On a typical day, Kamdyn Piland would return home from school with a bright smile on his face. At the time, the young boy was just a regular kid in second grade. This is why his parents had been alarmed when he came home from school with tears in his eyes and a frown on his face! When they asked him what the matter was, he simply shrugged it off. In the end, he finally showed him the reason he was acting like that. It had something to do with his homework and the note that his teacher left on it. After his father posted about it on the internet, it sparked outrage among netizens.
No Justification For This
As soon as Chris took a look at the homework, he saw the note that the teacher scribbled on it. He assumed that it was going to be positive feedback, but it was the exact opposite of that. Chris knew that there was no justification for this sort of behavior! This was practically a personal attack on his young son. His reaction to this soon went viral, and most people agreed with him. But what did the note say?
No Justification For This
It Was Unlike Him
Chris, the father, described his son as a calm boy who did not get into trouble. He was not a hyperactive kid at all. Unlike many kids his age, he did not excessively watch TV shows, indulge in sweet treats, and watch TV shows. This was part of the reason why the family had been shocked to see the negative criticism from his teacher. It did not sound like he deserved this whatsoever!
It Was Unlike Him
More Than Meets The Eye
As the dad, Chris was very puzzled by this turn of events. He could tell that there was more to this than meets the eye. Was there something more serious at hand here? Based on the look of things, this was probably the case. In the end, he found out something even worse than he had in mind.
More Than Meets The Eye
Just A Regular School
Kamdyn was a second-grade student at Valley View Elementary School when it happened. Overall, it is a regular public elementary school that was no different from any other in the country. There is no denying the fact that the young boy was not really an “overachiever.” Even so, his dad knew that he at least tried his best when it came to his studies.
Just A Regular School
Not A Troublesome Boy
As far as they knew, the little boy was not a troublesome kid at all. In fact, they thought that his studies had been going well. They were sure that he did not deserve that kind of treatment from his teacher! However, complaints about him started to roll in since the school year started. This had been a cause of concern for them.
Not A Troublesome Boy
He Tried His Best
Chris knew that Kamdyn was a good kid. Unlike other children, he would always do his homework on time. The little kid would work on them as soon as he returned home. However, things changed when he started second grade. There was something different about the poor boy… but what could it be?
He Tried His Best
Do Something About It
This concerned dad was puzzled when he noticed how the behavior of his son was changing. There was no way he could just stand by and watch this happen to little Kamdyn! Of course, the rude note on his homework worried him some more. Chris knew that he needed to do something about the problem.
Do Something About It
Hard Time Coping
It was clear that there was something wrong here. Chris had no idea what exactly was going on at school. Kamdyn was not an unintelligent kid by any means. However, it looked like he was having a hard time coping at school. It was not like him to do badly with his studies, which worried his dad the most.
Hard Time Coping
Way Too Harsh
The critique on the homework came from his teacher, Alyssa Rupp Bohenek. After seeing her note, Chris could not help but wonder if she had something to do with the poor performance of his son. This was the note that she left on the paper: “Absolutely pathetic! He answered 13 in 3 minutes! Sad!”
Way Too Harsh
The Teacher In Question
Alyssa Bohenek had been teaching at that elementary for quite some time already. People knew that she was difficult to please. As you might have guessed by now, she was teaching Kamdyn’s class. At any rate, it was very easy to tell that things were not going smoothly between the two of them.
The Teacher In Question
She Targeted Him
Kamdyn told his parents that Ms. Bohenek did not give him any chance to be “free” in class. It felt like she was always keeping an eye on him for some reason. She was always quick to point out any and every mistake that he made. She would use this chance to insult him. This can’t be easy on anyone, especially not a young boy like Kamdyn. In the end, it only made his self-esteem go down.
She Targeted Him
How To Deal With Poor Grades
When you are a parent, it is your responsibility to check up on your kids and see how well they are doing at school. We are sure that no parent out there wants to find out that their kid is doing badly in school. This has not stopped it from happening, however. It is important to address the problem right away.
How To Deal With Poor Grades
What You Can Do
Young kids do not always do very well when they are given tough love. Keep this in mind when you try to discipline your children. If you want to get to the root of the problem, you will probably want to help them work through their lessons and homework. It might be worth paying for extra lessons as well.
