Judge: Brush With Paper Roll Wasn't Corporal Punishment

Back in 2005, Glenn Storman, a guidance counselor at P.S. 212 in Gravesend, entered a special education classroom in which a fifth-grader was kneeling on his chair cursing at the teacher. What happened next is a matter of debate: Storman says he happened to be holding a rolled up piece of paper when he told the boy to "zip it." But according to the Times, the student says Storman "brushed the paper against his lips and embarrassed him." After an investigation, Storman got an unsatisfactory rating in his annual review, which is a big deal because it prohibits him from getting extra work as a summer school teacher and a tutor. But after a long legal battle, it looks like the alleged paper punisher will be vindicated: A judge ruled earlier this month that Storman's actions did not constitute corporal punishment, and said the unsatisfactory rating "shocks the conscience, was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion." The Department of Education is reviewing the decision while defending another lawsuit brought by Storman in federal court. And it's unclear if the student has yet to recover from his brush with rolled up paper.

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By John Del Signore in News on May 28, 2009 11:40 AM

Comments [rss]

JenChungsBaby

But, but, but....that kid could have got a nasty paper cut.

Cautious Pessimist

No wonder there aren't enough qualified teachers anymore. If you were a bright young person thinking about choosing teaching as your career, you would look at this kind of stuff and say "Fuck that", and pick something else.

Cautious Pessimist

I hate your commenting system telling me something failed when it didn't so much gothamist

Cautious Pessimist

No wonder there aren't enough qualified teachers these days. If you were an bright, intelligent 18 year old deciding what career to take, and you were thinking about teaching, and you read shit like this, you would say to yourself, "Fuck that", and choose something else.

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

Pretty soon teachers will be required to carry malpractice insurance just like doctors. What a fucked up country we live in where the people we look to to teach us and heal us both essentially walk around with a giant "sue me" sign over their heads.

Felix Hoenikker

Or more likely leave the public system and let the poorly behaved little shits rot.

Snoopy

Special Ed huh? How about taking the kid out back and putting him in the trash compactor and squeeze the shit out of him and then let him sit there in a sleet storm in February without his cuddly fleece Snoopy blanket for a few days? Then maybe the little piece of shit will learn to shut up when politely asked.

EricRoberts

You must have had an interesting childhood.

Rocknrope

Sounds like the right decision, and it's a f'd up state of affairs when a child can kneel on a chair and curse at a teacher, and a guidance counselor who makes the "Shush" sound with a piece of paper against the lips is the one punished.

I see from the article that the teacher received another unsatisfactory rating because he "yelled" at a student. WTF is going on in the school system today? Looks like students can do whatever the hell they want to teachers, and the teachers just have to sit and take it.

Sounds a lot like those enabling parents who can't control their kids desire for ice cream.

I weep for the future.