Teacher Fired For Probe Into Student's Menstrual Cycle

[The Straight Story]

Teacher Fired For Probe Into Student's Menstrual Cycle

MCCONNELSVILLE, Ohio — A substitute teacher was terminated from her position Friday after she told a high school student to pull down her pants to prove she was having her menstrual cycle.

The incident occurred on April 23 at Morgan Local High School, 10TV's Glenn McEntyre reported.

According to prosecutors, a 15-year-old student told teacher Lynda Dille that she started her period and needed to go to the restroom. Dille denied the request based on the student's disciplinary history.

Dille told investigators that the student then disrupted class by claiming that her refusal had caused her to soil her pants, McEntyre reported.

Morgan County Prosecutor Mark Howdyshell said Dille removed the student from the classroom and asked her to show her the stains.

"There was no evidence on the outside of her clothing, and (the student) said it was on her undergarment," Howdyshell said. "That's when the teacher apparently asked her to go to the restroom and remove her undergarment to show her."

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/05/01/story_morgan.html?sid=102

[PDJane]

1. Lord and Lady, people.......

controlling, much?

[Thrill]

2. What an idiot. Why does someone need to prove something like that?

What an asshole

[Tim01]

4. It was probably the 5th time this month she had to leave class because of her period.

The student knows the teacher can't refuse her no matter how ridiculous it is.
The teacher was totally out of line, though.

[DemBones DemBones]

7. Bingo.

[REP]

16. Yeah, and that means she's lying ... oh wait, it doesn't

Even adolescents can have Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding (DUB) or menorrhagia. We sure as hell can't tell if she has either condition or not; the sub isn't qualified to make that judgement, either.

[Tim01]

22. If a girl says she is bleeding she should be let out of class no matter what?

Is that it? Kids in schools lie. They lie all the time to get out of class. They go with what works.
If saying that they are bleeding works, they will use it every time something else doesn't work. They don't really care if it is believable or not.

You can send them to the bathroom or to the nurse, either way they are getting out of class like they want. And they are going to go roam the halls like they want.

[NeedleCast]

23. Is cutting a class really so horrible that it's worth denying the request?

[Tim01]

25. I have been in the school system recently, so I know what I am talking about.

At least in the schools I was in.
If you let one girl bluff you on this her friends will be next. They text each other in class(not allowed) and plan meetings in the bathrooms, behind school, all of that.
Having small parties during school is not allowed. And the grown ups should be able to maintain enough control over the children to at least keep them in the class room.

Kids are not bad, they are just kids. They want to do what is most fun. They obey the rules that are enforced by strong leaders. If the leaders allow them to leave class when they say they are bleeding, then a huge number of them will.It works, and is more fun than staying in class.

Sort of like if you had a job you didn't like, couldn't be fired from, and you still got paid whether you showed up or not. Just call in sick. Call in sick again. Call in sick again.

[NeedleCast]

32. That is just fucking hilarious

The great teenage conspiracy to cripple the education system. FFS, I hope you weren't a teacher. You make it sound like an issue teachers vs their cunning, evil students...all trying to create devious plots to do terrible, terrible things like cut class. Next a couple of them might take up smoking, and we all know what that leads to...sex, drugs and in inevitable slide into the depths of despair.

Best to just assume their all faking.

"Listen missy, just because you're bleeding from your eyes and ears is no indication that you have an E.colli infection. You just get back in your seat and stop your faking!"

Maybe we should active more guard units to stop teenagers from planning clandestine meetings in bathrooms and out behind the school.

[Tim01]

35. You haven't worked in the school system have you?

Which part of "they are just kids" is it you are having so much trouble with?

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. The problem is the kids in the hall unsupervised

In many schools that is dangerous. That is why kids are rarely let out of class in most schools.

We have a new 13 year old gang banger in our school. It is amazing what one kid can do to disrupt an entire school. He has already started 3 fights in the hall going from class to class. And we have several young wannabe punks who vandalize the restroom or the walls all over the school anytime they can get away with it. And gang graffiti leads to fights.

It is really important for adults in a school to supervise kids.

It's not about cutting class. It's about keeping kids safe.

And yes, I know it is sad.

[lunatica]

28. This argument is ridiculous. So what if some students lie?

Who decides if a girl is lying about her period? Or should the school make a rule that no menstruating girls will be allowed to leave the class?

[Zodiak]

31. You started out with speculation

"This is proabably the fifth time..."

There is no evidence of this....you are making assumptions and basing your position on those assumptions. What's worse is you are arguing with people who have not made such assumptions.

In short, your thinking and argumentation are based upon fallacy and personal bias.

[REP]

43. Your reading comprehension sucks.

I hope to hell you're not a teacher. I'm guessing you're an administrator.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. The sub was wrong but this girl shouldn't have disrupted class either

Sub should have sent her to the office and let an administrator deal with her.

