A teacher, whom my husband and I know, is being accused of hitting a student. No, I don't know all the details but I do know he admitted it on TV and the girls parents are taking him to court. Here is a link to the article:
Salem High School grad taking teacher to court claiming he slapped her in the face.
To my understanding, the teacher apologized, and remembering the teacher, I'm sure he was sincere in his apology. However, the fact remains he put his hands on a student in his care. Whether it was jokingly, like some say, or not, it was unwanted by this girl.
Now, my biggest problem lies in the all the people who think what he did was okay!! There is an "event" on facebook, Attend the board meeting to help Mr. Merritt, that makes me want to laugh with all the ignorance! Let me show you some:
"Ti Campbell Sr.- Oh, and sadly no one gaf about what you have to say either. Only people associated with SHS have a valued opinion.." ((duh, I went there, I think that means I'm associated with SHS))
"Peggy Guthrie- All she is trying to do is get everyone pissed off, she doesn't even live in Salem anymore so really her freedom of speech is trash....so I'll support Mr. Merritt ! I don't agree with what happen but I'll still support him cuz when I went to salem high school he was my english teacher n my softball coach...." ((So, me voicing my opinion that this man was wrong in hitting a child isn't right b/c I don't live in Salem anymore...oh and my Freedom of Speech is trash, nice to know my husband did 4 deployments for nothing /sarcasm))
This one really gets me LOL'ing:
"Oranjello Lemonjello-
jamie, you haven't had merritt as a teacher have you? Hes an excellent teacher. i couldn't even believe this story after witnessing his helpful and caring character. i know there must be 2 sides to the story. i understand how harsh and cruel the media can be. realize that drama sells and one can only expect them to dramatize any situation to generate filth they call news. you keep saying he harmed a child. shes 18, shes not a 13 year old (i wasn't there so i don't know how she conducted herself) but i would guess she wasn't conducting herself very adult like." ((Him being an excellent teacher, which I'm not saying he wasn't, does not overrule the fact he put his hands on a student!! He admitted to the media he hit this girl!! Her being 18 means nothing b/c he did it as her teacher... she was sent to school and entrusted in the teachers care by her parents and he broke that trust when he hit her. And if she wasn't acting very "adult like" I'm sure there are better ways to deal with the situation than to hit her. TEACHERS DO NOT HIT STUDENTS. PERIOD.))
Then I got bashed and attacked for saying what a shit-hole Salem is. Yes, it is a shit-hole!!!!! When we lived there, I wouldn't take my boys outside to play because there was crack pipes on the ground, drug dealers around every corner. People saying things who didn't live IN the town, but on the outskirts, didn't see it all like I did. Maybe it has changed some since I lived there and I hope it has, but the truth remains, it was horrible when I was there.(( The father of the girl who was hit said to me, "I've met Chief Pelura since this "thing"started . I believe he is a good person and from what I hear , has done great things with the City, and the Police Dept. I personally have no reason not to admire him , and think you would too." Since he said this to me I decided to remove the comments I made about the cops of Salem because my intentions were not meant to slander them, I was simply a bit "heated" when I wrote this.))
Speak the truth and shame the devil.
Again my two links:
Salem High School grad taking teacher to court claiming he slapped her in the face.
Attend the board meeting to help Mr. Merritt
I guess students rallying is gonna over rule the fact that this man broke the law by hitting a student. Yeah okay.
I also got this in my inbox: (name and pic has been blotted out)At least someone appreciates the truth!
This is what it says incase you can't see it "i know u dont know me and i dont know u lol..but i saw what u r sayin on the merritt page..i just wanted to say THANK YOU! i had him as a bball coach for 3 years..well 3 a half. he made me quit the middle of my senior yr bc he treated me like complete shit! i wasnt the 1st to quit...and it wasnt like i was a no one i had played bball for many years and had a full ride to play in coollege. he made me hate everything about the game.him.and myself! if i said anythin on the page people wouldnt pay it any mind bc they know our history..its nice that someone is stating the truth! i dont hate him nor do i want him to loose his job.but he has to understand doing something illegal is not okay!"
*How would you feel if a teacher put his/her hands on your child? My husband and I already know we'd be in jail for hitting the teacher! Our tax dollars don't go to teachers for them to hit our children, they go to them to teach and guide. I don't know why I thought teenagers would understand that.*
**side note, the event I spoke of in this post was removed or I was blocked from it, so if you can't get to it, that is why**
Nice
ReplyDeleteSomething else from my inbox: (name withheld)
ReplyDelete"Thanks for what you posted on the Facebook event for supporting Mr. Merritt. I remember you and Darrell from Salem. I worked at McDonalds with Darrell for a while. You may not remember me, but that's fine.
I know they made that page to support Mr. Merritt but some seem to forget (or choose to forget) that he admitted to hitting this girl. And I find issue with that. I always thought he acted inappropriately at school, from what I could remember, especially with people that took his class or played on his softball team. I do not wish for him to lose his job, nor do I hope that his family is screwed up. But I think he should be punished for his actions.
But thanks again for putting some clarity on that Facebook event. It was refreshing to see you and Darrell sticking up for what's right."
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/teacher-accused-of-slapping-student-070611
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