Teen Humiliated at School Files Suit
It seems more and more “teachers” have no business instructing our children. A black female, Jade Ray student is fighting back after a teacher humiliates her in front of other students:
Snippet
In her lawsuit, filed July 9 in San Diego Superior Court, Ray alleges that on Valentine’s Day Hargett selected several students to deliver singing grams on campus and “intentionally excluded” Ray. The 14-year-old asked why and Hargett answered that she “looked bad” and had no choir T-shirt, the Union-Tribune reported.
Ray then allegedly questioned the $15 cost of the required T-shirt and Hargett told her to leave the class. When Ray resisted, the teacher allegedly called her a “brat” and “ugly” and kicked her on her buttocks, the lawsuit states, according to the Union-Tribune.
Read the entire story here:
Since when is it appropriate for a teacher to demean a student?
This story made http://detentionslip.org! Voted #1 for crazy headlines from our schools.
I wonder if there’s more to it?
When I was young, I had problems with certain teachers too. One teacher called me an “airhead” in the third grade. I was only 8 years old. My mother spoke with her about it…we moved on. There were some teachers who tried to embarrass me in front of my classmates for no reason. There were teachers who disrespected me not only as a student, but as a person. I dealt with them the best way I knew how to…and moved on. There were hurt feelings on my part but I survived. No lawsuits at all.
If Jade Ray was indeed mistreated by her teacher, she deserves a sincere apology. She does not deserve monetary compensation. This is pretty one-sided. Heather Hargett’s actions and behavior were only told from the student’s perspective. Hargett should either defend herself or explain truthfully what happened.
It is possible that Jade was being a smartass with the teacher, who lost patience and threw her out of the room. It was unprofessional on Hargett’s part…she had no business hitting the girl or calling her names. But we should also wonder if Jade is being completely honest here. There is no justification for Hargett’s actions IF indeed she is guilty of what Jade accused her of. But there are two sides to every story.
I saw this and laughed. The first thing I thought was: I wonder how true this is. You get one side of the story and the assumption is that the teacher is such a horrible person. Sells papers you know.
Kids today will lie their asses off saying the teacher did this that and the other and in reality the teacher just told them they couldn’t do something and the kid didn’t like it. So by the time it reaches home, it’s a bunch of lies where the only true part is that the kid was told he or she couldn’t do something, but by that point, the parents are steaming mad because of the lies.
Now if what the kid says is 100% true without any embellishment (and since we have yet to hear more than one side to the story one can’t even assume that the story is valid) then that teacher needs some help and to be out of the classroom until she gets a better handle on her reactions as well as the administration getting help on how to better support their teachers and identify problems that arise.
Bottom line: parents suing schools is nothing new. Just another way to get money and it happens all the time. Sometimes it’s for valid reasons, but a lot of the time it’s just another racket to get money.
I wonder if the teacher meant physically ugly or ugly in personality. My grandmother would often say, “You are so ugly”, meaning ugly in persona.
Lizzy
http://www.NegotiableVirtue.com
I’m with you, Tina.
I don’t know what happened but I’m sure that there are details of the “incident” that were embellished. Jade probably isn’t a bad kid…she simply pissed off the teacher with some behavior/attitude of hers that day. It still wouldn’t be justified to call her names or anything, but no one else has confirmed whether this is completely true.
When I was as young as 6, I had a teacher who thought it was acceptable to handle her students roughly. She once left bruises on my chin and upper arm from gripping me tightly when I didn’t get a math problem correct. This was a private school and this was a very young Filipina teacher. I went home and my mother noticed the bruises. As she did later with a different teacher when I was in third grade, she confronted the teacher. My mother was quiet and polite but she made it clear to that teacher to keep her hands off me or there would be trouble.
No lawsuit was necessary…my mom handled the situation as any sensible parent would do. We could have sued because there was actual evidence that this teacher had roughed me up. We didn’t.
If Hargett is guilty of humiliating her student and literally booting her out of class, she should be removed from the school from an indefinite period of time. She needs counseling and anger management. But I still say that this story doesn’t add up.
Sorry, I meant to say: “for an indefinite period of time”.
I know Heather personally. She’s a strong, confident & wonderful teacher, but not abusive. Even I don’t know the whole story. I only know what I’ve read in the news. I’m sure that because of the lawsuit, she’s not allowed to say anything. I also think we’ve all been in positions where when our buttons are pushed, we sometimes do or say things we regret. But I’m confident in Heather, feeling that there must be more to this. It certainly does not warrant a lawsuit. It would be interesting to know if the student or her parents went to the school or school district first to ask for an apology or reprimand. If not, then it would seem to me that this is all about $$.
It’s difficult to make any judgment about who’s right or wrong. From the stories that I’ve found, there seems to be some truth that things happened they way that the student recalls the situation, but then, again, she stands to lose out on a lot of money if folks don’t believe her. Of course, the teacher and the school are being silent, so, who knows. If the student comes close to telling the truth, then, I don’t think a lawsuit is out of order, what with the kicking and name calling. If on the other hand, the story is ludicrous, then I think the teacher should sue for defamation. A teacher’s sullied name is slow to go away.
freedom
wow thats pathetic. some of the teachers are just as juvenile as the students.
I’m a parent of a fellow classmate of this student, what she states happened that day is not entirely accurate, this student was disrespectful to the teacher and blantantly was disruptive, the teacher although possibly wrong for tapping her on her rump and telling her she had a ugly attitude and was acting like a brat, there is no other wrong doing. This student was on a daily basis rude to this teacher, how much can you ask a teacher to take. This is what is wrong with our kids today, some parents lack the discipline to teach thier children how to show respect and if spanking was still in school, this nonsense would not be happening. This teacher has done several things for serveral students and would bend over backward if need be, however she still remains a teacher who is under paid and has to put up with rude jerky kids who want to have thier way. I can say this because I know the teacher first hand. If your kids don’t go to high school yet, you better get ready, you will be paying for alot of things, that teachers like Ms Hargett pay for out of pocket and that should have been covered under the school funds that are not thier.