What You Can Do
The Right Way To Do It
Negative feedback can take an emotional toll on adults. As you can imagine, it will be even worse for young kids! You can always use it to improve yourself, but you should keep the delivery of your words in mind. It is important to give constructive criticism in a diplomatic manner for the best possible results.
The Right Way To Do It
It Has Negative Impacts
The truth is that criticisms can affect our lives in many ways. This can have positive or negative effects on all of us. Be careful since you might damage the confidence and self-esteem of a person! Kids are not equipped with the emotional tools to deal with it just yet. Sadly, Kamdyn heard it from an authority figure as well.
It Has Negative Impacts
A Role Model
When you work as a teacher, you should keep in mind that your duties are not limited to delivering and preparing lessons. You are also going to serve as a mentor to young children. It is important to behave in a certain way. After all, you are molding the minds of a future generation! They all look up to you.
A Role Model
They Are Also Leaders
It is also important for teachers to show good leadership skills. This is a good way to ensure that you are going to have a positive impact on your students. Unfortunately, it turned out that Bohenek was unable to fulfill this part of the job. As a matter of fact, she was tearing down the confidence of a poor little boy.
They Are Also Leaders
It Was Uncalled For
We can totally see why Chris felt upset by the note. After all, there was no reason for her to use such hard words! It had been a useless comment. No one deserved to see it on something that they worked hard on. She should have just left a constructive criticism if she truly wanted to help Kamdyn out.
It Was Uncalled For
Not Ideal For His Growth
Chris just wanted Kamdyn to do well at school. The reason they enrolled him at school was so that he would learn. But it was clear that this was not going to happen. It would seem that the teacher was only making things even worse for him! How was Kamdyn supposed to grow under these conditions?
Not Ideal For His Growth
He Had To Do Something
We are glad to hear that Chris did not overlook this negative comment. Most people would have done exactly that! He knew that he had to do something about how his son was doing at school. His gut was telling him that his teacher had something to do with it. After seeing the note, he was spurred to action.
He Had To Do Something
It Was A Personal Attack
No matter how you look at it, the teacher should not have written that note. Chris would have just brought it up with Kamdyn if he thought that the comment was fair. But this was not the case. After reading the piece of criticism, he knew that the only way to resolve things was to talk to Bohenek.
It Was A Personal Attack
More Harm Than Good
There are times when poor grades are inevitable. However, we think that harsh criticisms would only do more harm than good. Teachers need to treat their students as fairly as possible. We really have no idea why a teacher would feel the need to call a little boy pathetic. Did she have an ulterior motive?
More Harm Than Good
He Condemned Her Actions
Chris wanted to get back at Bohenek for what she did to Kamdyn. This was part of the reason why he drew up a Facebook post. He wanted to condemn what she did and the way she treated his son! How did Facebook users react to the post? Hopefully, other people would agree with him on this.
He Condemned Her Actions
It Went Viral Immediately
We are glad to report that Chris got a lot of positive feedback on his post. People were outraged when they found out about what Bohenek did to Kamdyn. Soon enough, the story attracted the attention of the whole country. The readers wanted to know what was going to happen next for Chris and Kamdyn.
It Went Viral Immediately
Strangers Expressed Support For Them
After Chris posted the story on Facebook, people joined him in his condemnation of Bohenek. Everyone was shocked to hear that a teacher such as herself would do such a thing! These strangers expressed their opinions and thoughts on the matter. We are glad that Chris and Kamdyn got so much support.
Strangers Expressed Support For Them
It Is Not A Regular Job
At one point or another, we have all had teachers. Their responsibility extends further than simply getting good grades. It is also important to foster a positive and conducive environment where they can learn. Teaching is not only a job, but it is more of a passion. Teachers have important roles to fulfill.
It Is Not A Regular Job
The Comment Did Not Help
Chris knew that not everyone will do great at school. Other kids will fail to cope, while some are naturally academically gifted. This did not really bother him. What truly made him mad was the negative response. Surely, she could have praised her piece of criticism better! Kadmyn just wanted to learn.
The Comment Did Not Help
The Importance Of Learning
You probably already know this, but learning is one of the biggest parts of life. This is how we all figure out how to get through one day after another. It is important to learn new skills and abilities along the way. You cannot possibly survive if you do not learn to embrace this highly valuable life skill!
