Teacher Washes Child?s Mouth With Soap; Suspended
Chalonda Roberts (Rochester, NY) 06/09/04 - A Rochester school teacher was suspended with pay after she allegedly washed out a third grade student's mouth with soap.
The student's guardian wants the teacher fired.
A school nurse reported teacher Lori Thomas for violating district policy. Thomas said the district's reaction to her disciplinary action is unfair.
She said that when a student used vulgar language with a classmate, she took him to the nurse's office to discipline him--so he would not be embarrassed in front of the whole class.
Thomas said, "I put a drop of soap on his lip and washed it away immediately. I know he didn't even taste the soap, and I told him I did not want to hear filth coming out of his mouth again."
Thomas has been picketing in front of district offices for three days to get support from the community and from parents. She also wants to send a message to the district that she wants her job back. According to policy, Thomas was supposed to suspend the student.
The district said her actions could have endangered the child.
Thomas said, "Even though I have parent support and the district knows the parents support me, I was supposed to suspend that child and put him out on the street."
Thomas does not, however, have support from the guardian of the child in question.
Rosemary Warren, the student's guardian, said "Do you think she should keep her job or not? No, not if she's got to do that. If she does that to mine, she'll do it to somebody else's child."
Thomas said she's a strict disciplinarian, but she's well-liked by parents and students and she has dozens of signatures on a petition, as well as letters from her students.
She said for now, if she can't teach from the classroom she'll teach by example.
District officials are still investigating the incident.
Thomas will meet with the Rochester Teachers Association lawyer sometime this week.
Chalonda Roberts (Rochester, NY) 06/09/04 - A Rochester school teacher was suspended with pay after she allegedly washed out a third grade student's mouth with soap.
The student's guardian wants the teacher fired.
A school nurse reported teacher Lori Thomas for violating district policy. Thomas said the district's reaction to her disciplinary action is unfair.
She said that when a student used vulgar language with a classmate, she took him to the nurse's office to discipline him--so he would not be embarrassed in front of the whole class.
Thomas said, "I put a drop of soap on his lip and washed it away immediately. I know he didn't even taste the soap, and I told him I did not want to hear filth coming out of his mouth again."
Thomas has been picketing in front of district offices for three days to get support from the community and from parents. She also wants to send a message to the district that she wants her job back. According to policy, Thomas was supposed to suspend the student.
The district said her actions could have endangered the child.
Thomas said, "Even though I have parent support and the district knows the parents support me, I was supposed to suspend that child and put him out on the street."
Thomas does not, however, have support from the guardian of the child in question.
Rosemary Warren, the student's guardian, said "Do you think she should keep her job or not? No, not if she's got to do that. If she does that to mine, she'll do it to somebody else's child."
Thomas said she's a strict disciplinarian, but she's well-liked by parents and students and she has dozens of signatures on a petition, as well as letters from her students.
She said for now, if she can't teach from the classroom she'll teach by example.
District officials are still investigating the incident.
Thomas will meet with the Rochester Teachers Association lawyer sometime this week.
