Teacher accused of allowing beating for tardy student
Beverly Corbell, The Daily Sentinel
Published March 31, 2008 at 8:42 a.m.
Updated March 31, 2008 at 12:23 p.m.
GRAND JUNCTION — A 22-year-old English teacher has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allowing other students to hit a 15-year-old boy who was late for class.
Delta Police Cmdr. Roger Christian said when the boy was tardy, Delta High School teacher Brian Havel at first ordered him to do a certain number of push-ups or sit-ups within a certain period of time.
"The student either refused or failed to complete them and a classmate suggested they could get up and punch him of they wanted to and the teacher agreed to it," Christian said. "It was a group of students, about 10 or 15, that did so."
Christian said the boy was uninjured in the incident, which occurred about two weeks ago. He said he did not know if Havel is still employed at the school.
For complete Sentinel story, click here
Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
Featured
-
DPS improvements
This interactive shows you how schools will benefit under the bond proposal.
-
2008 Voter’s Guide
Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased postgame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.
-
A Dozen on Denver
Manuel Ramos' story is featured this week on 'A Dozen on Denver.' Check it out!
-
Peak Picks
Submit your fall foliage photos to our contest and vote on other submissions.
-
Presidential Elections
See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.
-
County election profiles
A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.
-
A dream fulfilled
A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production
March 31, 2008
8:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
vudumom writes:
A 22 year old high school teacher ? What was he teaching ? He couldn't have had the experience or knowledge to teach at that level. Either his age was a misprint or the schools are hiring inexperienced non-degreed teachers. At the high school level you would think the teacher's would be experienced and have a degree. A 22 year old would not fit into that category
March 31, 2008
8:55 a.m.
Suggest removal
American100 writes:
Throw the book at the SOB. My kids had a young teacher in middle school that was doing the same crap to many students. The pricipal stood up for him, she is now our superintendant, scarey.
Some of us Dads confronted him with a little of his own medicine, he doesn't screw with the kids anymore.
He's lucky we didn't let the Moms have him.
March 31, 2008
8:58 a.m.
Suggest removal
ham writes:
This wouldn't have made the news when I was a kid.
March 31, 2008
9 a.m.
Suggest removal
rockiefan888 writes:
Do the math. A lot of kids graduate at 17 today because the parents are too hung up on their 4 year old being the smartest kid on the block and starting them too soon. Graduate at 17, 4 years of college and you are 21 when you get your degree.
I grew up in a small town and have parents int he school system. These smaller school districts can only attract the new teachers. They can't afford to pay much as much as the bigger schools. So the Jeffco's, Cherry Creek's, Boulder County's get the cream of the crop and the rest of the state basically hires the best left that are licensed. And more times than not, that means hiring fresh out of school 22 and 23 year old teachers. That's the reality.
March 31, 2008
9:04 a.m.
Suggest removal
kathyM writes:
Age does not maturity make. There are thousands of newly-graduated, 22-year-old teachers who behave responsibly and do their jobs well. This guy is the exception.
March 31, 2008
9:10 a.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Throw this SOB into prison and let Big Willie, Bubba, Ben Over and the rest "handle" this child abusing @$$#0!e.
Scott
March 31, 2008
9:14 a.m.
Suggest removal
Francesca writes:
Exactly kathyM. Spot on!
March 31, 2008
9:48 a.m.
Suggest removal
GWBushwacked writes:
He will never have a job as a teacher again, or let's hope.
And yes, there are some 22-23 year olds who get out of school and manage to be mature and effective teachers.
March 31, 2008
9:55 a.m.
Suggest removal
EdVMorales writes:
So what happen to the kids who kick his ass? As for the teacher why is he in jail?
March 31, 2008
10:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
zia writes:
This is just a case of a bad teacher- it doesn't have anything to do with his age. I had a teacher in high school who -in an effort to make fun of a freshman girl in front of upperclassmen boys- grabbed me by the neck and choked me (hard enough to leave marks)... all for a laugh. When I went to the Principal, he swept it under the rug because the teacher had been at the school for over 30 years and was one of the original teachers from when the school opened. No disciplinary action was taken against the teacher. What's funny is that his son also worked at the school, was in his late 20's/early 30's and was considered one of the best teachers at the school- just goes to show you that age or experience doesn't make a teacher a good one-
March 31, 2008
11:24 a.m.
