Stephen Berry, teacher at Clermont Middle School in Clermont, Florida, didn't resign because of sex with students or drugs.
This teacher resigned because of wrestling in the classroom.
A wrestling match between a student and a teacher was recorded on a cell phone and it happened in a classroom during school. The teacher at Clermont Middle School resigned after the video surfaced and the Lake County Sheriff's Office was called.
...Eyewitness News obtained cell phone video of Berry wrestling with a 14-year-old male student during science class where he body slams the boy as other students stand in a circle and watch. Berry said there was more to the video and he was trying to get the overactive student to calm down.
"It was a little playful, it went too far and when I tried to tell him it was enough, that's when the video clicks on and they get the very end of it," Berry said.
But later in the video, another student joined the wrestling match, grabbing the same 14-year-old by the neck, lifting him off his feet and choking him. The day Clermont Middle School officials asked the teacher about the video, Berry said he resigned because he felt like the administration wasn't going to back him up after the school notified the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
"Certainly, whether or not this was criminal, it certainly wasn't proper and not the normal thing that would happen in school," said Clermont Middle School Principal David Coggshall.
In written statements, students who were in the classroom said they were harmless wrestling matches. Sgt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said investigators turned everything over to the State Attorney's Office even though the family of the 14-year-old didn't want to press charges.
"It really make it's difficult for them to prosecute when the victim is not willing to cooperate and assist with the prosecution," Sgt. Herrell said.
A State Attorney's Office representative said it was too early to talk about the case. Eyewitness statements also said, two days before the recorded wrestling matches, Berry and the same student were wrestling again. Berry said that was also horseplay.
This is what happens in science class?
...Berry could face child neglect and or negligence charges even though the 14-year-old boy's parents don't want to press charges. The State Attorney's Office is attempting to bring in the 14-year-old child in the video so they can ask more questions before deciding on possible charges.
Berry immediately should have been fired on the grounds of failing to teach.
The class was science, not a wrestling clinic.
2 comments:
I went to high school with Steve; and while it's been 20-years since I last saw him, I remember him as level-headed and smart possessing an above average sense of humor. Funny guy. I can totally see him doing something like this, but only for the purpose of connecting with his kids. Capturing the hearts-n-minds of kids on a meaningful level is tougher than ever these days. So he turned his classroom into a "wrestling clinic" (dude, really?!) for a few minutes; no one was injured and his kids loved him for it. Appropriate? Probably not, but who among us hasn't taken risks in our respective careers with good intentions? Oh, but wait, Steve wasn't conducting the business of academia every moment of the school day, so he should be "terminated immediately." Again, dude, get over yourself. What the hell kind of middle school did you attend? Hell, I remember doing actual headspins (yup, continuous) on my biology lab table during first period, and, yes, at the behest of my AP biology teacher. Kids clapped/cheered, I developed more street cred as a competive breakdancer and then it was back to business.
It shouldn't go unnoticed that your criticism lacks the one credible element that you, and seemingly the entire blogesphere, is missing: legal liability. We live in a different world today, sadly, than the one Steve and I grew up in. The one and only risk actually associated with this "incident" is what mom and dad could do to Steve, the school, district, city, county and state..."Oh, no BATTLESTATIONS!!!" But wait a minute. Mom and dad aren't going in that direction. But I'm sure some ACLU socialist or personal injury capitalist will do a great job in convincing them that their poor, abused son was a hapless victim at the hands of an incompetent, reckless, irresponsible teacher that induced permanent psychological damage accompanied with night terrors and fits of life-long insomnia. It's articles like yours that perpetuates that madness.
Steve, if you're reading this, keep the faith, brother.
First, I'm not a "dude."
I went to a Catholic grade school and a Catholic high school.
Believe it or not, I never saw a teacher wrestle with a student, in or out of the classroom.
If a teacher has to body slam kids to capture their hearts and minds so he can get around to teaching them science, there's a serious problem.
I never suggested that every single moment of the school day must be spent on topic.
Moreover, my post isn't perpetuating the "madness" of legal liability and frivolous lawsuits. Good grief.
Bottom line: Berry's story went national. Blame newswires for the "madness."
I commented on the story. I was critical of his behavior. You commented on my comment.
That's the way it works in a free society.
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