Student Alonzo Clark Allegedly Mistreated For Misspelling Word (VIDEO)

In Cumberland County, N.C., a father is ready to press charges after a substitute teacher allegedly mistreated his son Alonzo for misspelling a word out loud in class, reports ABC.

Alonzo Clark claims the substitute teacher slammed the classroom door, dragged him from behind a table, and took him to the principal's office by his collar. Alonzo's father, Willie Clark, said he had to take his son to the doctor after the incident for strained muscles in his abdomen, reports ABC.

WATCH:

Comments

[CommonSense411]

05:01 PM on 06/02/2011

why didn't the disclose the word? I want to know what this poor little kid can't spell and that sent someone over the edge. People are absurd. If you want to educate a child the last thing you should do is make them afraid of education.

In reality, I agree that some details may be left out of the story. Kids that age love to disrespect substitutes and ALL teachers for that matter. Don't teach elementary and middle school if you think all little kids are angels. My theory is that this sub is a disgruntled, overweight gentlemen who probably isn't smart enough to teach. He probably took the job because he is out of options. He doesn't like kids, and probably got picked on when he was one. EASY TARGET for a room full of 4th graders, or however old this boy is. They poked fun at him, wouldn't sit still, he tried to get them engaged, they kept poking fun, THEN this kid makes a spelling error sending the loser substitute over the edge.

If there is more to the story than a spelling mistake, A GOOD TEACHER would know how to handle the disrespect. DON'T TEACH IF YOUR AFRAID OF KIDS, YOU IDIOTS. They are brutal and you need a thick skin.

[kingisking44]

06:15 PM on 06/02/2011

Who knows what, if any part, of this story is true or what details have been left out?
Don't convict this guy before facts or even corroboration is presented.

[MissIndependentLady]

04:41 PM on 06/01/2011

That teacher has issues, to say the least. Maybe he was already in an incredibly bad mood and a kid misspelling a word that he thinks is easy to spell set him over the edge. Well, hopefully he learned that he's not fit to be a teacher.

[bobbythompson3333]

09:38 AM on 06/01/2011

What do you want to bet he never misspells that word again?

[CommonSense411]

05:04 PM on 06/02/2011

what do YOU want to bet he grows up hating teachers and all authority figures, leaving him less skillful than his peers and virtually unemployable. This one event may create a domino effect ruining this person's entire life.

[craftycrow]

10:49 AM on 05/31/2011

There's GOT to be more to the story....

[Brigette]

01:38 AM on 05/31/2011

Me thinks it's a tad more complicated than that.

[PeaceLove69]

06:20 PM on 05/30/2011

Teachers are wound too tightly these days due to performance pay IMO. If their students are strggle they take it very personally (and very poorly) because that's the difference between eing employed and being out on the streets. I've seen everything from rage to panic attacks. It's not healthy.

[Kevin Phillips]

02:24 PM on 05/30/2011

"strained muscles in his abdomen"? The only strained muscles this kid has is from eating too much. The little tub of goo is not very good at lying. He really thinks we're going to believe his version? Step 1- he misspells a word. Step 2- teacher grabs him and hauls him to the principal's office. ?????? There are a LOT of steps missing from this story and probably a lot of disrespecting words from the little tubbie.

[frank day]

02:29 PM on 05/30/2011

My guess is that your main problem is his skin color.

[Eric Mann]

02:39 PM on 05/30/2011

Nothing in the comment says that. However, judging a person by their body type is just as bad.

[UnRed]

05:19 AM on 06/03/2011

"Not very good at lying"?? IF he *is* lying THEN he certainly has stirred up a bunch of controversy so, evidently, he's pretty good at it. Of course, we have no reason to assume that he's not telling the truth and your "tub of goo" comment doesn't exactly strengthen your argument.

And, no, "a lot of disrespecting words" does not justify criminal assault.

[Kevin Phillips]

11:50 AM on 06/03/2011

Trump stirred up a bunch of controversy with his "birther" lies. That didn't mean he was good at it. It meant people are gullible. In the absence of the entire truth, people will believe any lie they are told.

It's a sad commentary on our public school system and our litigious society when people think taking a child to the principal's office is "criminal assault".

[Renee Gian]

01:10 PM on 05/30/2011

I would just like to clarify that this man is a substitute, not a teacher. Substitutes often need nothing more than a high school diploma. They are often not trained and licensed professional teachers and are often used as babysitters. So comments about the professionalism of the "teacher" are inappropriate.