Suggest removal
freethought writes:
In my day, the teacher had a wood paddle with air holes drilled in it. A few parents complained but it really did not get them anywhere. We clasped our hands around our ankles and dealt with it. Today, you can't reprimand these spoiled brats by any means, violent or otherwise or you will find youself looking for other employment. If this teacher had any ethics he would have handled the situation by himself rather than solicting the aid of his students. Teachers take abuse daily.
March 31, 2008
11:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
suburbdweller writes:
The information on the teacher's age appears to be accurate. With a quick Google search I found his college picture & graduation plans (he did have a degree) and the school board minutes from when he was hired, all from last year.
http://www.csbsju.edu/English/graduat...
http://mail.deltaschools.com/Board_Mi...
As for those of you who think negative reinforcement is a good thing? You might be right, but it would be irresponsible in any case to delegate such action to the mob.
Hope they run the guy out of town.
March 31, 2008
12:02 p.m.
Suggest removal
mtnsrfer writes:
My Granddad told my, growing up in Idaho, he had a high school teacher that liked to hit them. So a bunch of them took the guy out into a snowy field, stripped him naked, and beat his a$$ with a rubber hose. Could just be a story, you know how Granddads are. Could be there was a teacher that lost interest in beating kids.
March 31, 2008
12:15 p.m.
Suggest removal
LoFat writes:
Today's teenagers, inexperienced teachers, teacher's unions, and the National Education Association. You have here the makings for one heck of a real life horror film. Do you think that anyone can get a real education out of this? Other than street thuggery?
March 31, 2008
12:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
sweetchuckd writes:
This story made already made http://detentionslip.org! It's one of the leading sources for crazy news from public schools.
March 31, 2008
1:23 p.m.
Suggest removal
Golden writes:
Was it a beating, or did the students punch him on the arm? The poorly written story seems to suggest the boy was beaten in some gang ritual. Doesn't anyone recall the standard birthday ritual for young teenage boys... "15 punches and a pinch to grow an inch"...
Street thugary? Are you kidding me...don't you think the facts would be important before you lable someone an idiot? Aren't you even somewhat impressed that a teacher, any teacher, knows what a punch is?
Doesn't anyone remeber playing flinch... THe penalty for moving was a solid blow to the shoulder.
Much ado about nothing. Give the teacher some credit for trying to discipline the boy in the first place.
March 31, 2008
1:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
joggle writes:
Can't really tell from the article what really happened. However, responding to an earlier post, it certainly is possible to have a degree and even some experience by the time you're 22. I graduated with an engineering degree when I was 21 and have a friend that graduated with a chemical engineering degree at 20 (graduated in 3 years). Heck, he already had a masters degree by the time he was 22 and was beginning medical school. And he certainly wasn't the only guy in his medical school class with a masters degree at the age of 22.
March 31, 2008
2:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
MGD writes:
Yeah, RemberThis, beating up the teacher would be a great way to show kids that violence is wrong. Wait, you said dead man. I guess killing someone for causing a kid no injury makes sense to you. If that is what you consider justice then I hope I never accidentally cut you off on the highway.
The kid wasn't hurt but today kids can't even be embarassed without a lawsuit. The future sure looks bright...
March 31, 2008
2:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
joggle writes:
MGD: I share your sentiments about the ridiculous number of lawsuits in this country. However, keep in mind that when kids are embarrassed and no lawsuit happens then there's no article about it either. It's only news worthy when a lawsuit starts. The very great majority of the time kids are embarrassed or even assaulted there are no serious consequences to anyone.
March 31, 2008
2:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
Eric writes:
He must have been really tardy! Go Mr. H!
March 31, 2008
3:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
GWBushwacked writes:
mama354---to each his own, but IN MY OPINION corporal punishment is not always effective or even at all. It is actually the easy way out and requires no thought as to what may be an appropriate form of discipline for the infraction.
March 31, 2008
3:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
me2 writes:
This wasn`t corporal punishment or discipline. It was a reenactment of "The Lord of the Flies"
March 31, 2008
3:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
nonayerbsns writes:
I wonder what the responders here would be saying if the student were of the female variety.
