Charges against Burrillville teacher dropped
4:38 PM Tue, Mar 17, 2009 | Permalink
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PROVIDENCE -- The charges against a Burrillville teacher accused of poking a student in the chest with a pointer at Steere Farm Elementary School were dropped Tuesday in District Court, Providence, according to the clerk's office. The court file does not explain why the charges were dropped, the clerk said. Naomi Roberts, 65, of 151 Duck Cove Rd., North Kingstown, was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, for allegedly poking a 10-year-old in the chest with a wooden pointer, with a hand at the end of it, because he was being loud in class on Jan. 9. The student's father, Stephen Bell, 39, filed charges against Roberts on Jan. 15. According to a memo from principal Cynthia Dunham, two other students were also "touched during technology class," presumably with the pointer. Roberts has been on administrative paid leave pending the outcome of a school district investigation. A secretary at the Burrillville school administration office said that Supt. Steven Welford was directing all media inquiries to the Police Department because this was the first he had heard of the news. Phone calls to the Burrillville Police Department, the Attorney General's office and Roberts' lawyer, Joel Chase, were not immediately returned. 
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Who does she see to get her reputation back? This is a 65 year old woman. How much damage could she have done if she was TRYING to inflict damage? I think that she should sue the boy's family, that is if they even own anything. Did the boy's parents even ask why this teacher was moved to put her hands on the boy? Do the parents care? Will they care when this boy ends up in prison because he doesn't respect authority or knonw boundaries? The art of parenting is on life-support!!!
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I could not agree with Don more ! Another parent who thinks their boy could do no wrong !
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Don, I agree the press went way overboard in an attempt to villify this teacher. The fact remains that the teacher did physically touch the student and the parents went to police to determine if criminal charges were needed. Then it was sent to the AG and the courts to determine if the case held merit. This is how our legal system operates. What one person considers a tap others consider assault.
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We should change the law to clearly and specifically allow a teacher to use reasonable physical force in order to maintain classroom order and school districts should spell this out in their policy. It is ludicrous that this teacher should have ever been put in jeopardy.
What if we empowered teachers to administer discipline through an opt-in system by which parents could choose to waive the right to litigate? Parents would gain the benefit of having their children learn in a "well controlled" environment as opposed to the status quo in which a classroom can be completely subverted by an unruly child, and the teacher is compromised in their ability to respond. I assert that many parents would opt-in in order to get a better education for their kids.
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