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A devastated second-grader returned home from school with tears welling up in his eyes. He attempted to shrug his sadness off, but his parents saw right through it. They begged him to share what was making him so sad. Eventually, the 7-year-old pulled a piece of paper out of his school bag, and the words on it held all the answers.
The young boy was named Kamdyn Piland, just a normal student at an ordinary public school. According to his parents, Kamdyn wasn't a naughty or bad child, nor was he addicted to video games. Plus, he had never had problems with his study at Valley View Elementary School. But things changed when Kamdyn was promoted to second grade.
Kamdyn's parents began receiving an unusual amount of negative feedback about their son, and Kamdyn began falling behind in his assignments. Though he wasn't an overachiever, Kamdyn was definitely up to the second grade challenge, thought his dad, Chris. So it seemed totally out of character for his child to be failing at school. So, what was the reason behind it all?
When the dad saw the note from teacher Alyssa Rupp Bohenek on his son's homework sheet, he realized that it might have something to do with his teacher. The note was a piece of criticism, reading "Absolutely pathetic! He answered 13 in 3 minutes! Sad!" After studying the comments for a while, the father became rather upset and angry himself, and with good reason.
Ms. Alyssa was a serious and strict teacher and had a reputation at the school, but still she seemed to have it out for Kamdyn. The negative criticism she left on Kamdyn's test paper dealt a huge blow to the boy's self-esteem. Understandably, even adults find negative feedback tough to deal with, let alone a boy at such a young age. Still, there was a problem that made things even worse.
These harsh remarks were not the first that Alyssa had given to Kamdyn, and all the others he had kept to himself. To add insult to injury, the offensive comment was made right at the beginning of the year. So, it was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the dad decided that he wasn’t going to sit down and take it.
The dad posted his concerns to Facebook with an image of his son holding up the offending test paper. He wanted an opinion on the issue and believed that everyone would agree with him. What he hadn't expected was that the post would take on a life of its own, racking up thousands of comments and shares in the process. A lot of people got very emotional about the story.
One woman wrote, "Such a tender age to be scarred from this form of abuse. There are a lot of so-called 'teachers' that are working in schools that don't care for children and aren't fit to teach..." Another person commented, "I'm disgusted by this teacher's actions and she should be fired if she doesn't know how to censor her thoughts as well as promote the kids learning with positive feedback."
Almost everyone took Chris' side and disapproved of the mean attitude of the teacher. They thought the critical comment was unprofessional, rude, and out of line. A teacher is supposed to be a good mentor to younger children and teach students how to learn effectively. But Alyssa had clearly put the blame on her student. As more and more people went on to voice their opinions, things took a turn for the worst.
People felt so strongly that they started a petition online, calling for the sacking of Alyssa. Astoundingly, over 10,000 people signed the petition and wanted the teacher to get fired. Chris thought it was great since he did want to get a new teacher for his son. But what was the story on the teacher's side? What would Alyssa have to say for herself?
In fact, after seeing Chris' post, the teacher messaged the father back, saying she was sorry he felt that way. Now as the situation had started to become more serious, the school's teachers all took a stand on Alyssa's behalf. They said that Alyssa didn't deserve to be fired simply because of one mean comment, and that it was too harsh a punishment for something that could be solved with a firm reprimand. The teachers hoped that the school would allow justice to be served.
To their relief, the school also felt that dismissal was too much for what Alyssa did, and that she should only be reprimanded. After a meeting with the teacher, the school decided to look further into the matter. School superintendent Rose Minniti responded to the media, "As always with everything, we're going to try to do what's best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation."
While the inquiry was underway, more people responded to the story and the petition received over 20,000 signatures on social media. However, some people felt that it was the dad who was to blame, claiming the incident wouldn't have happened if Chris had spent more time on his son's education. Then, a new detail about the teacher in question emerged.
Mrs. Alyssa had been pregnant for the last several months. The news came as a surprise and opened up another can of worms. Some netizens were empathetic to the teacher's situation, saying that pregnancy hormones could be largely responsible for her behavior as it can leave women more short-tempered than usual. However, another question popped up, too.
Now that Mrs. Alyssa was going to have a baby of her own, what would she have done if she were in Chris' situation? Would she have just let it go or would she make a point as well? As a teacher, she should know that it's always more helpful and inspiring to students when comments are given in a constructive and professional way. But teachers also have to be inspired themselves.
An inspired teacher will be more positive and upbeat, and they can encourage more interaction from students, which in turn fosters better results. That is probably the true issue of the whole story. It's important for teachers to be in the right state of mind while teaching. A dispirited teacher can have a negative impact on the development of young children.
Anyway, this incident helped raise people's awareness about traditional school teaching. One Facebook user complained, "...little to no training or love for the profession. I can truly see why many students and families are turning to homeschool and other non-traditional learning opportunities." And this kind of complaint addressed a bigger issue.
There were flaws in the entire education system. To be a good teacher, the simple ability to relay information to students is just not enough. Teachers also need to learn teaching techniques, guidance, and mentorship, and this should be implemented within the entire faculty. Teaching staff should also be capable of adapting easily to solve all the problems that arise in the classroom.
As for the final result of the entire incident, Mrs. Alyssa is still employed at the school, even after all the backlash. We have no clue whether she was reprimanded for her actions or if she's learned a lesson from the ordeal. As for Kamdyn, his father had him moved to a new class. In fact, there are many students who have been in the same situation as Kamdyn, and this incident will hopefully teach them an important lesson.
Chris said, "Maybe it'll keep it from happening to other teachers and other students." We now all know the best way teachers are supposed to behave, but we should never forget they are only human, after all. Parents should also be responsible for their children's grades. At the end of the day, the story turned out to be an important lesson for both the teachers and the parents.
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