[LeftyMom]

42. Then wouldn't the response be

"This is the third time this month you've needed to be excused from my class due to the sudden onset of menses. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that's abnormal. (Some trusted student who won't fall behind if they miss 10 mins worth of lecture) will walk you over to the office to make sure you don't feint from blood loss on the way. The office staff can have the nurse talk to you/call your doctor and schedule and appointment/call your parent to explain that you are in need of a medical examination. You can use the restroom in the office."

That way if there's a medical issue the appropriate staff can deal with it, and if there's a discipline issue the office staff can send the girl to the appropriate office without further classroom disruption.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. MTE

Kid probably caused a scene. But this teacher's behavior was inexcusable. She is the adult, after all.

I always appreciate these teachers being labeled as substitutes. Phew. Not that all subs are bad but I have sure seen some awful ones over the years.

[Xithras]

3. Good.

It's not a teachers job to discipline the student. If the teacher genuinely thought that the student was lying and simply causing problems, the teacher should have sent the student to the office and informed them of her concerns. It's their job, not hers, to figure out if the student is lying. It's their job, not hers, to discipline the student, if needed.

[southerncrone]

9. If teachers didn't discipline on some level in their classrooms, there would be

hardly any students left in the class & the office would be bursting at the seams.

This should have been handled by sending the girl to the nurse, or if there is no nurse, a guidance counselor.

The quality of substitute teachers is sorely lacking. Just like most other citizens, no one wants to darken the doors of public schools today, even if for a paycheck. The fact that the hiring of substitutes has been outsourced to "job placement services" means that schools have little control over who enters the classrooms as substitute teachers. If this was a "new" substitute, the school would have no history of her.

Just another example of why "bottom line" should not be the end-all deciding factor on everything in our society.


Edit: typo.

[enlightenment]

12. I can't speak for other places, but in Las Vegas the

problem starts on the school end of the issue.

I teach college history. At one point, I thought I'd apply to substitute teach in the high schools. I discovered that I needed two courses to qualify that I did not have - Nevada School Law (reasonable) and Nevada History.

I TEACH Nevada History to education majors in the college. When I explained that to the folks in the school district and asked if I could be 'passed' on that requirement, I was told 'NO'. If I wanted to be eligible to substitute teach, I had to have evidence that I had taken the class.

Could I do that? Sure. Will I? No.

When I was doing my grad work, I had a job as an advisor in the Education department. Leaving aside the frightening inadequacies of many of the students, my most eye-opening moment in that job was this:
A well-dressed gentleman in his mid to late 30s came into my office. He was in the graduate education program. He had completed all the requirements for his MA, including student teaching, except one. He lacked a 200 level math course.
I asked him why he had not taken the class and he said - 'I didn't believe I needed to take that level of class again'.
When I opened his file, I saw why. He had an undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Athens (Greece). He had an MS in Biology from the University of Ohio. He had a PhD in Sports Physiology from The Ohio State University.
I called the chair of the Education department and was told that he needed to take the class because he was planning on teaching maths at the high school level. No amount of logical argument on my end made a whit of difference.
In the end, in total frustration, I called the Graduate College and arranged for him to speak to the Dean. After that conversation, the chair 'allowed' him to graduate without taking the course.

They almost lost a highly educated individual who WANTED to teach maths to high school kids because he felt that was what he SHOULD do. Not for glory and certainly not for money. He felt a calling.

That's stupid - and that sort of stupidity is endemic in the system.

[southerncrone]

13. Isn't it simply mind-boggling the lack of common sense that exists in education today.

I suspect anyone who has had ANY experience in education, or trying to be certified to teach, has at least one such story as these you relate.

They make qualified individuals jump through numerous hoops that make no sense, while not doing enough to see that unfit individuals are allowed access to minors (i.e. molesters, psychologically imbalanced, nut-cases like in the OP)

I find that the majority of what I encounter as a teacher in the public education system does little toward educating kids, but creates an environment that actually prevents education! Or at least flies in the face of good educational theory.

I wish Obama would completely dismantle NCLB, as it has been a major contributor toward keeping us doing other things besides really "teaching".

[Tim01]

37. Well said.

I have friends who are teachers who are leaving the school system because it is such a ridiculous mess.

[southerncrone]

38. You may count me in that group as well.

I simply can no longer be a party to the farce that is the education system in my county.

I am amazed that kids manage to learn anything today, because we have so many barriers thrown in our path in our mission to teach. I use the word mission because it has become a battlefield.

Those here who are critical of being "too hard" on kids, do not know the environment of schools today. They need to walk a mile in the moccasins b/4 being critical.

[luvspeas]

5. She should have sent her to the nurse...

what an idiot.

[ladym55]

47. Err, you are assuming there IS a school nurse

This is Ohio. In our school district of several THOUSAND students, we had ONE school nurse for the WHOLE district (and the superintendent and school board felt even THAT was an extravagance). Chances are pretty good there would be no school nurse on premises, sad, but true.

