Support NeoGAF

[myDingling]

No there isnt.



I would have a huge problem had he said it to a 10 year old. But since he said it to a 14 year old I'm ok with it.

Ummm ok...14 is the new 18 apparently.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Its the new 35.

 

[Big-E]

Don't really know how to feel about this one. It was wrong to do that but everyone has their breaking point and if this kid was bothering the teacher constantly, I can understand how something like that slips out.

 

[Varjet]

"Look," Polanco allegedly said, "you can't even kill yourself."

:lol

I'm a horrible person :\

 

[GaimeGuy]

What the fuck is wrong with you guys?

You think encouraging someone who is so mentally distressed that they have already tried to kill themself to try it again is funny? Go fuck yourselves.

 

[TheExodu5]

People are less outraged at this than they are an under 10 year old cutting off a kitten's paw.

He's ridiculing him and giving him another reason to push him over the edge. Not cool.

 

[Dead Man]

Well, sort of, not really...maybe? Based on his bragging about trying to off himself in class I'd say the putz is the type of guy who will stand on a ledge for days until someone notices him.

And that kid needs help just as much. If someone is suicidal, they are suicidal, no matter the reason. Even if it is a cry for attention they are still just as dead if they succeed.

 

[SapientWolf]

we don't really know the intentions of the kid, but yeah if they were incredibly thin marks to the point where it's obvious that the kid didn't want to take his own life then yeah maybe he has it coming

OOOOOOORRRRRRR he's a depressed kid who feels powerless in a bad time of his life and in this moment of weakness where someone needs to help him he's met with bitter cruelty.

It's kind of a tricky situation, because you don't want to give any kind of positive reinforcement for cutting. But you do want the kid to get help. I doubt that this teacher was equipped to deal with something like this. And everyone knows how great mental health care is in the US.

It reminds me of a girl in high school who threatened suicide whenever things weren't going her way. It was clear that she was doing it because it worked, and people were unwittingly encouraging it by giving her the attention she wanted. That kind of behavior can easily escalate to self harm.

 

[dark_chris]

:lol

I'm a horrible person :\

Its ok. I laughed too.
=)

 

[Rur0ni]

People are less outraged at this than they are an under 10 year old cutting off a kitten's paw.

He's ridiculing him and giving him another reason to push him over the edge. Not cool.

Which was noted earlier!

Kitten > 8th Grader!

 

[Karakand]

Teaching in NoHo is a worse punishment than getting fired.

 

[schick85]

What the fuck is wrong with you. Honestly, you are horrible. If a kid is fucking suicidal, something like that comment from the teacher could easily make him feel more depressed and push him to attempt committing suicide again. I'm not saying cutting of kittens paws is worse or better then this (mind linking to the story, haven't heard of it), but something is wrong with you if you honestly believe this teacher should keep her job. She easily should have been fired, or at the very least, suspended for a long time.

Not that I disagree with you or anything, but the kid should have known better not to talk to assholes about personal shit.
So it is (sort of) his fault that the teacher harassed him as he did; he could have just well kept it to himself.

 

[eznark]

And that kid needs help just as much. If someone is suicidal, they are suicidal, no matter the reason. Even if it is a cry for attention they are still just as dead if they succeed.

Well, I'd like to know the whole story before I condemn the teacher for being fed up with a whiny cutter.

(Notice, however, that I have no such requirements for condemning the kid)

 

[Flesh Into Gear]

It truly is like this thread arose to form the perfect mirror to the kitten paw thread. My god.

 

[Dead Man]

Well, I'd like to know the whole story before I condemn the teacher for being fed up with a whiny cutter.

(Notice, however, that I have no such requirements for condemning the kid)

I don't know of a situation in which that piece of advice would be ok. I can think of extenuating circumstances that would make it less bad, but can't think of one where it would be at all ok.

Not that I disagree with you or anything, but the kid should have known better not to talk to assholes about personal shit.
So it is (sort of) his fault that the teacher harassed him as he did; he could have just well kept it to himself.

