Teacher loses it when boy takes too long in bathroom

Ohio teacher Nicole Lemire was furious with a fifth-grade boy who took too long to go to the bathroom.

And so she stood him up at the front of the room and asked the other students to try to remember everything bad he had ever done. Everytime he objected, she recorded a check mark for a recess that would be taken away from him.

How bad was this boy?

Not bad enough that Ms. Lemire had ever reported a problem to his parents. 

Here's the truth that most of us have known for years: some teachers are vicious bullies.

Here's a truth that most people don't know: teacher culture promotes anger and retaliation far more than it promotes truth-finding and reasoned responses to problems. A lot of teachers eat lunch in their rooms because the teachers' lounge is so full of vitriol.  In my experience, students are the favorite targets of lounge gossip, followed by parents, administrators and other teachers.

Now Ms. Lemire, who has been reprimanded and suspended multiple times, has been fired.

And what does she want now?  She wants the chance to defend herself--the very opportunity that she denied to the boy in her care.  I think a court case would be a good thing, in part to teach the students in Lemire's class how accusations are supposed to be handled in a free society.

The district noted the following in its decision to fire Ms. Lemire (see pages 93 and 94 in this document):

Ms. LeMire has displayed a repeated and persistent pattern of exercising poor professional judgment. Ms. LeMire engaged in the conduct stated in paragraphs #1, 2, 3 and/or 4, and incorporated herein, even though she received an Unpaid Suspension for ten (10) days dated December 23, 2014, and an Unpaid Suspension for two (2) days dated June 10, 2014, which both were due to missed deadlines and a lack of and/or poor communication. Ms. LeMire also received a Written Reprimand dated April 11, 2014 for poor communication and a Written Reprimand dated November 11, 2013 for leaving her class unattended. These incidents reflect poor judgment and Ms. LeMire’s December 23, 2014 suspension notice specifically stated if she “engage[d] in any further unprofessional or unethical behavior, violate Olentangy Board policy or do not follow an administrative directive, you will face disciplinary action up to and/or including termination.”

Ms. Lemire, ironically, doesn't seem to want to listen when others have complaints about her:

In December, she was suspended for 10 days after she did not respond to emails about her teacher’s evaluation from her principal at Glen Oak Elementary. She missed the deadline to submit a growth plan and failed to reply to repeated e-mails from her administrator. In response, LeMire-Hecker said she misunderstood and initially didn’t think she was required to submit a plan, according to district records. She also admitted that she had other priorities and did not read an e-mail the principal sent.

--Olentangy teacher fights elementary school’s effort to fire her 
by Charlie Boss
The Columbus Dispatch   
May 19, 2015