abc13.com: News from KTRK, around Houston and southeast Texas — More school abuse stories. Incredible!
A Katy ISD teacher is in trouble for how she punished some of her students. She’s accused of taping some of their mouths with Scotch tape.
“My personal children go to that school, and it’s been hard to watch as a mom,” said Jennifer Silva, the teacher suspended in the taping incident.
The alleged incident happened February 2. Silva, who was struggling to control her class at Alexander Elementary School, reportedly told the students that if they didn’t pipe down, she would tape their mouths shut. Gina Lovett’s daughter witnessed it all.
“After a few more minutes after chatting, Ms. Silva just grabbed the tape off the desk,” said Lovett.
Every parent should have to spend a day or part of a day with their child’s class, ALONE.
Scotch tape on a child’s mouth is about the easiest reprimand any child can experience. If it had been only one child picked out of a group, that would be different but since it seemed to be an equal opportunity mouth taping, what’s the real harm?
I live in houston and I think it is great. What you didnt hear is that it was scotch tape( oh my god) and most of the parents praising her for the action she took! She has also been a teacher at that school for 9 years. What you didnt see was the following acticle about the Katrina Relief Kids getting in fights withTexas students at another school. Give me a break, we should be controling our kids so that these teachers dont have to go to the extreme.
I guess not many of the posters had southern parents or attended a religious school (I had both). As the Monty Python skit goes, “I used to dreeeaaam of getting my mouth taped shut…” When I was bad in school (read: got caught), not only did I generally get the yardstick in class (BTW, approved in writing by my parents), I got paddled when I got home and spent the weekend cleaning the house along with having my allowance suspended. Granted, this might have something to do with the fact that I was the only child in school history to be suspended from pre-school….
What can you expect it seems to me that most parents these days act as if teachers are just baby sitters for their children.
They don’t teach their children to take the learning process seriously. Your right it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the teacher to deal with a miss-behaving student. It should be the administration and the parents.
Of course the fact that many schools have removed recess, art, music, and anything even remotly resembling fun from the education expereience probably also has had a impact on disciplining a teacher has to do.
I don’t know where this crap negative stimili not being able to effect behavior comes from. If your potty training a puppy and it messes on the floor to you pat its head and tell it good dog, but next time use the paper, or do you rub his nose in it, accompanied with a light smack on the behind?
Of course what else can a teacher do when they have 25-35 kids act up?
Perhaps as a way to help the education system the goverment could give a tax break to parents who volunteer in the classroom at least twice a month.
The problem is that parents expect the school to baby sit their children while they’re out working.
When my sister eleaves her son with me to watch when she work the swing shift, the second last thing she says to him is “I’d behave – Uncle Sounds spanks harder than I do”. It 10 years of watching him I have yet to have to.
The problem is that the teacher shouldn’t have to resort to doing any of this. But the problem is not uncommon – children talking loudly in class and ignoring instruction. Teachers *need* tools to discipline children in school. Maybe it’s the province of the parent but I don’t want your spoiled brats distracting my child’s learning experiences, so disruptive children are no longer students but liabiliites – out you go!
To an earlier post, you do NOT reward good behaviour, you only punish bad behaviour. Good behaviour is *expected*. Awards for academic performance is fine, but that should stem from good behaviour. Ages ago schools *taught* manners and comportment as classes. You want to reward good behaviour? You’ll have to teach it first.
Good for her…
Did the glue on the back side of the tape help fill any nutritional requirements?
After all, ketchup is a vegitable.
kzoodata
I disagree with NOT rewarding good behavior. A reward is the best way to acknowledge that this is the best / preferred way to do something. Mediocrity, on the other hand should not be rewarded.
*******Positive reinforcement is the best method.**********
When the USA wins a competition they get a gold medal. if they don’t win they are not punished.
Children should be treated with the same respect you would them to treat you. Thier not little monsters thier humans that are developing and mimicing adult behavior. when you abuse a child your teaching him or her that its ok to do be this way, but honestly its better to rationalise with the child than use any form of force.
When you can earn another persons respect they will try to behave
Taping anyones mouth shut is a form of abuse.
Everyone makes mistakes in life and thats ok.
Its expectetd to make mistakes because we are not perfect and never wil be perfect. But bashing children for playing isn’t cool.
Kids have lots of energy and they need to act up. Give them thier time and then get back to work.
A time out or extra home Work is enough to keep them in line.
If a Teacher made a mistake then the kids should tale thier mouth shut, tie them to the chair, tar and feather then and send them to irac. to teach…
Some people just don’t have the what is really need to teach. they in it for the paycheck treating it as a job for grunts.
I absolutely CANNOT STAND stupid parents who wouldn’t control their own damn kids and rejects free help from others to do so.
The main problem here lies with the parents. They are the ones who should be severely disciplined in the first place.
I’m all for capital punishment. Not the “beat to within an inch of his life” type but at least moderate punishment should be met out.
Parents nowaday either love their kids to death or just simple don’t give a flying fxxk what their offsprings turns out to be.
Cheebye.
Jennifer Silva ought to be teacher of the year, IMHO. What the liberal Houston Barnacle isn’t telling anyone is that MOST parents TOTALLY support this teacher. The posts here that don’t support her, so far, are idiotic and lame…”abuse”? You have to be kidding. You people don’t know what abuse is!
Oh yeah, and #41’s comments…my guess is more than a few of those Olympic Medalists had their little butts spanked at one point or another.
This isn’t free, in our world they call it “taxes”(#42-go back to your own country). As for the rest of you, a teacher has several actions she is able to take to control inappropriate behaviour. It’s called Rules of Conduct, and she signed this when she accepted her contract with the school district. For those of you so enamored with coporal punishment, we still have parochial schools, the bonus there is that your child could possible learn about personal responsibility. If I tape my assistance’s mouth shut with Scotch Brand tape, I would be fired and sued. This is an adult, who chose this as her field of work, on the other side we have 7 & 8 year old children. How this firing could even be an issue continues to baffle me. This is an embarrassment to our school and the rest of the staff.
Hooray for Jennifer Silva. It is about time teachers refused to be stepped on by unruly children.
I went to Catholic school and teachers used duct tape to cover the mouths of students who would not be quiet. 30 years later I have not heard of one single student being harmed physically or emotionally by this.
Perhaps the student’s mother should find out why her son can’t seem to stay quiet in class. Teach him a little respect and he won’t get his mouth taped again.
Ms. Silva, you deserve a raise!!!