Just like those chicks that wear short skirts, right? They should know better.

 

[rollingstart]

I can't help but think of "even Eli know what that means"

 

[myDingling]

Not that I disagree with you or anything, but the kid should have known better not to talk to assholes about personal shit.
So it is (sort of) his fault that the teacher harassed him as he did; he could have just well kept it to himself.

How can you possibly argue that it's the victim's fault?! The teacher fucking made fun of him and told him to finish the job. Any attempt to try and absolve the teacher is ludicrous at this point given the facts of the story.

 

[WickedAngel]

What the fuck is wrong with you. Honestly, you are horrible. If a kid is fucking suicidal, something like that comment from the teacher could easily make him feel more depressed and push him to attempt committing suicide again. I'm not saying cutting of kittens paws is worse or better then this, but something is wrong with you if you honestly believe this teacher should keep her job. She easily should have been fired, or at the very least, suspended for a long time.

We should have known that there would be people in this thread that would defend such an absurdly inappropriate statement by a teacher.

There is no circumstance by which a teacher for this age group should be making this joke. It would be inappropriate for this to happen in an infinitely more lax college environment; the fact that this was said to a child is disgusting.

All I'm saying is he vented to the wrong person.
This article is a good example why we go to our therapists instead (and not to some douchebag) when we are going through some tough shit.

Students at many schools are told that they can take their problems to their faculty if they feel the need to do so. The fact that this kid's problem was thrown in his face by an authority figure is an embarrassment before you consider that she is keeping her job.

 

[Fenderputty]

I think it's an irresponsable comment but probably not something to get fired for.

If the guys is always a douche though...

.

What if the kid went back and "dug deeper"?

I don't know of a situation in which that piece of advice would be ok. I can think of extenuating circumstances that would make it less bad, but can't think of one where it would be at all ok.

Exactly.

 

[schick85]

How can you possibly argue that it's the victim's fault?! The teacher fucking made fun of him and told him to finish the job. Any attempt to try and absolve the teacher is ludicrous at this point given the facts of the story.

All I'm saying is he vented to the wrong person.
This article is a good example why we go to our therapists instead (and not to some douchebag) when we are going through some tough shit.

EDIT: His absence would have been excused with a letter from his therapists.

 

[Rur0ni]

What if the kid went back and "dug deeper"?

Then he was weak!

edit:

Spoiler

Don't suicide, somewhere on this ball of mud someone cares about you, young lad. Maybe.

 

[xaosslug]

them's some cutting remarks.

 

[Brian Fellows]

And that kid needs help just as much. If someone is suicidal, they are suicidal, no matter the reason. Even if it is a cry for attention they are still just as dead if they succeed.

And thats a bad thing right?

 

[pedrothelion]

The kid was very likely a cutter showing some superficial wounds on his wrist in an attempt to get some attention. Why else would he divulge this information in front of the class if not to get attention? The kid probably had history of this kind of behavior which lead to the teacher making the comment he did. Kids self-mutilating seem be a dime a dozen and, I'm sure that teachers have become a bit desensitized to those behaviors. The comment was obviously unprofessional, but I'm not sure that it is something that you fire some over.

Regardless, the article is likely sensationalizing the story and/or not giving us all the information.

 

[Dead Man]

And thats a bad thing right?

Okay, is my sarcasm detector broken?

 

[Fenderputty]

Then he was weak!

Weak, dead and with parents who have a nice law suit against the school district.

 

[klownboots]

this bitch of a teacher has tenure and perferctly great teachers without tenure get the boot from budget cuts.

Tenure, its a slippery...

But yeah that kills me when I read stuff like this.

 

[eznark]

The kid was very likely a cutter showing some superficial wounds on his wrist in an attempt to get some attention. Why else would he divulge this information in front of the class if not to get attention? The kid probably had history of this kind of behavior which lead to the teacher making the comment he did. Kids self-mutilating seem be a dime a dozen and, I'm sure that teachers have become a bit desensitized to those behaviors. The comment was obviously unprofessional, but I'm not sure that it is something that you fire some over.

