-Oddities-Examiner~y2010m5d14-Sheri-Lynn-Davis-apologizes-for-attacking-charter-school-student-VIDEO


Houston, Texas charter school teacher Sheri Lynn Davis apologized Friday for beating a 13-year-old student last month.

The incident was caught on video by a student with a cell phone camera and immediately went viral after it made it to YouTube and other hosting sites this week.

Davis was fired Monday from Jamie's House Charter School after officials viewed the video.

The 40-year-old science teacher said she is "very regretful" and is "without excuse" for her role in the altercation.

Witnesses said Davis "snapped" after the boy made fun of another student. The camera rolled as Davis allegedly cornered, grabbed, kicked and punched him.

The boy's mother, Alesha Johnson, filed a civil lawsuit against the school and Davis Thursday.

“By you putting your hands on my child, that’s not punishment. I don’t even beat on my son, so what makes you think you can?” Johnson said at a news conference.

Chip Lewis, Davis' attorney, said there is more to the story than what was captured in the video, however, would not offer details.

Davis also faces criminal mischief charges for allegedly slashing a woman's tires last year.

Johnson said her son suffered a black eye and nursed knots on his head for a week after the alleged attack.

School officials and police interviewed several students who said there were four or five other adults in the classroom when Davis allegedly grabbed, threw, punched and kicked the boy. Some students claimed at least one teacher threatened them if the video ever went public.


Davis, who was not a certified teacher, was placed on administrative leave immediately following the incident.

In Texas, only special education and bi-lingual teachers must be certified to teach in charter schools.

It was later learned Davis was wanted on criminal mischief warrant when the video found its way to YouTube and other hosting sites.

It is unclear whether Davis will face charges for allegedly beating the boy. Harris County officials said Thursday Davis will be prosecuted on the outstanding warrant while state's attorneys review the video and incident report.

Damages sought in the lawsuit are not known.

[Silver Bullet]

don’t even beat on my son, so what makes you think you can?” Johnson said at a news conference.

Excellent, Mother Johnson !

Sue them !  I'm sick of schools who don't protect their students from bullying and from abusive teachers.  Why does no one hold the principals responsible ?

[Ned Hamford]

The 'teacher' is wearing jeans with a metal studded belt...  I'd expect very little in the way of professionalism. 

[HankB]

There was an outstanding warrant for Davis, and there's video of her beating a child . . . so why isn't she sitting in a cell right now? 

[zxcvbob]

I'm wondering at what point another student would have been justified in coming to aid of the student that was getting beat?  (by "come to aid" I pretty much mean beaning the teacher with a chair)

[gunsmith]

IDK, the science teacher seems like a nice lady, I'm willing to bet the baggysaggy pants wearing teen boy is used to picking on girls and finally got his comeuppance.

I had to stab a bully when I was 13, fortunately there was no zero tolerance when I was a kid, the teachers told him he was asking for it.

I read a report that everyone was cheering, students and teachers. No one came to his aid.
To me that indicates he may have been asking for it, I say, just suspend the teacher for 2 weeks without pay and let the dust settle.

 

[dm1333]

I read a report that everyone was cheering, students and teachers. No one came to his aid.
To me that indicates he may have been asking for it, I say, just suspend the teacher for 2 weeks without pay and let the dust settle.

Whether they were cheering or not, and whether the kid had been "asking for it" or not that teachers behavior was totally wrong.  I'm working on a masters in education and that kind of classroom management and discipline was never covered in any of my courses!

[BlueStarLizzard]

the thing i learned from "snapping" and wailing on my bully/tormentors:

unless someone gets really hurt, the person who snapped gets more ridicule then the one attacked gets aknowledge as to have deserved it.

there are better ways. teacher behaved like an idiot.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

yea if the kid deserved the beating do it in private no witnesses  no marks  make a difference in a young persons life.
apropos of nothin a middle school in pg county md in the 70's was 1/2 block from giant food.  giant locked the doors in the morning and afternoon when buses were loading and unloading to keep the animals from grazing. one shop class was a particularly disruptive group of boys with one kid the obvious ringleader.  he got invited into the tool cage for a conference with the teacher and found god.  that whole class calmed down faster than iv thorazine woulda done.  stayed like that all year.

a teacher should never look or act angry when beating a child.  it should happen the way the jesuit brothers did it.  no change in facial expression or voice just a bolt of lightening knocking you down.  we called it "the hand of god"  and each one had a best punch. many favored a backhand but there was one right cross that stays with me today.  and he made my awareness and defense against a right cross one of my best defensive moves.

[Hawkmoon]

How predictable. Woman goes postal, nothing said until video hits the Internet, then she apologizes.

In other words, she is not sorry for what she did, she is sorry it wasn't swept under the rug.

[BlueStarLizzard]

yea if the kid deserved the beating do it in private no witnesses  no marks  make a difference in a young persons life.
apropos of nothin a middle school in pg county md in the 70's was 1/2 block from giant food.  giant locked the doors in the morning and afternoon when buses were loading and unloading to keep the animals from grazing. one shop class was a particularly disruptive group of boys with one kid the obvious ringleader.  he got invited into the tool cage for a conference with the teacher and found god.  that whole class calmed down faster than iv thorazine woulda done.  stayed like that all year.

a teacher should never look or act angry when beating a child.  it should happen the way the jesuit brothers did it.  no change in facial expression or voice just a bolt of lightening knocking you down.  we called it "the hand of god"  and each one had a best punch. many favored a backhand but there was one right cross that stays with me today.  and he made my awareness and defense against a right cross one of my best defensive moves.

exactly, bullies are geared towards getting an emotional responce. getting someone to snap like that is the holy grail of bullidom. if you want to repremand them (physically or not) you got to keep your cool.

[MicroBalrog]

Even if we assume the kid did something bad, it's not part of the job description of teachers to physically assault their students.

Even if we somehow assumed corporal punishment is okay (I disagree), this is not corporal punishment, this is just a violent woman committing an act of violence.

She should at the very best never teach again.

[gunsmith]

actually I'm totally against corporal punishment but feel we should not get
real upset when a teen punk gets what they might have been asking for.

to many younger teens never feel the wrath they incur and when they get into
the real world are totally unprepared for the consequences.

[griz]

There was an outstanding warrant for Davis, and there's video of her beating a child . . . so why isn't she sitting in a cell right now? 

Exactly.  She not only beat a kid, she beat a kid when she was acting as his gaurdian.  Seems I've heard that is illegal, even if the kid was in the wrong too.