March 31, 2008
3:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
BO writes:
The teacher needs some form of discipline, but I don't think sending him to prison (assuming it happened that way the story was written) is necessary. I would believe that the kids were punching him in the arm. What about the kid defying the teacher? No punishment for that? Or the kids doing the hitting? Are they innocent? The story said it was a classmate's idea. Many of you seem to ignore that. By the rationale that some of you follow, he should go to prison as well. That's why many kids today act the way they do- too many people give them a free pass on too much (not that he should go to prison, either).
BTW- Many teachers, albeit not ones in English, but in PE, use push-ups or sit-ups as punishment. I've used it. If a kid farted in my PE class, it was 20 push-ups. If I smelled it, it was 40. Cussing at FB practice is a "gasser" (sprint 10 yds/10 push-ups/ sprint 10 yds/ 10 push-ups/ etc. for 100 yds) This year, in study hall, a kid went over to another kid that was sitting down, and farted in his face. He had the option of doing 50 push-ups or going to chat with the asst. principal (he chose the push-ups). And I make no apologies for it.
March 31, 2008
4:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
medina88 writes:
Remember this....way to be a dad. If we had more dads in this world that cared for their kids as much as you do, we would have more stable kids and less crime. My dad protected us through thick and thin but if it was our fault, we got punishment. Disapline your kids but also protect them 100%. Parents, Remember this!!!
March 31, 2008
5:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
Chadley25 writes:
For some reason, the notion of a 22-year-old being a high school teacher is just bizarre to me. That's just too young, sorry.
March 31, 2008
7:09 p.m.
Suggest removal
hikingartist writes:
I can easily envision Mr Havel working as a CEO at a major corporation where he "empowers" his employees to conduct "peer reviews".
March 31, 2008
7:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
GrumpyOldMan writes:
First off this article was poorly written so it is difficult to know exactly what happened. Like most articles today it tells you just enough to get you riled up but not enough for you to really know what happened.
Based on what was written it sounds like the punk kid was not only late for class, but he then refused to comply with his punishment. I’m assuming that he didn’t comply because had he actually tried to complete the push-ups, and failed, the other kids probably would have just teased him mercilessly (as high school kids do) and not have suggested that he get punched. So, you have this punk who not only shows up late for class, but then disrespects the teacher by telling him he won’t comply with his punishment.
At this point the teacher should have sent him to the principals office or given him a couple nights of detention (they still have that right?), but under no circumstances should the teacher have allowed him to be touched by the other students.
This sounds like both parties were at fault. On the one hand the kid should have respected the teacher and his fellow students by showing up for class on time and, at the same time, the teacher should have shown some maturity and some common sense and not have let the other kids get involved.
At least the teacher probably won't teach again.
On the other hand, do you think after all this the kid learned his lesson? I don’t. If mom and dad were smart they'd start teaching him some manners otherwise it won't be the last time he gets hit.
Word.
GOM
March 31, 2008
8:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
ObviousOne writes:
So teachers have to be old?
Last I heard they don't work their way up to the high school level from teaching elementary school. They should be qualified when they graduate. As someone else mentioned, there are plenty of 22-year-old teachers. Just like in any other profession, some are responsible, and others are just idiots.
March 31, 2008
9:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
snowbelly writes:
Teachers who have to deal with disruptive students, like myself, years ago could rely on various forms of corporal punishment, including the dreaded flat board two by four with holes in it. Yes,I was the disruptive student that was sent airborne by my civics teacher in a toss of about 25 feet.And nearly 50 years later I want to apologize, Mr. Ullibarri.They don't even have civics class anymore.
March 31, 2008
9:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
ONEman writes:
What a panzy my 10 yr old does 100 sit ups and push ups a day. If your son is a such a wuss maybe you should get him to school on time. He was injured my ass. This is'nt even news worthy give me break.
March 31, 2008
11:46 p.m.
Suggest removal
costar writes:
According to a student of Delta High School, the kid was habitually tardy and the kids gently prodded and teased the kid about being tardy. Remember, the kid was not hurt.
Now to the meat of the thing. The kid's mom is employed in the school district as an office secretary of Delta High School ~ of which the kid immediately ran to. The kid's dad is the Under-Sheriff of Delta County. This probably explains why it took so long to hit the News Stands?
The teacher is also the drama teacher at Delta High School.
Ironic, eh?
Seems there was no malice intended by the students or teacher.
Just a butt-hurt kid and his Power-Stroked parents.