Regardless, the article is likely sensationalizing the story and/or not giving us all the information.

Well, they should have the right to fire the guy over anything.

 

[whitehawk]

Not that I disagree with you or anything, but the kid should have known better not to talk to assholes about personal shit.
So it is (sort of) his fault that the teacher harassed him as he did; he could have just well kept it to himself.

One of my friends suffers from depression, and he will go around telling everyone that he does coke and shrooms, and has tried to hang himself (he might be lying about the suicide thing). Point is, he's looking for attention, for someone to care about him and help him out. (I do my best trust me, but it's hard). This kid was probably thinking something similar. He wanted help, and the teacher just shunned him.

 

[Rorschach]

Teaching in NoHo is a worse punishment than getting fired.

.

 

[lsslave]

Long story short fuck tenure, no teacher like this should get to keep their job because its a nuisance to deal with them.

I was suicidal in school, depression a big problem, and one of my teachers announced that he thought I would be a school shooter. I AM A FUCKING PACIFIST >.< I thought I was a loser before, but damn did my life get worse there.

Seriously, FUCK bad teachers, they are supposed to be helping raise better kids not making life worse.

 

[Koshiba]

I think for someone in a teaching position to say something like that is very messed up and shouldn't be teaching.. Typically when kids do that stuff, it's a cry for help. But teacher's have always been fucked up anyway. I had a teacher pull me out of class in like 3rd grade to tell me "You have problems. You will always have problems. Problems with your life, school, friends, husband and everything." something to that extent. She said it in a very mean way basically telling me I'm fucked up and there was nothing I could do about it.

 

[Choke on the Magic]

Okay, I want you to carefully reread what you posted. You're comparing two 10 year-old kids cutting off a kitten's paws, to a teacher being verbally cruel to a child.

If you expect similar reactions to these stories, you're delusional. But keep playing the "don't get me wrong" card, it's obvious from this post and the other one in the other topic where you stand on issues like this. I find it curious though, as to why you don't give a flying fuck about the actual stories or the people/animals involved, but are so obsessed with a forum's reaction to them. Why so? Also, does it make life easier for you to generalize so much, or does it just make you have to think less?

Topic: I don't believe the teacher should be fired or anything, but he definitely should have to speak to someone about appropriateness when dealing with these situations. He should also apologize to the kid for being a dick and to the class for displaying such immaturity about the delicate issue.

Wow NutJobJim was spot on. :lol

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

This teacher is a total asshole and deserves to be fired. No matter what the kid did, he didn't deserve to be ridiculed by his teacher, especially when said ridicule could potentially act as a trigger and make the kid relapse.

Laughing about the story is fine, but the people acting as though the teacher is awesome for doing this is entirely reprehensible.

 

[Fenderputty]

And thats a bad thing right?

Regardless of whether you feel we should let people kill themselves if they want to, it's the job for the teacher to not only teach but to provide a safe and secure environment for the students to learn. He did not do this in this situation. Hell ... what if there was someone else in class thinking about suicide and they were just taught a more effective approach by the teacher?

 

[Kusagari]

I would have a huge problem had he said it to a 10 year old. But since he said it to a 14 year old I'm ok with it.

What's the difference? A 14 year old is still young and middle school is for many kids one of the worst parts of there life. This wasn't a High School senior. It was still a young impressionable kid who's life at school probably wasn't going so well to begin with.

 

[ahoyhoy]

I can't find any defense for this teacher. I'm a fan of sarcasm, even harsh sarcasm, but encouraging someone mentally disturbed to "finish the job", even in jest, is just wrong. Suspend him, revoke his tenure, and reevaluate his teaching credentials to see if he's lost touch with the fact that he's trying to teach CHILDREN.

