Student sues after being awakened in class

I can see how this could effect someones hearing. I used to have 2 seperate teachers who used to slam things on desks to get the classes attention. (One used a rather thick yard stick and bent it back for the snap, the other used a broken hockey stick.) There were times people complained of ringing ears.

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I should sue too then, I had a teacher who used air horns in class.

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This is how my grand uncle, now in his late 70's, lost his hearing completely in one ear. One of the Jesuit brothers who taught at his inner city Dublin school hit him when he wasn't paying attention. He lost his hearing in that ear permanently.

My grandfather, a little hot head and 11 at the time, found out and ran into the class room and attacked the brother. He left school permanently after that and began working (first as a pig slop collector!).

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What a horrible teacher. To think a student would have to stay awake and pay attention in class. What was she thinking?? She should have given him a blanket and maybe a pillow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just one more case of kids thinking they can do whatever they want to do. I saw kids fall asleep in class all the time and the same thing happened to them, a loud bang on the desk and our parents would have been mad at US, not the teacher. That's why we behaved at school.

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Thanks mamaloo

At least you understand the situation and the damage caused.

jane would you keep your same opinnion if it was your child? I doubt it.

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As for questioning every single thing an adult does, I have to agree with it. We may not have really been permitted to do it as children, but also there were many more problems with teachers and other adults in child care. There were people I remember as a child who were downright at the level of psychotic and they were handed teaching positions etc. It's about time that someone stops and questions what is happening with their child. I certainly don't accept anything said to me at face value, why should my children. Being raised not to question adults might be something that everyone would like as a parent to make their lives simpler, but it leaves the doors wide open for much bigger problems in the end.

Personally if I ever heard of a teacher doing something like that to my children I'd have their job. (And yes I've already made it happen once). My child is there to learn etc. But they also have no choice in the matter, and most the time they are being taught by someone who quite frankly doesn't give a hoot about their job. Many of the teachers here aren't worth beans and could care less about their jobs or the kids in their classrooms. So meanwhile YES the student should have been listening, the teacher was out of line in what they did. A simple tap on the shoulder would have gotten the point across too. Should I walk up and slap you in the face to get your attention when a simple "hey" would suffice? Use your head.

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Seems they should be able to prove it if his hearing problem is caused by an acute, recent injury.

If so, the teach made a mistake. Kids are awful these days, rude, irresponsible, always blaming everyone else for their screwups, but adults still have a duty to be careful not to severely or permanently injure them - especially when it's not in self-defense. Maybe this teacher is awful all the time, maybe she was a great teacher who was just having a really bad day; but that is irrelevant, just like your usual tendency to look where you're going would be irrelevant if you didn't look once and hit some kid with your car.

My family has dealt with some teachers who had a pattern of behavior that is unacceptable, and I think slamming your hand loudly on a sleeping child's desk falls into this category. This kind of behavior is demeaning to the children and to the school. If this is a regular thing with her, she needs to be seriously counseled (or counseled out) even if they don't find her liable for the boy's hearing loss.

However, I don't necessarily agree that the teacher needs to act beyond her job description with regard to why the kid was sleeping in school. It seems to me a note to the parents along with a clear warning for punishment (while awake) should it recur would be appropriate. Children must learn to respect their teachers and their school responsibilities. If there appears to be a severe problem, this is a matter for his doctor or for social services. The teacher needs to focus on teaching.

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This sounds like a frivolous lawsuit to me. If the kid REALLY lost his hearing from the noise, ok, fine. I find it hard to believe though. Slamming a desk next to a kid's ear is nothing like boxing a kid's ear. I don't think boxing a kid's ears damages hearing because of the decibel level, it's because of air compression. I had a teacher who slammed desks when kids fell asleep, he did it to me once or twice. He was a great teacher... not his fault I hated history.

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Hey everyone,
I was in school under Ms. Nadeau last year. I am still having a very hard time understanding exactly how "severe" his eardrum damage was. Yes, Meagan, your eardrum is damaged when there is a spike in pressure, not from a noise less than a gunshot. And the sound of a hand slapping a desk is nowhere, in any way, near the sound of a rifle firing off. I have been woken up countless times by this method, and all it does is scare the hell out of you for a second. It is also a bit hard to sleep with that adrenaline running through you. It sounds to me like the kid was embarrassed, and just wants a little attention. Leave a good teacher alone, and stop rewarding the disrespectful kid. I mean, he was asleep in her class! She is talking directly to them, and he put his head on the desk, and fell asleep! Now parents, who are talking about all these ways to wake them up that don't involve touching or loud noises, what would you do if you were telling your son or daughter something important, and they just turned away from you and started sleeping? Again, leave a good teacher alone for doing her job. The kid is wrong here.

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The fact of the matter is that your comments are all very pro-student which is good because he'll need them. If that were the whole story this would have been settled, but the truth is that this particular teacher is known for singing to the students who fall asleep in her class. She's a good teacher who has the support of not only her fellow teachers, but the students both in that class and otherwise. This, unfortunately, is the case of a young man and his family looking for some easy money. Look into it further, read what her students say, and realize that there is more than is being reported.

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Alright people, wake up! If your poor little kiddie's need to sleep in school, then they aren't doing it at home. Now just who is responsible for that? So what? You just pack em off to school so that they can sleep in class? I suppose that you think that's just peachey, huh?
I've got news for you, the kids in this country don't have a clue about what an education is anymore. It's the parent's fault because "THEY" Don't have a clue either!
If your poor little Bobby or Susie can't go to school for an education, then put em out on the streets and they can work for mommy and daddy and bring home treats!
Everyone is "LAWSUIT HAPPY" and that is what you are teaching your bratts! That they can do as they wish, and it's just fine. Where is the discipline from the parents these days? Up most of there ass's, or in some cases up their nose's! Go ahead and cry about how mistreated your monster's are. If it was me, I kick the hell out of the parent's first, and then THROW the KIDDIES out in the street on their Butt's. Maybe the kids that want to learn would be much better off without the distraction's.
By the way......I could care less what you think!

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mamaloo, the teacher did not hit the kid like they did your grand uncle. she only slammed her hand on the desk to get his attention.

i find it pathetic that our tax payer dollars are going towards educating our youth and our youth take advantage of it by sleeping. maybe we need to get compensation from the sleeping kids parents for the time their son slept through his tax payer paid education.

To parents of sleeping kid: make your son go to sleep early on school nights!

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Justin, for your information, teachers are not allowed to touch children anymore. so a tap on the shoulder would not have worked. "use your head!"

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You know. It serves the kid right. The teacher had every right to smack the desk. It could have been worse, she could have smacked him in the head. That being said, a kid goes to school to learn......not to sleep. If he wants to sleep just skip school and stay home.

This is rediculous. Nonsense. The teacher should have him expelled from school if he wants to sleep all the time. When a child goes to school that is the TEACHERS time, not the childs. Get a grip, get a life, and WAKE UP! This is the problem with society. Kids do these things knowing they can get away with it, without any consequences.

Kids get away with things anymore because we as adults are NOT allowed to punish the kids anymore. And a 'time out' or 'sitting in a corner' is not punishment.....it's a break. Not that kids need a break from anything. They actually have to have to be doing something before they can get a break.

kids go to school and sleep....nothing can be said or done. What would have happened if the teacher would have been sleeping? Kids go to sleep in class.....and nothing is done.....EVER. If a teacher goes to sleep in class, they are PUNISHED, AND FIRED. Now that is not fair by any means.

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