Teacher Calls Minority Students "Future Criminals" Not Fired

Aug 31, 2011 23 Comments by Rippa

You know, it’s one thing to suggest that kids in urban communities are failing because they come from broken and impoverished homes. The validity of this I won’t necessarily argue, as this is true for some. However, at some point we have to look at teachers who are failing said kids from the inner city.

You know, teachers who aren’t fully invested in the success of said children? You know, teachers like Jennifer O’Brein? O’Brien, a veteran teacher in Paterson, New Jersey whose students are mostly Black and Hispanic? Well, O’Brien is currently on a paid suspension for a post on Facebook where she referred to her students as “future criminals.” Oh, and, she says she feels more like a “warden” than a teacher.

Nice on Ms. Jennifer O’Brien:

O’Brien came home from work, North Jersey.com reported, and expressed her genuine feelings after what must have been another tough day in the “blackboard jungle.” Wrote O’Brien, “i’m not a teacher — i’m a warden for future criminals.”

Six hours later, North Jersey.com reported, she posted again, wondering why she couldn’t put her first-graders into a Scared Straight program, which introduces hardened criminals to youngsters. Wrote O’Brien, “They had a scared straight program in school — why couldn’t i bring 1st graders?”

Unsurprisingly, given that O’Brien had 333 friends on the social networking site, her feelings didn’t remain among those friends for long. Complaints came into the school board, and O’Brien was suspended. O’Brien appeared before a government school inquisition last week.

According to North Jersey.com, “O’Brien told an administrative law judge that she wrote the post in exasperation because six or seven unruly students kept disrupting her lessons, distracting children who wanted to learn.”

According to O’Brien’s testimony:

One boy had recently hit her, another had struck another child, and she had given the principal several disciplinary reports on students during her three months in charge of a class of 23. She said they also stole a box of stickers she hid in a closet to use as prizes.

“I was speaking out of frustration to their behavior, just that build up of ‘I don’t know what else to do,’ and I’m actually scared for their futures, for some of them,” O’Brien said. “If you’re hitting your teacher at 6 or 7 years old, that’s not a good path.”

Now we’ve all had bad days at work; yes we have. Some of us deal with those days momma told us about in many different ways. Some of us take to the bottle, beat up the wife and kids, smoke a joint or maybe even harder drugs etc. Yes, we do many different things at the end of our shitty days. In today’s social network wired society, it’s not uncommon for us to log on and ~~talk to ourselves~~ vent our frustrations much like O’Brien did. However, as free as this country is, it doesn’t mean that what we say or do on these sites are appropriate.

Point blank: in her position and given her duties, what she said was wrong.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing easy about being a teacher. It’s often a thankless job. And yes, kids can actually drive you to drink, or maybe even say some really foul stuff on Facebook about them. But the truth is: you can’t. And I know it sucks, but especially if you’re a white teacher, you most definitely can’t say what this teacher said. To do so calls into question whether she is actually racist. And of course, nobody wants that label, right?

Yes they may very well be some future criminals in her classroom; and yes, you may see what she said as no big deal, or as some truth. However, given her chosen profession, and the location where she choses to exercise said profession. Can it be said that she is truly vested in the success of the children she is entrusted to impart knowledge? having asked that question, should she be allowed to continue teaching chuildren in that particular school or district?

She may very well lose her job; but if she does, would it be wrong?

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EDUCATION, Hidden Racism, Post Racial Society, Race Matters

Rippa

About the author

RiPPa is the creator, publisher, and editor-in-chief of The Intersection of Madness & Reality. As a writer, he uses his sense of humor, sarcasm, and sardonic negro wit to convey his opinion. Being the habitual line-stepper and fire-breathing liberal-progressive, whether others agree with him, isn’t his concern. He loves fried chicken, watermelon, and President Barack Obama. Yes, he's Black; yes, he's proud; and yes, he says it loud. As such, he's often misunderstood.

E in CT

I love the cacaphony of voices from people who don’t teach in the hood. Trust, black teachers say the same sh**. Let all the armchair quarterbacks get certified and join the profession.
- http://primaldata.blogspot.com/ PRIMALDATA
  
  Actually black teachers say that while it is hard it is worth it, they work with the students they can and those they can’t SOME feel sorry that they couldn’t do more. What you think some of us wouldn’t know black teachers? Here’s the other thing you think we don’t deal with those same “hood” kids outside of school hours, they’re kids and unless you want me to say that everytime little Johnny pulls Susie’s hair he’s about to be a future wife beater, that every time little Michael slams down 3 or 4 juice boxes in a sitting that he is going to be an alcoholic or that little Becky is going to be a hardcore smack head because she always has her head in the clouds I would suggest you take the BS somewhere else.
  