 

[myDingling]

All I'm saying is he vented to the wrong person.
This article is a good example why we go to our therapists instead (and not to some douchebag) when we are going through some tough shit.

EDIT: His absence would have been excused with a letter from his therapists.

I know you don't know all the context, but this is a school in Ktown in LA. These kids CANNOT afford a therapist. They wouldn't know the first place to go get one. Teachers are some of the few people these kids see everyday that might actually give a damn and help them out when they're in a rut. A bullshit teacher who does the exact opposite deserves what's coming to him. It's not a matter of personal responsibility on behalf of the kid, geez.

 

[Walshicus]

It's not a matter of personal responsibility on behalf of the kid, geez.

Kid wants to die? Let him.

 

[whitehawk]

Kid wants to die? Let him.

Dude. Kick yourself right now because you are an inconsiderate douche bag.

 

[mAcOdIn]

The first comment I could let slide. Maybe he was going to follow up with a "just kidding glad you're back" or was going to go into a thing about how everyone's given it some thought and it's not unusual for other students to have thought about it, but the comments that followed pretty much destroyed that.

Kids don't need teachers basically egging them on to kill themselves.

Dude should be fired.

 

[AndresON777]

I like the way that when a fully grown adult, mentally bullies and torments an already fragile eighth grade boy, it's cool to laugh about it on GAF.
Yet when a 10 year old child physically tortures a cute little kitten, it is extremely serious business which riles up many members of GAF to the point of calling for the child to be tortured, or simply killed, in retaliation :lol .

:lol :lol :lol

 

[YYZ]

Well I thought this was funny, even if nobody else did.

me too :lol

 

[Killthee]

:lol I attended Virgil during 7th & 8th grade and this sounds like something my 8th grade homeroom teacher would say. I was in the honor class in my year so my core teachers somewhat cared, but my electives had some really crappy teachers who really just didn't give a fuck about anything and everything I heard about the other teachers was very similar. I do remember this one time in 8th grade when the teacher in the room across my history class threw a desk at a student for disrespecting him, his punishment, 2 week suspension and when came back he was really smug about it too :lol

I know you don't know all the context, but this is a school in Ktown in LA. These kids CANNOT afford a therapist. They wouldn't know the first place to go get one. Teachers are some of the few people these kids see everyday that might actually give a damn and help them out when they're in a rut. A bullshit teacher who does the exact opposite deserves what's coming to him. It's not a matter of personal responsibility on behalf of the kid, geez.

Pretty much and the free services available in the community are underfunded and staffed poorly.

Teaching in NoHo is a worse punishment than getting fired.

.

 

[mj1108]

Can't say I'm entirely surprised.

I work in the school system and just about a month ago I was in one Junior High room working on some systems and the teacher was getting after the kids for hurting themselves with mechanical pencils. (no joke) I ended up speaking with the teacher after class and she said that that's what kids are doing now is inflicting wounds on themselves with mechanical pencils.

Too fucked up for words.

 

[Htown]

Read the non-bolded parts of the article, too, guys.

It is INSANE how hard it is to get a teacher fired in California.

 

[Brannon]

Sharp words...

Dull blade...

In hindsight, not cool beans of me.

 

[Amakusa]

was he Emo?

 

[Gildor]

The kid was very likely a cutter showing some superficial wounds on his wrist in an attempt to get some attention. Why else would he divulge this information in front of the class if not to get attention? The kid probably had history of this kind of behavior which lead to the teacher making the comment he did. Kids self-mutilating seem be a dime a dozen and, I'm sure that teachers have become a bit desensitized to those behaviors. The comment was obviously unprofessional, but I'm not sure that it is something that you fire some over.

Regardless, the article is likely sensationalizing the story and/or not giving us all the information.

Agreed. The teacher was probably just joking around. It was probably bad judgment, but I don't think he should be fired.

 

[jett]

Agreed. The teacher was probably just joking around. It was probably bad judgment, but I don't think he should be fired.

If that's your idea of kidding around then you too are probably fucked in the head.