According to Fox29 Philly, a teacher at East Side Charter School in Wilmington was fired on Tuesday after alleged physical abuse against a 10 year old female student.
Without a note, she says her teacher refused to let her in class. When she tried to walk through the classroom door a few minutes later, she said the 27-year-old male teacher picked her up and slammed her against a bulletin board.
The girl told her mother when she got home, according to the article. She was taken to A.I. DuPont Hospital and was diagnosed with a bruised elbow. Her arm is in a sling according to the picture in the article. Charges are expected against the unnamed teacher today. He began his tenure at Eastside this January.
Teachers hate reading this kind of stuff. They know people will start saying this happens all the time and teachers get scrutinized over it. To be clear, this does not happen all the time. When it does happen though, I feel it is worth writing about. When I see 27-year-old teacher who just started in January, I have to wonder where the teacher came from. I know Eastside utilizes Teach for America and Relay Graduate School, which I find to be ineffective fast-prep teacher programs.
I do want to salute Eastside for taking quick and decisive action with this case. It looks like there was surveillance video which is now in the hands of the Wilmington Police.
Delaware has over 13,000 teachers. A few bad apples should not upset the whole cart. I just hope the student in this case is okay and is able to return to an education setting without fear of punishment after getting to school a few minutes late.
The Season Of Myths 
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for your unfortunately necessary caveat. Many teachers take pride in their profession and strive to be professional in their behavior even under very trying circumstances. It is disheartening to hear all teachers “lumped” with the few teachers who for whatever reason made poor professional choices. If you ever wish to see textbook examples of “grace under pressure” come watch a grade school teacher working a field day, or a middle school teacher chaperoning a end of year dance, or a high school teacher dealing with rampant “senior-itis”. Whatever the situation, a true teacher rises to the occasion dealing with whatever may happen with skill, compassion and a touch of humor. Thank you again for your dedication to improving the educational environment of Delaware and the evenhanded handling of teacher issues.
Yours in teaching Woody Woodruff
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