Behavior Specialist Caught on Video Slamming 5YrOld.

What would you do if you were web surfing and a video of your child being physically mishandled by a staff member at their school came across your screen? Or what if it was a video of you mishandling another persons child when you thought you had gotten away with it? Troy Vann, a behavior specialist for Snook City Schools in TX, has been fired after the following video went viral online.

Vann repeatedly slams the young, frail boy into the bean bag. You can even sense an offensive tone in the way he is speaking to the child. The superintendent has made a public statement after the school’s administration was made aware of the video on October 13th. He admitted that the behavior specialist acted in an “inappropriate” manner with the boy. As a result, he has ordered a review of all faculty and their use of discipline and restraint.  If my children attended this school, I would have tons of questions and uneasy feelings.

In light of Vann’s potential perspective, some have argued that teachers are having to actively refrain from putting their hands on children; that some children are well misbehaved.

In response, I think it’s critical to understand that there are other forms of consequence. A good teacher understand the importance of choosing forms of consequence that are conducive to getting the parent involved.  This will allow for consistency in the treatment of the student regardless of if the parents are around or not. I don’t think Vann would have handle the young boy in this fashion had his parents been around. I will leave it at that.