I teach high school. That interaction does not appear positive in any way. It's never a positive thing to speak like that to a student, especially when we're talking about performance as opposed to behavior. That said, it's a surreptitiously recorded 60 second video that the assistant apparently held onto for a year before releasing it to anyone. And there's no broader context. We don't know what happened leading up to that interaction. It could very well be one of those "I wouldn't condone speaking to a kid that way, but I understand" situations. So now there's a viral feeding frenzy over a 60-second snippet of the woman's entire career. Meanwhile, everyone has their bad days. We all snap and say things at work -- to co-workers, to customers, to readers -- in a way we wish we hadn't. To me personally, teaching is extremely rewarding. But like any profession, it's difficult, stressful and often frustrating. It's impossible to maintain the perfect demeanor at all times. I've said things to students on occasion in tone or in substance that -- while most likely causing no harm in the end -- I did not feel good about.
That said -- the fact that the assistant felt compelled to take the video does raise the possibility that this was an ongoing issue with this particular teacher as opposed to a bad moment in an otherwise stellar career. Or maybe there was a personal grudge, the assistant had a bone to pick, and the teacher's ****up created the perfect "gotcha" moment. Either way, I'm not comfortable condemning this woman as an abusive teacher without knowing the broader context. But if I was an administrator, I'd certainly be looking more into it.
Edit: the ripping the kid's paper thing was actually off-the-charts awful. A really bad look and something I've never come close to doing. Still -- I'd love to know more about what happened leading up to this.
