Who cares who “started” the fight between Baltimore art teacher Jolita Berry and one of her students. What’s clear is that the student pummeled her teacher repeatedly and is getting away with it.
Circuit Judge Paul Smith ruled Tuesday that the teen caught on camera in April attacking her teacher at Reginald F. Lewis High School was guilty of disrupting the school day, the least of the three charges against her in a case that became a national sensation when the video of the attack was broadcast on YouTube. An ailing tooth disrupts the school day, or a stomachache, or an electrical outage. But a malicious attack?
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Even if Berry labeled the girl “ghetto,” which is highly questionable given the conflicting evidence in the case, does she deserve to land in the hospital? We do not often agree with Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union. But we could not more heartily back her on this case. “It’s unfortunate that the judge made that decision about this case. It sends the wrong message to our students. Now they feel they can get away with just about anything in the classroom,” she said.
Children in Baltimore City schools do not need any encouragement to assault their teachers. We’ve reported numerous teachers who were attacked and daily worry for their safety — in part because the school system is afraid to report violence for fear of being labeled dangerous and potentially losing federal money. That attitude, combined with this verdict, should give violent students an even bigger sense of impunity.
So should the comments of one of the student’s lawyers, Susan Green. She said, “I’m saddened that a situation like this could ever occur in school, and a teacher could ever speak and use that language to any child.” She’s basically saying that the student played no part in the incident and holds no personal responsibility to behave herself in the classroom. Is that the culture we strive to create in our schools? Is that why we fork over billions each year through our taxes to pay for public education?
At the very least, schools must report violent incidents. Being labeled as dangerous may hurt in the short run, but if schools continue to produce children with no respect for authority or discipline to learn, we are all doomed.
