Petition Launched Calling for Teacher’s Firing Over ‘Pathetic’ Comment on Second-Grader’s Worksheet

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 19, 2019US News
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Petition Launched Calling for Teacher’s Firing Over ‘Pathetic’ Comment on Second-Grader’s Worksheet
A classroom door in a file photo. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A petition has been launched online after a father posted a picture of his son’s worksheet showing a harsh comment the teacher wrote over top.

Marking the second-grader’s math assignment, the teacher allegedly wrote: “Absolutely pathetic. He answered 13 [questions] in 3 min! Sad.”

The remark was accompanied by a small face sporting a frown.

Chris Piland, the father of the second-grader, took to Facebook to upload the image.

My son Kamdyn's teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work such great motivation

Posted by Chris R Piland on Tuesday, April 16, 2019

“My son Kamdyn’s teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs [sic] work such great motivation,” Piland wrote on the post.

He said that his son attends Valley View Elementary School, in Pennsylvania.

Piland’s Facebook post circulated widely and prompted the creation of an online petition to try to get the teacher fired. She was identified as Alyssa Rupp Bohenek.

“Alyssa Rupp Bohenek is a teacher for the Valley View school district that thinks it’s ok to bully and talk down to her students and needs to be removed. Fire Alyssa Rupp Bohenek,” wrote Aliester Crowley, who started the petition.

It has garnered 8,154 signatures.

“My daughter attends valley view school if a teacher were to talk to or write something like this on her paper I would be out for blood. I dont speak to my kids like that over my dead body with someone else,” wrote one woman who signed the petition

“I’m so ashamed I’m an alumni. She needs to be FIRED! The is unacceptable to write on a child’s paper. Period,” added another.

In response, a counter-petition was launched on the same website, Change.org. “It’s a petition in support of Alyssa Rupp Bohenk from The Valley View School District to keep her job. What she wrote on the students paper may have been wrong to do, It is something she should reprimanded for but certainly not fired over,” wrote Robert DeAntonio, who started the petition.

It has garnered 144 signatures.

The Valley View School District said that it was investigating the paper. Superintendent Rose Minniti said that the district already met with the teacher.

“It’s a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media,” Minniti said. “It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.”

“As always with everything, we’re going to try to do what’s best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation,” Minniti said.

The district “takes any kind of a situation like this very seriously,” Valley View School Board Director Curt Camoni added.

Bohenek has not commented publicly on the situation.

My son Kamdyn's teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work such great motivation

Posted by Chris R Piland on Tuesday, April 16, 2019

My son Kamdyn's teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work such great motivation

Posted by Chris R Piland on Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Reactions

People commenting on Piland’s post mostly took his side.

“She should of worded it a little nicer I would go right to the Principal with this,” said one Facebook user.

“How horrible to say to anyone let alone a child who is impressionable and learning, he did his best and awesome at that. she is the pathetic one. glad you are taking action and showed what a horrible person she is,” added another.

“My modest reflection on this comment is … Who has failed is the teacher, not able to help this student and bring him to the step with others,” added another.

“Okay I am trying to figure out the pathetic or sad part. 13 questions answered in 3 min. [Expletive] son when I was a kid that was awesome. They are all right answers too. Let’s see this teacher do the same thing with math problems that are equal to her current level of education,” added another.

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