Scott Tibbs
blog post
January 25th, 2006
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John Kelly, a so-called "teacher" in Beaver, Pennsylvania, forced a 17-year-old high school student to sit on the floor and take a midterm exam. Kelly called the student a "stinking Denver fan" and encouraged other students to "throw crumpled-up paper" at him.
This is not the only student John Kelly has abused. The so-called "teacher" confessed to doing "the same thing last week with one of his ninth-graders who wore a Peyton Manning jersey."
The so-called "teacher" is unrepentant. He had this to say to the Denver Post: "If he felt uncomfortable, then that's a lesson; that's what (the class) is designed to do. It was silly fun. I can't believe he was upset."
It is clear that John Kelly must be fired and permanently banned from teaching in any government school in Pennsylvania. This was a despicable abuse of power and he has proven himself unworthy of ever teaching a class again. The so-called "teacher" opened this kid up to ridicule and bullying, ruined any chance of the kid enjoying the class. But that should not be the end of the story.
First, the abused student should get an automatic "A" for the class. Second, the student's parents should be refunded every single dime they have paid in school taxes since their child entered kindergarten. Government schools will pay attention if their funding is threatened.