(btw, this in no way excuses the teacher's absolutely IDIOT behavior)

[FirstLight]

6. A SUBSTITUTE has NO authority to do this...

and neither does a regular teacher...I don't care if the girl has a "disciplinary history" some things are just off limits. That's borderline sexual harassment...

I hope the girl got up and walked out and went straight to the office to report the bitch.

I had a teacher in 2nd grade who had me strip to my undies and sit in front of the heater (in front of the whole class) because the rain had gotten my pants wet up to the knee, she had no intentions of calling my mom or sending me to the office..she was a substtute too... a boy in the class felt sorry for me and brought me his raincoat to cover up with. Once covered, I ran out of the room and to the office (half naked through the halls ...) and had them call my mom. when she got there she was so pissed she told the principal that she'd beter not hear of that woman EVER teaching again. (Though I doubt there was any real disciplinary action taken... this was the 70's and stuff like that happened and nobody ever did a thing..)
but it really affected me for a long time - I had people years later in high school who remembered the incident and laughed at me.

[unapatriciated]

27. Some things are definitely off limits...

My sister had a gym teacher (1960) who accused her of being pregnant in front of the class. They tracked your menstrual cycle in gym class back then and you were excused from showering during menses.
She had not had one in months, so her teacher was sure that she must be pregnant..
She died six months later of acute leukemia. That teacher never apologized for holding her up in front of her peers as a delinquent promiscuous teenager, nor was she disciplined as my parents requested.

[Riley18]

8. As a teacher, let me just say the substitute was nasty...I don't even want to

to see their socks let alone their soiled underwear:)

[Danger Mouse]

10. Good. The level of stupid on this is incredible.

[Lerkfish]

11. um, the substitute is lucky THIS didn't happen

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. damn! Glad the teacher was fired

[uppityperson]

15. Reminds me of my middle school PE teacher. She kept a record of when

girls said their periods were since we would get to shower in a private shower if menstruating. Otherwise it was nude in public shower, not much fun for middle schoolers.

She was a weird teacher. If you told her you were menstruating, she'd check her book to see if it'd been long enough since last time. Weird teacher

[Heidi]

18. She didn't know much about adolescent female biology, did she?

My cycle was all over the place until I began taking oral contraceptives at 19.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. How on earth do people like this become teachers, even substitute teachers?

[EFerrari]

20. The biggest bullies are often the biggest kiss @sses in their interviews.

So creepy.

[SeattleGirl]

19. Pardon my grossness, but....(don't read if you're squeemish)

the student should have rubbed the teacher's face in her undergarment.

Asswad!

[retread]

21. If I was the substitute teacher in this case, I would have held

the door open for her.

[BlooInBloo]

24. Clearly it's the parents' fault.

[cherish44]

26. I think this teacher crossed the line but...

I have to say that as a former substitute teacher, it is usually necessary to be a humorless, total bitch/asshole when dealing these kids or they will act like drunken monkeys (this is especially true for junior high/high school). I eventually started to bring my video camera and told that class that I would be video taping the entire day and would be leaving copies for the teacher and principal. It protected me and seemed to make the kids behave a little better.

Edited to add: I always got permission from the school's principal before I did this.

[BlooInBloo]

39. No matter how shitty the little monsters are, you don't get to ask girls to pull their pants down.

[L0oniX]

33. I would have gotten up and went to the restroom anyway. If the teacher...

tried to stop me I would grab what ever I could and beat on her to stop the restraint.

[etherealtruth]

36. There are idiots in every profession

At least this idiot was fired

[imdjh]

40. With Virtual School this isn't your problem

It will be someone's problem, but not yours.

Virtual School is the future.

[The Straight Story]

44. My daughter is virtual schooled

And we love it.

[imdjh]

45. Great isn't it?

We did it this year, and we finished up a month before regular school gets out. No stress, no tears, no busywork.

[Forkboy]

41. Looks like it's the teacher who learned a lesson.

[knitter4democracy]

46. Total overreaction. Absolutely uncalled for.

I don't care who that student is, and I don't care what her history is--that sub went too damn far and deserved the consequences.

Heck, years ago, when I taught in a girls high school, I found out the Spanish teacher was charging the kids a dollar just to go to the bathroom as her attempt to keep them from disappearing. I read her the riot act, as they were often late to my class because of having to go. I asked her about UTIs and periods and all that and what she did if a girl didn't have the money, and she said they were to ask their friends. I found out when I was going to report it to the principal that someone already had and that Sister was royally furious.

It's this simple: give the girl a pad if she needs one, and set a timer (keep a stopwatch on your desk). If she takes longer than 5 minutes (or however long you decide, depending on where the closest safe bathroom is), then it's a detention, and you write the time on the slip.

[benld74]

48. The Grade Schooler in Arizona was made to strip to her undergarments

searching her for over the counter pain medications, THAT case is going to the SUpremes this summer. What is the difference?
One school cut their losses, the other is claiming school rules!