Student tie-down

Middle school students across the country may be incensed, as may be a fair percentage of their parents, by a story out of a Houston suburb. However, you can bet a vast majority of teachers sympathize with the former member of their ranks and will tell you they've come close to doing it themselves.

The story has apparently been kept pretty well tied up by Fort Bend ISD, but the district did confirm a middle school teacher resigned after taping a student to a chair.

The official district line is the teacher used "inappropriate disciplinary action" by utilizing packing tape to keep a boy from turning around in his seat.

I know a lot of teachers and spent a bit of time as a teacher's aide and as a substitute. Their job of controlling students has become more and more difficult with children who care less about authority, with parents who rely on schools to "fix" their kids without discipline, and with legal systems that tie the teachers' hands together.

Part of the blame, of course, must go to the small number of teachers who abuse their authority. As is the habit of our legislators and judges, unreasonable restraints are routinely placed on general populations due to the offenses of particular members.

Who's the big loser in the story above? Not the district and not even the teacher. No, the big loser is likely the student and some who witnessed it. Maybe they will fight the urge to see how much further they can push other teachers, but I doubt it.