NYC gym teacher claims 6-year-old student beat him up

[AlexK2013]

At 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds, gym teacher John Webster is not a slight figure. But the former college football player claims a 50-pound, 6-year-old student physically assaulted him and sent him into therapy.

The New York Post reports that Webster fractured his ankle and injured his knee, all at the hands of 4-foot-2 Rodrigo Carpio. Walker says he now has to wear a brace on his right leg.

"It's sort of like an angel-devil sort of thing," Webster, 27, said of Rodrigo. The boy "looks like an angel, but then, all of a sudden, that halo turns into horns. It's been a nightmare. It's embarrassing. It's humiliating."

And there's reportedly more than just the incident with Webster. Rodrigo, a first-grader at PS 330 in Queens, also allegedly kicked the school principal and pinched several other individuals, including a school security officer.

Webster told the Post that the confrontation started when he was escorting several students to the school cafeteria.

"I tried to hold his wrists, and he began biting me,'' Webster said. "I took him to the principal's office, and he kicked me in the ankle, and one kick landed right on my knee. I felt a pop.''

Lawyer Andrew Siben, who is representing Webster, described Rodrigo as a "tiny terror."

"It's sad that teachers like Mr. Webster are not offered protection from someone who can endanger other teachers and students," Siben told the paper.

However, Rodrigo's parents say the allegations are ridiculous.


"The lawsuit is totally absurd," said the boy's father, Jorge Carpio, 44. "How could my little boy do so much damage?"

"This is a terrible thing to say [about] a child," said his mom, Josefa Marcia.

It's from Yahoo! News. Sheesh, what a brat Ricardio is! The little twerp attacked his own teacher, and his parents are in denial. Good gosh, Mr. and Mrs. Carpio should get their butts sued for not disciplining their so-called 'little angel', or worse, get put into jail for child neglect.

 

[Dialgarules]

Human nature = avoiding responsibility at all costs.

 

[Magnagarde]

I like how the parents response is "he's just a kid, he couldn't hurt anybody!"

 

[Eredar Warlock]

A kid beats up a gym teacher?

Really?

I think if a lawsuit forms from this, it needs to be thrown out. No child should ever get the upper hand of a gym teacher.

That being said, this is what happens when "experts" say that spanking is bad for kids. Bad behavior needs real consequences.

 

[Gama]

A kid beats up a gym teacher?

Really?

I think if a lawsuit forms from this, it needs to be thrown out. No child should ever get the upper hand of a gym teacher.

Seriously? What should the gym teacher have done to stop the kid from attacking him if the kid really was this violent (which the evidence suggests is true)? I can't really think of anything that wouldn't have resulted in charges being pressed against the gym teacher and him losing his job.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

that kid needs a paddlin'

 

[Dorothy]

That being said, this is what happens when "experts" say that spanking is bad for kids. Bad behavior needs real consequences.

And there are "real" consequences besides spanking.

 

[Lugion]

That being said, this is what happens when "experts" say that spanking is bad for kids. Bad behavior needs real consequences.

And there are "real" consequences besides spanking.

Yeah, but I highly doubt grounding would work on this kid. I mean, if he's fighting back against the principal of the school, and even a school security officer, I really don't think he's going to just go to his room when told.

This child is simply out of control, and I believe that, if his parents refuse to do anything about it, he should be placed in foster care. If this is how he reacts to punishment, he could become a danger to society.

 

[Fig]

That, of course, presuming that the teacher is actually telling the truth.

Mind, if he was going to make up a story one suppose it would be less ridiculous.

 

[Dorothy]

That being said, this is what happens when "experts" say that spanking is bad for kids. Bad behavior needs real consequences.

And there are "real" consequences besides spanking.

This child is simply out of control, and I believe that, if his parents refuse to do anything about it, he should be placed in foster care. If this is how he reacts to punishment, he could become a danger to society.

You don't think counseling or some other form of psychiatric evaluation or treatment would do anything?

 

[Lugion]

This child is simply out of control, and I believe that, if his parents refuse to do anything about it, he should be placed in foster care. If this is how he reacts to punishment, he could become a danger to society.

You don't think counseling or some other form of psychiatric evaluation or treatment would do anything?

To a spoiled six-year-old? No. I have a seven-year-old little brother. Talking doesn't make him miraculously stop being a brat. It could help, yeah, but without reinforcement in the home life, any sort of psychiatric treatment would be hollow and pointless.

 

[Dorothy]

This child is simply out of control, and I believe that, if his parents refuse to do anything about it, he should be placed in foster care. If this is how he reacts to punishment, he could become a danger to society.

You don't think counseling or some other form of psychiatric evaluation or treatment would do anything?

To a spoiled six-year-old? No. I have a seven-year-old little brother. Talking doesn't make him miraculously stop being a brat. It could help, yeah, but without reinforcement in the home life, any sort of psychiatric treatment would be hollow and pointless.

