Bernadette Camacho, Former Teacher, Fired For Allegedly Bad-Mouthing, Bribing Students

After allegedly telling students they had their "brains in their ass," and attempting to bribe them to keep quiet, Bernadette Camacho, a 39-year-old teacher, has been fired from Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, the New York Post reports.

According to the Post, Camacho faced investigation hearings for the alleged outburst, but not before attempting to pressure a female student to give her a positive portrayal during those hearings -- by bribing the student, in danger of flunking, with a passing grade.

The New York Daily News reports that Camacho called the student five times, begging her to agree to the exchange. When it was clear the student wasn't going to help, investigators told the Daily News that the ex-teacher responded, "Thank you for making my life worse."

The article goes on to say Camacho denied the charges, calling it a "misunderstanding," and citing the difficulty of teaching students whose first language is Spanish.

This isn't the first time Camacho has come under fire for her teaching techniques, CBS New york reports. In the past, she has been charged with corporal punishment and verbal abuse. She paid a $6,500 fine in 2010, began taking anger-management classes and attended therapy every month for a year.

Camacho continues to deny the charges, the station reports, and said that while she would "lose her cool" in class every so often, it was never anything "to be fired for."

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Comments

[lofttypeofaview]

11:54 AM on 01/05/2012

I'm concerned over what the corporal punishment was prior. That should have gotten her fired, possibly jailed and revoked from ever teaching again before this.

[Dede Eagleburger]

01:27 PM on 01/05/2012

Jailed??? You can't be serious...jailed for what??

[lofttypeofaview]

01:20 AM on 01/06/2012

She had a prior corporal punishment incident. If it was from hitting a child, that warrants jail because it's assault.

[brbrbca]

10:06 AM on 01/05/2012

When I was in 8th grade, our teacher, a nun, used to tell us daily that we were so stupid we didn't even know we were stupid! She was right! still it hurt

[ymirkosh]

06:12 AM on 01/05/2012

Sounds like the teacher lacked skills to teach and was frustrated by the lack of progress. Clearly the school's administration was ineffectual at supporting and monitoring a teacher with a history of issues. What is beyond the pale is undermining grades by offering a grade as a bribe. This demeans the value of grades as an assessment for all students. It should be viewed as falsifying a government record and result in the loss of the teacher's credentials and a fine or imprisonment if convicted.

[Jenny Rowland]

05:11 AM on 01/05/2012

The bribing was wrong, completely, and it's indefensible. However, I don't have a huge problem with the teacher telling the kids where they had their heads, if they were really being snotty. Maybe not the best way to deal, and not a great role model, but sometimes in a tough environment like that, it's ineffective to talk like you might at a at a private religious school or a fancy boarding school or something. So, a lot of teachers talk in a way that the kids will hear. As a teacher though, I think it's better if you can set an example and be a little more in control of yourself and your language. Bring the kids up to your level instead of stooping to theirs so to speak. I would never talk like that to my students, but then, I work in a school with relatively sheltered kids so I hesitate to judge too harshly.

[insidious]

01:36 AM on 01/05/2012

As a teacher in an urban high school for six years, a middle school teacher for six years, and a high school student who went to five high schools, I've seen my fair share of students, parents, teachers, and administrators that run the gamut in terms of behaviors: from a parent who jumped on top of classroom tables yelling incoherent gibberish, students who made shanks using mechanical pencils and "jump" other students into gangs in the boys/girls bathroom, teachers who use students as their psychologist (telling the entire class some of the most sick stories to cross human ears), and administrators who have said, "Oh, those two are fighting again. I think I'll walk a little bit slower." In the end, I've seen the parents get help, the students get help, the teachers retire (usually in shame), and the administrators move to other districts. There are procedures to help people and there are ways to weed out the bad apples (...plug for "The Corporation"). It's when good people get lazy and apathetic that bad things happen...Get involved with neighbors, family, politics, local community organizations, international community, etc...

[AliciaForever]

11:24 PM on 01/04/2012

Honestly, I love when my teachers accidentally cusses. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? I mean 90% of people cuss at school, but yes i agree. The bribing from that teacher is weird. If you can't handle your own class, get a new job woman !

[Stacey Jones]

11:10 PM on 01/04/2012

I think the bribing really got her fired. When I was in school teachers pretty much said whatever they wanted and physically handled students. I've had teacher say things to me that are like 1000x worse than what that woman said.

[daughterusmc]

05:09 PM on 01/04/2012

Can you imagine the shock the youth are in for when they get a job and not everything that comes out of their bosses mouth is complimentary?
The profanity is egregious, but maybe the sentiment is not.

[mytwotoes10]

03:50 PM on 01/04/2012

Some students lose interest in school and cutting school is a thrill to them thinking that they pulled a fast one . But, they soon realize that when they are out of school,their job opportunities are limited and thus turn to crime.

[Tater Salad]

02:27 PM on 01/04/2012

Think it's time for her to go. If anger management didn't work, she needs to find a job where she won't be put under stress. Toll booth collector sounds more her speed.

[Dede Eagleburger]

03:39 PM on 01/04/2012

I'm sure that would be much much less stressful...!!

[godfreyofbouil]

02:22 PM on 01/04/2012

Poor thing sounds burned out and be given a disability pension.

[bdunlap52]

10:35 PM on 01/04/2012

Wow. Really? It's hard to read sarcasm on the internet, but I'm really hoping....

[pinetar]

01:55 PM on 01/04/2012

Again thank Albert Shanker and the mayor at the time for bringing most school systems to ruin.

[Altruism 101]

12:36 PM on 01/04/2012

Makes me wonder why kids go to school in the first place !

If I were a teacher and some kid tells me that am not teaching something right, then by all means have that kid start teaching and let the teacher sit among the other kids !

You go to school to LEARN to become a teacher when and if your able too !

[trekie70]

12:12 PM on 01/04/2012

The teacher only made her situation worse by trying to bribe a student to give positive testimony. However, considering this teacher's history of problems, perhaps she didn't choose the right career path for herself.

[Leon Engelun]

12:07 PM on 01/04/2012

Kudos to the teacher. I am sure the teacher can find an English speaking job somewhere less stressful.