Metropolis Reality Forums - 5 year old voted out by his classmates

Sponsored by: The Fans!

Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 14^th, 2024, 6:53pm

Upcoming Premiere Dates:
Survivor 23, Season premiere
Thursday, September 14 (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on CBS

Metropolis Reality Forums Ť 5 year old voted out by his classmates ť

   Metropolis Reality Forums
   Off-Topic Forums
   In the News (Moderators: lakelady, yesteach, MediaScribe, Bumper, Isle_be_back)
   5 year old voted out by his classmates

Previous topic | New Topic | Next topic »

Pages: 1

Add Poll

Notify of replies

Send Topic

Author

Topic: 5 year old voted out by his classmates (Read 667 times)

Genius
ForumsNet Member

Asian engineering!

Gender:

Posts: 13605

5 year old voted out by his classmates
« on: Sep 29^th, 2008, 1:35pm »

Quote

Modify

(I took this from Survivor Sucks, go figure!)

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/27/school-district-reassigns-teacher -after/

PORT ST. LUCIE - St. Lucie County School District officials removed the Morningside Elementary kindergarten teacher who had students vote last week whether a 5-year-old should be allowed to stay in class from her teaching position pending an investigation.

The incident has gained national attention, and network news organizations have aired reports on the story. Melissa Barton, the mother of 5-year-old Alex Barton, was interviewed live on CBS's The Early Show on Tuesday.

Barton and Port St. Lucie Police Department officials said teacher Wendy Portillo made Alex stand in front of the room while his classmates told him what bothered them about him. Because the class was studying tallies and vote-taking, Portillo then led a class vote as to whether Alex should be allowed to stay in the class.

Alex was voted out, by a 14 to 2 margin. He spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office and was upset when Barton picked him up after school.

Alex hasn't been back to the school since Wednesday, when the vote occurred."He's doing a little better," said Barton on Tuesday.

Barton said Tuesday morning Alex was officially diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. He is not in school, but he misses the one friend he made in the classroom since he moved to the school in January, she said.

And the class vote didn't just affect Alex.

His friend and classmate Spencer Clawson has been upset by what happened, Spencer's mother Stacie Clawson said. Clawson said she talked with her 6-year-old son after she heard about the incident.

She said she asked him to close his eyes and imagine how he would feel if this happened to him. As he did, his face changed, Clawson said.

"He said, 'That was mean,'" Clawson said.

Clawson said Spencer originally voted to keep Alex in class. But his teacher pressed him further and asked if he was sure. So Spencer reluctantly agreed to change his vote.

"He's a good boy. He doesn't want to defy authority," Clawson said.

Clawson said the class had been learning about voting, which was why there was a vote taken. But she said she felt sad about what happened to Alex.

"It made me sick to my stomach. It's horrifying," she said.

Clawson said the students might not have realized what they were doing because they were focusing on what Portillo said was the lesson.

"Spencer said about the voting: 'It wasn't real, she was just telling us about voting,'" Clawson said.

But Iowa-based author Gail Pursell Elliott said what happened sounds like "mobbing," which involves group public humiliation and embarrassment.

"The children in that class learned how to mob someone from the teacher," said Elliott, who wrote "School Mobbing and Emotional Abuse." "This type of thing shatters a person's self-esteem."

Meanwhile, St. Lucie County Schools are investigating the incident.

District officials said Portillo who has been a teacher for 12 years, nine at Morningside was reassigned to the district offices. Portillo has spent most of her time as a kindergarten teacher, but has taught pre-kindergarten as well, according to district records. Portillo's brother was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

St. Lucie County Schools spokeswoman Janice Karst said the investigation could take up to two weeks to complete.

Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon said the district has to follow its policies and procedures and investigate the matter. If the allegations are true, the teacher could be fired, Lannon said.

"Our whole focus is about the child. We are child advocates," Lannon said. "We do not hold children to ridicule or embarrassment."

Barton said she thinks Portillo should be fired.

"She has no business being near children at all," she said.

As to the news of Portillo being reassigned, Barton responded, "That's just a slap in the face."

IP Logged

TAR14: Tammy and Victor
S18: Brendan, Taj, Spencer

Joab
ForumsNet Member

Toni and Dallas FTW!

Gender:

Posts: 23296

Re: 5 year old voted out by his classmates
« Reply #1 on: Sep 30^th, 2008, 9:33pm »

Quote

Modify

Can we put the teacher on Survivor?

IP Logged

Vote in The Amazing Race Survival Battle -
http://www.forumsnet.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=tar5game;action=display;num=1229008287

Elizabeth
ForumsNet Member

Gender:

Posts: 10464

Re: 5 year old voted out by his classmates
« Reply #2 on: Oct 1^st, 2008, 12:33pm »

Quote

Modify

To be voted out first?

IP Logged

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

sportsperson624
ForumsNet Member

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 60

Re: 5 year old voted out by his classmates
« Reply #3 on: Oct 1^st, 2008, 2:23pm »

Quote

Modify

why would the vote him out of the class?

IP Logged

Isle_be_back
ForumsNet Moderator
Moderator
ForumsNet Member

Posts: 2270

Re: 5 year old voted out by his classmates
« Reply #4 on: Oct 1^st, 2008, 6:37pm »

Quote

Modify

I don't blame his mother for being angry. I mean, think about it. In order to be voted out, the kid's torch has to be extinguished (After all...Fire represents life). Now why in the world is this teacher letting these kids have torches in their classroom? 16 kids with torches in a classroom is just asking for trouble. What class is she teaching? Pyro 101? The teacher should be the one voted off.

Wendy...the School Board has spoken. Grab your syllabus and go. I got nothin' for ya.

IP Logged

sportsperson624
ForumsNet Member

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 60

Re: 5 year old voted out by his classmates
« Reply #5 on: Oct 2^nd, 2008, 3:17pm »

Quote

Modify

that is really mean for them to do that.

IP Logged

Pages: 1

Add Poll

Notify of replies

Send Topic


Previous topic \| New Topic \| Next topic »