After A Teacher Corrected A Student’s Test, The Whole Town Wanted Her Fired
When Chris Piland, a father from Pennsylvania, saw what his son’s teacher wrote on his second-grader’s paper, he was furious. Instead of encouraging his child, the teacher’s remarks seemed to belittle and humiliate him, which is the opposite of what a teacher should be doing.
The controversy started when the teacher, Alyssa Rupp Bohenek, wrote “absolutely pathetic” on top of the child’s assignment. Piland believes such a hateful remark should not be tolerated and called for her dismissal.
Bohenek, a teacher at Valley View Elementary School, had written the comment with a red pen. The full remark was: “Absolutely pathetic he answered 13 in 3 min! Sad.” She then drew a frowny face.
The assignment was a test to see how many subtraction problems the students could solve in three minutes. Unfortunately, Piland’s son managed to complete just thirteen problems, the lowest in the class.
Piland took to social media, uploading a photo of the assignment and criticizing Bohenek for her harsh comment. “My son, Kamdyn’s teacher, has been so rude to him and myself all year. He comes home with this, and I am beyond frustrated,” Piland wrote.
Determined not to let the teacher get away with her actions, Piland started an online petition to have Bohenek fired to prevent her from mistreating other young students.
In response to the mounting outrage, school superintendent Rose Minniti quickly stepped in. She acknowledged being informed about the test the previous week and stated she had already arranged a meeting with Bohenek to investigate the situation. “It’s a personnel issue, and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media. It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence,” Minniti explained. “We always aim to do what’s best for the students and make appropriate decisions for our employees under investigation.”
Bohenek has been teaching at the elementary school since 2013, but her recent comment suggests she might be struggling with her role.
What do you think about this teacher’s remarks? Is it acceptable for a teacher to use such language with young students?