[frank day]

02:00 PM on 05/30/2011

True. Good point.

Many school districts are cutting costs by using substitutes on a regular basis.

Ultimately, we all suffer.

[Kevin Phillips]

04:45 PM on 05/30/2011

Actually teachers are paid less than babysitters.

[SoCalifTeacher]

12:29 PM on 05/30/2011

Call it 20 years of teaching experience...this little dumpling has left a few details out of his story.

[frank day]

02:00 PM on 05/30/2011

you're giving teachers a bad name, if you really ever taught

[Kevin Phillips]

02:27 PM on 05/30/2011

And you haven't been in a school or lived if you think it's as simple as child misspells word, teacher grabs him and hauls him to principal's office.

I'm with SoCalifTeacher - this is blatantly not all the facts in this story. That little tubbie is lying out his pie hole.

[GlennWatson]

06:58 PM on 05/30/2011

You are of course correct. I will bet a thousand dollars there is more to this story.

[Insertnamehere1]

10:20 AM on 05/30/2011

This reminds me of the episode of boondocks where Rolo took the teacher to court for saying the nword

[gx5000]

10:26 AM on 05/30/2011

Which was in itself a cartoon of a real life event... http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=46ce26d7c7

[Kevin Phillips]

02:29 PM on 05/30/2011

Except in this instance, I'll bet you one of the little liar's donuts that the kid was the one that called the teacher "the nword".

[mayslc]

09:50 AM on 05/30/2011

This story stinks to high-heck! I'll reserve any opinion until more details come out.

[Veritas 1]

09:37 AM on 05/30/2011

The kid is most likely a punk who said something inappropriate. The sub went off the wall and now the family will sue and everybody else in the school district will loose. Such is the world we live in.

[Veritas 1]

09:46 AM on 05/30/2011

Lose. Please excuse the typographical error.

[Greenman7]

10:01 AM on 05/30/2011

You should imediatly repart to the ofice were ever it is in you're parts, Veritas.

[frank day]

10:06 AM on 05/30/2011

You should ask us to excuse your post.

[jamalc]

09:22 AM on 05/30/2011

Considering it's Cumberland County NC, I bet the word was "the."

[sydneymoon]

09:03 AM on 05/30/2011

Since the news sources don’t want to flesh this story out, I did some searching:
“Sunnyside Elementary School is located in Fayetteville, NC and is one of 52 elementary schools in Cumberland County Schools School District. It is a public school that serves 306 students in grades PK, K-5.

One poster responding to the fayobserver May 20th article wrote:
“I substituted in this school not long ago. Let me tell you first hand, there is way more to this story than what this family is saying. I am not defending the sub because I was not there, but I can say, this is a rough school. This is one of the worst elementary schools in Cumberland County. The kids fight and act out all day long. This school has some of the lowest academic performing students, and many of the children act barbaric. I am sad about the situation, but after working there, I do have empathy for the... “

This is obviously one person’s take, but perhaps the school is having trouble retaining good substitutes because of its reputation.

[lizmckenzie55]

09:36 AM on 05/30/2011

It really is beside the point ... an adult should never, ever strike or handle a child in a v.i.o.l.e.n.t. manner, never. All that is doing is re-enforcing a child's bad behavior when the adult behaves badly as well.

[sydneymoon]

09:44 AM on 05/30/2011

I agree. My point is the school may not be able to find competent substitute teachers.
The administration should be concerned that this perception of its school is out there.
The administration should be asking what should this school need to do to change things around?

[gx5000]

10:29 AM on 05/30/2011

Seems to me we had less problems when teachers DID hand out corporal punishment and we lived in an economy that allowed for a stay at home parent to raise the children. I'm not advocating a full return, but talk to any teacher in troubled districts and they'll tell you that these kids just don't respect any authority.

[lizmckenzie55]

09:38 AM on 05/30/2011

When my son was in first grade, he was struck in the face by a teacher because he wasn't paying attention during story time. That teacher is no longer employed and I did consider a law suit.

[TresJolie7]

09:01 AM on 05/30/2011

What in the world? Some people just shouldn't be teachers.

[Farot]

12:43 PM on 05/30/2011

I agree. We should have a professional teacher in every classroom. Assistant teachers should be well trained to fill in for professionals. If we fund it, it will come.

[eceresa]

10:55 AM on 05/31/2011

...but we're not funding it right now.