It's not clear what the home life of the child is, or whether he is spoiled or not. Foster care is an extremely drastic measure - if the suit goes through and the gym teacher wins, the child will almost certainly be asked to attend counseling of some kind.

 

[Alolan Ninetales]

Honestly, the kid needs a good whipping. Not one that would bring wounds or anything though. I think he just needs to be shown who is boss and that his actions do result in consequences. I've seen brats who were whipped as a child, and they grew up much better people. Not that I'm saying they're for everyone. There is also a high possibility that this child has something mentally wrong and will need psychiatric help. I also think that the parents are either oblivious of their son's behavior, in denial or really scared of him.

 

[Lugion]

You don't think counseling or some other form of psychiatric evaluation or treatment would do anything?

To a spoiled six-year-old? No. I have a seven-year-old little brother. Talking doesn't make him miraculously stop being a brat. It could help, yeah, but without reinforcement in the home life, any sort of psychiatric treatment would be hollow and pointless.

It's not clear what the home life of the child is, or whether he is spoiled or not. Foster care is an extremely drastic measure - if the suit goes through and the gym teacher wins, the child will almost certainly be asked to attend counseling of some kind.

Obviously, that's the extreme measure. I'm not saying he just should be sent to foster care, it's only if the parents continue to refuse to take responsibility for their child's actions. And they certainly need to, if they want the child's behavior to improve; like I said, if there's no reinforcement at home, psychiatric treatment would be ineffective.

 

[Fig]

It's amazing how quick you know what's good in the situation.

Again: we don't know the teacher is telling the truth.

Moreover: we don't know what the kid is always like this outside school. There may be circumstances at school that make him different from at home.

Basically, one shouldn't judge without having the facts in hand. A fifteen line piece that's mostly one side of the story is not the facts. You are in no position to know anything about the case.

And probably mixing your own lack of perspective due to having a sibling that age who frustrates you into the whole thing.

 

[proserpina]

Working under the assumption that this child did indeed act this way, I believe people (especially children) often act for reasons other than being spoilt/selfish. A lot of the children who misbehave or even bully others have very deep reasons for it and without all sides of the story and an assessment of the child's psychological and emotional situation at home and within himself, I really don't intend to make a judgement about this. I'm alarmed and disappointed, but I certainly don't feel that writing this kid off as "screwed up" or "needing a whipping" is a realistic or intelligent move at all.

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

I dont think people should be jumping to "he needs a whipping". We dont know the whole story or what his home life is like or his parents. We dont even know if the teacher is telling the truth so I don't think people should be saying what needs to be done without all the info. Frankly its a bit disturbing to me that people here are calling for corporal punishment on this child without all the facts.

 

[Luminosity]

EXCLUSIVE: Queens schoolteacher suing city claiming he was beaten up by a first-grader - NYPOST.com

This article has a few more details than the Yahoo! article quoted in the OP.

Apparently Rodrigo is now on medication. It doesn't say what he is being treated for, but if it's something that is best treated with a combination of medication and therapy, I hope that it is not just a case of throwing pills at him and that his mother just didn't happen to mention therapy. I also hope he is being treated because his behavior couldn't be mellowed through a change in parenting or home environment, and it's not just a cop out. Too many kids are unnecessarily medicated.

Also, John Webster isn't suing the parents. He's suing the city. I don't think the article in the OP mentioned that (actually the Yahoo! article makes it sound like he's suing the parents).

 

[Lugion]

I think some people here are trying to put words into my mouth, and I really don't like it. I'm not particularly good at articulating my thoughts, so it's entirely possible that I'm being misunderstood here.

It's true, we don't know what the kid's home life is like. Maybe his parents are abusive or something. Maybe he's learned to do this at home. I don't know, you don't know, none of us know. I'm not saying that the child shouldn't be taken to a psychiatrist at all, as maybe there actually is something psychologically wrong with him. What I'm trying to say here, is that his parents need to take responsibility in this matter. If he did indeed break the teacher's ankle, then his parents cannot sit idly by, protecting their "baby", regardless of why. That's not taking responsibility, that's avoiding responsibility. Taking responsibility would include punishment AND seeking psychiatric help, if needed.

It is my belief that parents who do not take responsibility for their children forfeit them. This, of course, applies to extreme cases, and no, I do not legitimately believe that these parents will not take responsibility at all.

 

[Archaic]

Mind, if he was going to make up a story one suppose it would be less ridiculous.

I have to admit, it does seem unlikely that someone would invent a story which would subject them to ridicule for the rest of their life. If you injured yourself and you were going to pull some kind of scam to pay for your medical bills, surely you'd just invent some cock & bull story to hit the school for workplace health & safety violations.

In any event, the story says the event happened when he was escorting "several" students, so presumably there are witnesses. In which case, unless there's some kind of history at this school of the kid bullying or being bullied by those other kids, then I'd be inclined to believe the story of this guy at face value.