http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...bia-to-sue-14-year-old-for-drawing-bunny.html All I can say is "Wow!"
Seriously? I realize a phobia is an intense and persistent fear and the person will often have an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the object of their phobia (paraphrased definition), but being traumatized by a drawing !?!?!?!?!? I could understand it if the girls had brought an actual rabbit into the classroom, but just drawing a picture of one sounds pretty tame. Of course, the girls admitted they did it just to see if the teacher would "freak out", so there should definitely be some discipline for their actions, but I think a lawsuit is a serious over-reaction.
Does the lady hide under the bed every Easter? Does a Bugs Bunny cartoon make her convulse? A picture on board freaks her out that bad? Bizarre to say the least. Her phobias must have a hare trigger. Maybe as a little girl she saw Monty Python and The Holy Grail and the rabbit attack scene.
Making teachers freak out is a bit of a sport over here. However sometimes it ends in tears. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/30/peter-harvey-dumbbell-teacher-video
I do think she is overreacting by filing a lawsuit, but I can see how a drawing might scare someone with a severe phobia. I watched a Dateline episode concerning exposure therapy for a teen with arachnophobia. She became frightened at drawings of spiders and toy spiders in addition to the real thing. I think sometimes even a mere outline is enough to evoke feelings of terror in relation to whatever the person is scared of. It's not so much about the drawing itself as it is what the drawing is of.
Rabbit phobia!!?? :lol: I wonder if she watched that old monster movie, Night of the Lepus, which was about giant killer rabbits as a child?
Well, my wife is seriously frightened of snakes - in any shape or form, even pictures or toy ones in stores. That said, a lawsuit is probably an overreaction. Disciplinary procedures in place should deal with the situation.
Ludicrous over-reaction by an adult. Shame on her. She does not belong in a school, working with our kids. As for disciplining a kid for drawing a bunny on the board? Oh good grief. I have little tolerance for babyish adults. Did you know?
I too find the whole lawsuit to be silly, but the fact that the students said that they did it to upset the teacher should be addressed by the school.
When did the issues of the individual become the problem of the rest of society??? If you're afraid of rabbits, deal with it or find a rabbit-free enviorment... school doesn't exactly sound like that enviornment. But don't expect the rest of society to cater to your personal neurosis!! And you've got to wonder exactly what she was doing while her kids were drawing on the board.
I'm really surprised by some of the responses so far. If the teacher had a phobia of snakes or spiders, I imagine there would be more sympathy for her feelings (although a lawsuit would still be overkill, IMO), but since she is terrified of something most of us consider cute, it's alright to criticize her career choice and make fun of her fear. Phobias are, by definition, an irrational fear. Or, more correctly, a fear so intense it causes the person to act or react in an irrational manner. I think it is a bit extreme for the teacher to be terrified of a simple drawing of a bunny, but again, if she were terrified of spiders and the students drew a picture of one just to see if she would "freak out", I doubt people would be saying "She needs to get a different job," Her phobia of rabbits is real. It isn't something she can just "get over". I think her lawsuit is way over-the-top, but I agree the girls should be disciplined for deliberately trying to trigger her fear.
When is the last time you've been in a school that had zero pictures of rabbits? Zero bunny cut outs in march/april? Schools typically don't decorate their windows and walls with pictures of snakes and spiders, but must have rabbits up at some time in the year. IN elementary all through the halls, and on windows, and in high schools in the office Its along the same lines someone afraid of snakes, getting a job at a pet store and then suing a customer because they brought in a photo of a snake they wanted the shop to order for their pet. If you have a phobia that is that severe, its your responsibility not to go into a career where you know for a fact you will be exposed to your fear several times throughout the year
*If you read the German version of this article from Spiegel, you'll find that this is not the first time this incident has happened with this teacher. She sued a pupil in 2008 in a similar case. In addition, all you have to do is say "Rabbit" and this teacher bursts into tears and leaves the room. So here we have a teacher who seemingly sues every one she knows that tells she has a phobia of rabbits, and is so terrified of them she can't even stay in the room once someone mentions a rabbit. "Hey Jane, Guess what. My mom just got me a pet rabbit last night" "WAAAAAAHHHHHH" Teacher runs out of the room Teacher comes back "Ms. Teacher, did you know I just got a rabbit" "WAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" teacher runs out. Teacher returns "How come you run out of the room screaming every time Jane mentions her new rabb...." "WAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Teacher runs out of the room The period is over. Kids having learned nothing but that their teacher can't cope with listening to them
I don't remember any decorations or pictures of rabbits posted in the middle school where I did my student teaching. There were probably some in the elementary school area, but all K-8 schools are designed with the middle school grades being on a different wing from elementary grades. As for decorations with rabbits, I might expect some around Easter. Then again, with the wave of political correctness in our country, a lot of schools now choose not to openly decorate or celebrate Easter at all. On the other hand, I would also expect decorations with spiders to be common at Halloween and there is no corresponding PC call for schools to avoid celebrating Halloween. Our school even had a carnival. If a coworker told you and the rest of the staff (s)he had an intense phobia of spiders or snakes and asked that you NOT put up any pictures, drawings or cutouts around your room or in the hallway as a professional courtesy, I think most of us would try to honor that request. If so, why would you not extend that same courtesy towards a phobia of rabbits?
Read the german version - this teacher sues people who tell about her fear of rabbits. And she is also too terrified of hearing the word "rabbit" to remain in the classroom after someone says it. Which does lead one to wonder how she is able to bring about her SECOND lawsuit against a student involving the issues. since she is too terrified to even talk about rabbits to be able to convey to a lawyer what her problem is http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/wissen/0,1518,692068,00.html
I said from the start the lawsuit was way out of line. I also questioned the fact that she could become that terrified of a simple drawing of a bunny. Your link would be more helpful if I actually read German or if an English translation was provided. :dunno:
Was, Sie don t sprechen Deutsch? Nur ein Scherz, nehme ich für meine deutsche Sprache erforderlich. Kinder lieben es.
I have developed a phobia against No Child Left Behind. Do you think I can sue if I hear the phrase anymore this year? Same goes for AYP. I also start hyperventilating when I see a student shrug his/her shoulders. It makes me irrational. I want to run from the classroom. Anyone on board with me on this suit. We could make it a class-action lawsuit.
Has this woman attempted to get help for this problem? I have serious anxiety and I would never attempt to teach if I was in the condition that I'd run out of the room crying if someone brought up one of my phobias.
There are a ton of free online language translators? Use babelfish or something similar and you can read the article
England is quickly becoming a third-world country what with the over-regulation and insane laws and everything. It's like they're using the energy they used to use as an empire to persecute their subjects all over the world against people within the borders now that it has lost most of its colonies. It's a wonder people over there don't snap like this more often.
Blazer, Wallace and Gromit are my favorite!!! I was reading Eric Carle's Little Cloud to my kindergartners today. I had to stop and laugh when I got to the page of Little Cloud becoming a rabbit. Obviously that teacher won't be reading that story anytime soon!!:lol:
Get her away from children immediately. She sounds like a psycho who makes money by suing people. Why in the world would any school hire this awful woman?
Yeah, my last post would have made more sense if I were allowed to post links to more stories illustrating the effect of an Orwellian society on people's sanity. Oh well.
