[Mpls] Two Mpls Teachers suspended after humiliating incident

[V.L. Freeman]

Jim says: If everything that is reported here is accurate as stated, this is 
a most discouraging development.

Vanessa Says: Jim, I have a six-year old daughter and up until this summer, 
she was in MPS system. She was constantly being bullied and then had her 
life threatened by another one of her classmates. "Dear Antonia, tomorrow 
when I come to school, I will beat you, then you will die."  He told her it 
was a death note. She came home everyday and told myself and her father what 
was happening. We called the school, Lucy Laney, and discussed the matter 
with the Vice Principal who was to call us back. He never did, then I called 
the Principal, who stated she would get to the matter of the situation. 
Meanwhile, we told our daughter that if this happens again, go immediately 
and tell the teacher. Sure enough, the little rascal kicked my daughter in 
her knee forcing her to fall down, and hurt herself. She went to her teacher 
as she had been instructed to do, the response of the teacher, was: " Just 
run and hide, if he comes near you." I called the principal back and told 
her of this situation, she stated to me that she knew this teacher for a 
long time, and highly doubted this teacher had told my daughter to run and 
hide. As long as my daughter has been in school, she had never lied, nor had 
the reason to, people from her former teachers, to her Sunday school 
teachers, were very troubled at the fact of her being called a liar. To know 
my daughter is to love her. We have taught her well and have taught her to 
always tell an adult when something is happening. It is because of this that 
she has been taken out of one of the most corrupted schools systems ever. 
Currently, she has been accepted into Minnehaha Academy.

Further, I had sued a school due to their use of corporal punishment of my 
son, who is now 22. He was beaten, abused, and dropped off on the South-side 
of Minneapolis, made to walk back to the North-side, as a joke, in the dead 
of winter, mind you. My son came home with bruising daily, he was beaten 
until his legs were black and blue; The school proceeded to tell me everyday 
that my son had problems and was in fights, and this is how he got his 
bruising. I found out by another student coming home with my son, and having 
my son show me the latest of his bruising which were ligature marks around 
his neck. The young man then told me how they got there, by an adult male 
staff, grabbing my son around his throat and while my son fought for air, 
this man held on even tighter dragging my son down a hallway into a 
bathroom, where the abuse continued. I flipped out first, and wanted to make 
the teachers and staff suffered the way my son did, however, I soon came to 
my senses and took photos and hired an attorney. The school is out of 
business based on this law-suit, and due to the settlement in the case, 
cannot not name the school.

Having said all this to say, that many times such devastating actions does 
not make the news each and every time. Just imagine all those young people 
that are still being abused, and mistreated that go without any kind of 
closures, or help. Probably to many to count.



Our only security is our ability to change.

-  John Lilly



Peace-Peace,

Vanessa I. Freeman
Hawthorne