Back in January, Marquis Roy, an eighth-grader at Boles Junior High School in Arlington, Texas; was sitting at his desk with his head tilted back and his mouth open when a teacher helping out in his class walked by and poured pencil shavings into his mouth. Incredibly, however, this teacher was allowed to return to school. This is unacceptable. Tell the Arlington Independent School District to fire both her and the school's principal.
When I first mentioned this petition on Saturday, quite a few people suggested that this really wasn't our business. After all, since she was suspended, it's not the place of anyone outside Arlington to raise any objections. Well, sorry, I disagree. Marquis could have choked on those shavings, or worse. In doing this, this teacher has shown she doesn't have the self-control to be in a classroom. If I were a parent, I certainly wouldn't want to chance being in a classroom with a teacher like that. And the school principal, Jeff Provence, deserves a measure of responsibility too. By letting this teacher come back, he displayed gross disregard for the safety of his students.
Protecting our kids is something that isn't just a local issue. It's a national one. We need to send a message that this is behavior that cannot be allowed to stand. Sign this petition to AISD superintendent Marcelo Cavazos and board of trustees president Peter Baron demanding that Provence and the teacher be fired.