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Squirt gun puts teacher in hot water
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Squirt gun puts teacher in hot waterInstructor's use of toy draws assault chargesBy CINDY HORSWELLCopyright 2002 Houston ChronicleTo Maria Ripke, the small, red water pistol she has used in class in recent years is a teaching tool. Bryan and Dana Adkins say it was used to assault their son, not teach him. Now, what began as a science lesson at Baytown Junior School has evolved into a legal battle as the teacher faces charges in municipal court. Ripke, who has taught for 10 years in Baytown's Goose Creek school district, pleaded not guilty Thursday to an assault charge. If convicted of the Class C misdemeanor, she could be fined up to $500. "This whole thing is frivolous harassment," said her attorney, Frank Knight III of Baytown. Knight contends that the charge never would have been filed if the boy's parents were not a teacher at the school and a Baytown police officer. "This is just a police officer using his position to say that 'you can't treat my son that way,' " he said. But Bryan Adkins countered that if a police officer had been charged with assault he would be removed from his duties until the case was resolved. Ripke's status remains unchanged. The charge arose from a Feb. 1 incident in Ripke's sixth-grade science class. She said she has used the plastic squirt gun, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, for several years to demonstrate kinetic energy -- the energy that results from motion. In a complaint filed Feb. 11, Dana Adkins -- who teaches math at the school -- told police that Ripke had surprised her son by shooting him in the chest with the water pistol during class. After the boy objected, Adkins reported, the teacher laughed and squirted water into his face. The parents asked for a teacher conference on Feb. 4. Three days after that meeting, their 11-year-old son was assigned detention for borrowing paper, the report states. According to the report, Ripke gave police her driver's license for identification but refused to be interviewed about the complaint. She was issued a citation alleging Class C assault. Knight, Ripke's attorney, disputes the mother's account of the second shot from the water gun. Ripke said the boy had asked excitedly to be "squirted again," the attorney said. The father said that, in the conference, Ripke described her use of the toy pistol as an "attention-getter," not a teaching tool. He contends that she uses the water pistol as an inappropriate way to keep students' minds from drifting. Adkins said Ripke assured him that his son would never be squirted again. He said he believes, however, that she was retaliating against his son when she gave him detention, his first, for borrowing a sheet of notebook paper. "The detention slip stacked three complaints against him for that one incident," Adkins said. "It said he failed to be prepared, then argued about it and then failed to follow directions." The parents have since had their son transferred to another science class. Adkins, who once taught a drug awareness class at the campus, said school officials are allowing a double standard in Ripke's case. He said that, a week after she squirted Thomas, another pupil received 10 days of detention for bringing a plastic toy hand grenade to school. Since the charge was filed against Ripke, Adkins said, teachers at the campus have been split into two camps -- some supporting his wife and others supporting Ripke. He added that he believes his wife, who has taught in the Goose Creek district for 14 years, is being harassed for having complained. In one instance, he said, one of her paychecks disappeared from her mailbox in the school office. In another, Adkins said, someone put a stack of 50 "how to lose weight" notices in her mailbox. Melissa Sanchez, a theater arts teacher at the school, attended Ripke's arraignment Thursday to show support. "She taught both of my children and they loved her. She's an excellent teacher," Sanchez said. "She uses different stimuli, from chewing gum to bubbles, to interest the kids in science and make it more relevant. My daughter recalls her using the water gun and thought it was great." Wilyne Laughlin, president of the Baytown Education Federation, also attended the arraignment. "It's always sad to see teachers having problems with their profession. But it's rare to see two teachers in a dispute," she said. "It would have been better handled with discussions between the two professionals rather than going to the courts." A pretrial hearing on the case is set for May 16. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1322056
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