  Kids are kids, personally when kids act out an ADULT is supposed to take control of the situation, it’s a job if she can’t handle it she should find another, PERIOD. From those I know in the teaching profession the young kids are the hardest to teach because you are the first one to teach them the rules, kids run around, they act out, they don’t want to listen. They want to sit around and watch TV and goof off all day. It’s been a few months and she can’t cut it, hey sometimes you take on more than you can chew maybe while she wants to teach young kids she isn’t ready for it. She damn sure isn’t ready to teach young kids who don’t look like her, who gets flustered by a child, if a kid acts up around me guess what I do call their name, make them sit down and tell them no. Kids act up if you let them, if you are about to break something that either I own or I am responsible for I don’t have time to be your friend. Hell you ain even a teenager yet I can be the mean person who also reads you nice stories, you will remember the stories much more often then you will remember me NOT letting you do what you want.
  
  So unless this is your ADMISSION that you are a black teacher who has said this, the charge of “well they do it to” is BS, mainly because a black teacher is smart enough to KEEP THEIR DAMN JOB, which she should not. How are you gonna teach a child when you want to act like one?
IrisWidening

What it’s like to teach Black Students

http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-teacher-speaks-out-what-is-it.html
- Anonymous
  
  Bullshyt. This article’s letter was posted on Stormfront. It’s about as authentic as the tooth fairy.
  - IrisWidening
    
    oh it’s authentic allright, just because someone we don’t like also used it doesn’t make the problem go away. That is how we got here with that lazy dismissive blame someone else excuse tactic.
    - Anonymous
      
      Nonsense. Just by reading it one can tell the shyt is exaggerated. There are plenty of problem children in schools, but problematic to the degree and caricature that this teacher uses? Miss me with that shyt.
shirleybisquits

HHh
shirleybiscuits

I don’t give a rat’s ass how hard it is to teach “in the hood” or anyplace else for that matter. If you do not want to teach in areas that have “challenges”, don’t take the job. Point blank period. If you are looking for a cushy teaching position, open up your own school in your living room where you can hand pick your students and the baggage that comes with them.

I would not want her to teach my kids. Based on her Facebook post it is clear that she has the same, if not more severe impulse control issues as her students. How can call yourself a teacher and talk about 6-year-olds, and not for nothing – YOUR students in such a manner in a public forum?

I cannot teach, I’m not cut from the teaching cloth. However, I have a job and it is not easy. I love what I do, I even like where I work. But like anything else I have my challenges in the workplace. Many of these challenges were unforseen and they frustrate me to no end. But what I don’t do is get on Facebook and lambaste my co-workers. Why? Again, I love my job also I have a desire to keep a roof over my family’s head, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. The bare minimum required by most.

Ms. O’Brien did not care that her post could be seen by everyone – superiors, parents, co-workers, etc. – she either had a “f–k it” moment that she was incapable of controlling or she does not need/want the gig. Either way let her go home – for good and unpaid.
shirleybiscuits

I don’t give a rat’s ass how hard it is to teach “in the hood” or anyplace else for that matter. If you do not want to teach in areas that have “challenges”, don’t take the job. Point blank period. If you are looking for a cushy teaching position, open up your own school in your living room where you can hand pick your students and the baggage that comes with them.

I would not want her to teach my kids. Based on her Facebook post it is clear that she has the same, if not more severe impulse control issues as her students. How can call yourself a teacher and talk about 6-year-olds, and not for nothing – YOUR students in such a manner in a public forum?

I cannot teach, I’m not cut from the teaching cloth. However, I have a job and it is not easy. I love what I do, I even like where I work. But like anything else I have my challenges in the workplace. Many of these challenges were unforseen and they frustrate me to no end. But what I don’t do is get on Facebook and lambaste my co-workers. Why? Again, I love my job also I have a desire to keep a roof over my family’s head, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. The bare minimum required by most.

Ms. O’Brien did not care that her post could be seen by everyone – superiors, parents, co-workers, etc. – she either had a “f–k it” moment that she was incapable of controlling or she does not need/want the gig. Either way let her go home – for good and unpaid.
Anonymous

It was definitely uncalled for in my opinion. 1st grade students being condemned to criminals? Yeah, Amerikkka, these are the people responsible for inspiring our youth.
- http://www.blogandchain.com Cinderfella Daeda Daedalus
  
  Well, they are doomed. Its just being realistic. The stats speak for themselves.
  - Anonymous
    
    Well, when about three thousand schools focused in high-minority districts don’t teach math beyond algebra I, I guess they are being set up for failure. Not to forget that more than ten percent of the teachers who taught minority students in one state were inexperienced. Over 7000 schools don’t even provide Calculus classes.
    
    http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0630/Civil-rights-survey-3-000-US-high-schools-don-t-have-math-beyond-Algebra-I
    
    We’re setting them up for failure on a silver platter.Nice to see you up here.
    - http://www.blogandchain.com Cinderfella Daeda Daedalus
      
      Yes they are. And I’ll remind you as to who runs the shcools, the cities and in some cases the counties and states these schools are in, their skin color and politcal leanings.
      
