You'll Be Infuriated by the Way This First-Grade Teacher Dealt With a Struggling Student

We've seen a number of cases of harsh grading and inappropriate school assignments, but a video recently featured on The New York Times may be the most infuriating of all.

An assistant teacher at Success Academy charter school in Brooklyn, NY, was concerned about the way a teacher, Charlotte Dial, was treating her first graders and secretly recorded class time. When one young girl struggled to show her classmates how she solved a math problem, Ms. Dial rips her paper in half and commands her to go sit in the "calm-down chair." Then, in an angry, elevated tone, the teacher says, "There's nothing that infuriates me more than when you don't do what's on your paper. . . . Do not go back to your seat and show me one thing and then don't do it here. You're confusing everybody! Very upset and very disappointed."

The assistant teacher who recorded the video in Fall of 2014, left the school last November and shared the video with the paper. What's even more upsetting than the footage itself is the fact that not only did Ms. Dial return to the classroom after a week-and-a-half suspension, but she also maintained her role as an exemplary instructor and continues to train others. Academy leader Eva S. Moskowitz disregarded the video as a rarity while a group of parents even stood by their first grade teacher. Ms. Moskowitz claimed that because Ms. Dial "so desperately wants her kids to succeed and to fulfill their potential," what was shown was just a lapse and wasn't representative of the school.

With a reputation of high test scores, the school's harsh tactics to achieve academic success are not unusual according to current and former teachers. In fact, one former teacher and assistant principal resigned because of the awful treatment. "It's this culture of, 'If you've made them cry, you've succeeded in getting your point across,'" she told The New York Times. The article further reveals how humiliation of students and ripping up unsatisfactory work is condoned, according to other interviewed teachers.

The teacher was apparently given further training on emotion management and provided a statement through Success Academy: "I'm deeply committed to the children and families of our school, and I'm sorry for my lapse in emotional control 15 months ago. As I tell my scholars to do, I will learn from this mistake and be a better teacher for it."

The first grader's mother was upset with the school's decision to bring the teacher back but declined to provide any additional details.

Needless to say, we're speechless and enraged. Our children's academic success is equally as important as the learning experience itself, and under no circumstance should a student be demeaned in the process. Weigh in with your thoughts —how much is too much?