Teach your kids to act respectful and to show respect. So YES there is another side to the story, the side of the students that were there that day. Teachers set guidelines and have contracts, these contracts are signed no only by the parents but the students as well, it it no surprise if they are told to wear thier shirts & didn’t that they don’t get to participate, why get a reward if your not doing your part, and when push comes to shove the student could have asked for assistance and the shirt could have been given to her. If she had had a better attitude she could have borrowed a shirt like several other students that day.
Don’t judge Ms Hargett guilty and make her a monster when she is not. Thank you Ms Hargett for hanging in there and teaching at one of the hardest high schools in San Diego County.
FOR ALL OF YOU GUYS WHO DONT KNOW MS. HARGETT SHE IS A GREAT PERSON AS WELL AS A TEACHER . OK YEA SHE HAS HER UPS AND DOWNS BUT WHO DOESNT… AND TO TELL YOU GUYS THE TRUTH I WAS THERE THAT DAY AND WHAT JADE HAD SAID IN THE ARTCAL IS NOT PRACTICALLY TRUE… YEA MS. HARGETT TAPPED HER ON THE BUTT WITH HER FOOT BUT ITS NOT LIKE SHE ACTUALLY KICKED HER TO THE POINT WERE MS. HARGETT HAD BRUSED HER OR HURT HER. JADE LIED THE WORDS( UGLY, SHE LOOKED BAD,) DID NOT COME OUT OF MS. HARGETTS MOUTH …MS. HARGETT CALLED JADE A BRAT BECAUSE JADE WAS TALKING AND INTERUPTING THE CLASS WHILE MS. HARGET WAS TRYING TO TELL US WHAT WE HAD TO DO FOR THE VALENTINE GRAMS. BUT JADE DECIDED TO TALK INSTEAD AND THINK SHE WAS COOL BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING … BUT NOBODY WAS LAUGHING WITH HER WE WERE LAUGHING AT HER BECAUSE SHE WAS SAYING STUPID STUFF.. AND JADE WASNT THE ONLY PERSON THAT DIDNT HAVE HER CHIOR SHIRT THAT DAY OK. BUT MS. HARGETT WAS LETTING PEOPLE BAROW SHIRTS BUT THEY HAVE TO RETURN THEM … SHE DOES THE SAME THING AT CONCERTS TO SHE LETS WHO EVER DOESNT HAVE A SHIRT BOROW ONE THEN AFTER THEY RETURN THEM BACK… ALL I AHVE TO SAY IS JADE IS DOING THIS FOR THE MONEY SHE HAS NO RESPECT FOR NO ONE… AND SHE IS A LIEING SACK OF CRAP I HAD CALLED MY FRIENDS WHO WERE THERE AND TOLD THEM ABOUT THIS THAT SHE WAS SUEING AND WE KNOW WHAT HAPPEND BUT TO GET ALL OF IIT OYU JUST HAD TO BE THERE….
SINCERLY:
MOUNT MIGUEL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
I am a choir teacher and I know Heather Hargett. Her students, as I am sure they realize, are lucky to have such an incredible musician as a choir teacher. Being a teacher in itself is a hard and demanding job unlike any other. Being a choir teacher is often times all-consuming. Who does this student think she is? I am so sad for whomever comes across this student in the future. What a sad excuse for a human being. Even more sad is the example that is being set by her obviously idiotic parents. Like they say, any moron can have a child. I understand that by law we must give every child an education. Why does my child have to suffer because of some money-grubbing piece of shit that needs rent money? Please people! Choir teachers (unlike other teachers) develop a bond, good or bad, with their choir students. After four years who wouldn’t. They are like our children. How many times have you had to physically make your child do something. I’ve had to drag my kid to her room when she refused. I am sure that Ms. Hargett was actually trying to make light of the situation if she tapped her on the butt. After giving her all…..all day…..all the time, a little gratitude on the part of that little “brat” would have been nice instead of the constant disrespect. Teachers are only human. We are tired of watching your kids all day and getting nothing in return. Students like this ruin it for everybody else. Good luck getting any support. Sounds like your peeps are turning on you, Jade.
Hey there !
Just checking in on you!
Have a great weekend!
hi,
i am a former mount miguel choir
student of 2006. i was also in mrs hargetts
choir class she is a wonderful person and she would never do that to anyone..
mrs hargetts personality is fun yes sometimes she acts like
shes hurting your feeling but shes simply playing around
i used to love coming to 4th per. it was the best per. of tge day because mrs hargett would make it so alive and fun
especially when we watched Westside story.
i think you took it a little too far and i want everyone who supports mrs hargett to stand stong and help a loving choir teacher…
This is in response to comment #12 by the other choir teacher.
I certainly hope that you didn’t think that you were helping your friend with the comments you made. Your derogatory language and debasing remarks lead me to believe that you may also be lacking control, and that you may possibly condone assaulting a child under your charge as well.
To refer to a child as a brat, and a poor excuse for a human being is way out of line. You also call her parents moron’s and idiotic. Your choice of words and attitude says alot about the type of instructors that may be teaching at this school.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO YOUR SUPERIOR IS.
hmm. Sounds like the child lacks discipline. Sounds like the teacher got frustrated. I would like to see this childs school records, I bet that would tell us the whole story.