      Well, not sure who to blame here. I know. Bush.
      - Anonymous
        
        Well, he made it worse with NCLB, but he didn’t start the problem.
      - http://www.blogandchain.com Cinderfella Daeda Daedalus
        
        The fact is, the path to becoming popular, being attractive to the opposite sex and to have the most children does NOT include any advanced class of any kind. Until that changes we are doomed. NCLB has nothing to do with that.
      - Anonymous
        
        Moralizing arguments definitely don’t help us either. But the world will keep spinning and we will survive, contrary to all the doomsayers proclaim. We’ll just look on these kinds of conversations and laugh just like all the folks did about those who saw the Hippie movement as the apex of American debauchery. Aint nothing new under the sun.
http://primaldata.blogspot.com/ PRIMALDATA

Like any other job, you get out of line you lose it. I feel sorry for her, I guess she thought it would be all okay but those little kids have parents, and especially in this day and age where everybody is trying to build a bridge between the parents and the teachers Ms. O’Brien probably had a few of her students parents as FaceBook friends. I remember my little brothers teachers had my mothers e-mail, cell phone number and the house number. Hell one of my younger cousins Uncle’s gets a call anytime he acts up, because schools and the community want full on engagement so that these kids will pass. I know first grade has changed in the 30 years(god I feel so old saying that) that I have been gone from it, but damn you don’t know how to administer time out and nap time(which would make all the other kids mad at you and not want to play with you since you ended them being awake)? You don’t know how to sit the bad kids at the “No toys table”, yes it might look odd at first but if you tell us it’s because the kid was acting out and being disruptive in class(and thus you call his mama or daddy and have them come talk to him/her, or talk to him/her by cell phone).

You can say you have some bad kids in your class, that is true some kids are bad, some kids are mischievous, some kids are loud, some kids are goofy they are KIDS they are supposed to be all of those things. It reminds me of Uncle Buck, you show me a 6 year old that isn’t silly, a dreamer, and a free spirit I show you somebody who is going to have a nervous breakdown at puberty. Kids are not mini adults, they are not going to act like mini adults, they are going to act like kids. If you can not do the job, do not take the job. I’m pretty sure she is going to be fired, I believe I read an article earlier that mentioned a school official mentioning not everyone being cut out to be a teacher and some folks just being there for a paycheck. It’s fine if you want to teach, but if you can’t cut it tell somebody and let them find someone who can, I know it’s hard to find jobs right now but damn why do something you aren’t cut out for? Future criminals, wow how you expect to keep your job after saying something like that, I don’t care if you worked in an office building call your coworkers future criminals and see how long ADULTS let you hang around.
http://mybrowneyedview.com msladydeborah

I work in the profession of teaching. It is not an easy job and it is one that often comes under fire because there is an obvious problem in the way our current educational system handles its consumers.

It is also a profession in which many people think that they can work in. I will be the first to tell you that it is just like the ministry. “Many are called and a few are chosen”. I have seen teachers enter with the notion that the children they work with will be idea students. I’ve also had to deal with teachers who are from outside of our culture come into the setting believing that they know more than we do about working on solutions. When they hit the wall, they tend to let loose of their frustrations in ways that have often made me want to smack them in their lips, but that would cost me my position. I won’t pretend that teachers of all races do not make negative comments about children. It happens daily and we understand it is just a release of frustation. To me, this teacher is not seasoned enough to realize that you do not put this type of statement in print on a social media site. It’s tacky as hell.
It is obvious that this particular teacher is not hip to the fact that there are potential criminals in every economic sector. I’ve worked with the offsprings of families that are in the upper classes as well–there are often more problems that spring up in these learning communities. The difference is in the response and resources availble to deal with the situations.

Once again, I’m going to this place. The parents of the children in her classroom should openly confront her and the administrative staff over these remarks. While it is true that we all have the right to free speech, there are some remarks that you make in house and other remarks the profession deems to be offf limits in the public sector. I am also going there by saying this–HOME TRAINING is not our job. This is a reality that seems to elude too many of the nation’s first teachers (parents). Too many of the first teachers are not handling their business. There is nothing more frustrating than having to deal with a disruptive child on a daily basis without any help or support. I’m close to retirement and I still find myself having to take deep breaths, medication for my headaches, and I often put my hands up in the air to keep from going old school on the behind of someone’s lil’ prince or princess.

I hope that the families of the children in this woman’s classroom confront her. I supect that the children who are disruptive will have no representation. This is another problem that seldom gets enough discussion. I have to literally stalk parents of problem children to meet with them and I see these adults daily. People need to know that when you are not a present force in your child’s educational life it sends a message that is filtered in so many different ways. To many teachers it says that a particular child has no back-up at home and that leaves the child open to this type of opinion.

So, let’s see if the parents respond. I hope that there is at least a group of parents who will confront her and challenge her intentions.
http://www.tracyreneejones.com Tracy Renee Jones

Fire that trick, the economic downturn from 9/11 caused many people to take jobs they didn’t want teaching kids they disliked or found foreign. I can’t get on Facebook and talk shit about how much of an idiot my boss is and expect to have a job next day so she should be dealt with simply under that basis.
Guest in DC

So are you saying that those who “…beat up the wife and kids, smoke a joint or maybe even harder drugs etc” as less damaging to society than this teacher?
- http://rippdemup.com/ RiPPa
  
  No I’m not.
  - Anonymous
    
    Wow, I didn’t even think you were gonna waste time dignifying such a question lol.
Reggie

When people treat children like animals it’s little wonder when they act like animals.

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