The Importance Of Learning
A Conducive Learning Environment
The truth is that learning is only going to work if this is done in a conducive environment. Teachers should do their best to ensure that the students feel comfortable for the best possible results. When you constantly express negativity, you can bet that it is going to make things even worse for them.
A Conducive Learning Environment
An Online Petition For Them
Of course, Chris was glad to see that people were responding positively to his Facebook post. There came a time when he thought that this should be enough. But a concerned citizen launched an online petition that called the school to take action. It asked for the removal of Bohenek from that position!
An Online Petition For Them
The Overflowing Support
Once more, Chris felt overwhelmed by all the support that he was getting from these complete and total strangers. He was glad since he knew that it was going to help Kamdyn feel better about the situation. Not once did he expect that this was going to happen! It comforted him to see how much people cared.
The Overflowing Support
Her Career Was At Risk
If the petition succeeded, Bohenek was probably going to get fired. This took things to a whole new level altogether. We are sure that she did not want to lose her job either. However, what can she do about all the backlash that she was receiving? Her career was now at risk, and she had to do something about it.
Her Career Was At Risk
For The Other Children
It is important to teach children the difference between right and wrong. Chris knew that this was a good opportunity to impart a very important lesson to Kamdyn. However, he was not only concerned for his son. He also worried that the same thing was happening to the other students who were enrolled in her class!
For The Other Children
A Lot Of Responsibility
Like we said earlier, a teacher does not only prepare and deliver academic content to their students. It is also important for them to teach other important lessons in life. As you can see, they have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. On top of that, they need to encourage learning among the students.
A Lot Of Responsibility
Love Of Learning
If a student likes learning, it is going to be much easier to teach them. In the end, this is the goal of most teachers: to install the love of learning in their students. We really doubt that negativity is going to achieve such a thing. If you ask us, positivity is going to do so much more!
Love Of Learning
A Different Petition
It did not take long before the petition to have Bohenek removed reached 10,000 signatures. There was another petition that went up, however. Other teachers wanted to defend her. They said that she did not deserve to be fired over this. What do you think? Did Chris and his supporters really go too far?
A Different Petition
What Kamdyn Had To Say
We have talked about the situation so much, but we have yet to know what Kamdyn thought of it. When he finally did, people only wanted to ask Bohenek for accountability. “She made me sad, upset, and mad. I think it was a mean thing that she did,” said the boy. No one should be made to feel that way!
What Kamdyn Had To Say
Too Young For That
Kamdyn had only been seven years old when he got the terrible note from his teacher. When his dad talked to various news outlets, he said that no one deserved a comment like that – least of all someone that young! According to this dad, he would always feel angry when he thought about her note.
Too Young For That
Her Unprofessional Response
Before you say anything else, we want you to know that Chris actually reached out to her. He brought up the tone that she used in her comments. He recounted, “When I sent the concern to her, all she did was reply with a message saying sorry I felt that way about it.” Yikes! What an unprofessional response.
Her Unprofessional Response
They Did Not Do Anything
After some time, the management of the elementary school got wind of the complaint. They said that they felt disturbed by it and agreed that Bohenek should not have done such a thing to Kamdyn. But in the end, they did not fire her. They only decided to reprimand her for her actions and nothing else!
They Did Not Do Anything
He Updated The Post
Kids are vulnerable, so it is always a good idea to treat them with care. On top of that, this is a formative part of their lives. What they go through during those years will shape them into the person that they would become in the future. Once Chris heard back from the school, he updated the people who had been watching the story. He said, “Thanks to all the efforts and support of the dedicated people who signed and shared this petition, I’m happy to announce that the Valley View school board is currently investigating the teacher in question.”
He Updated The Post
The Start Of An Investigation
Rose Minniti was the superintendent of the school. She also found out about the comments that Alyssa Bohenek left on the homework of the young boy. She met with the school administrators and revealed that they were going to look into the matter some more. This marked the start of an investigation.
The Start Of An Investigation
What She Said
In the end, she issued a statement to clear up their stand. People found it fair but shady. She said that they were going to keep the best interest of the child in mind but still protect the employee. Aside from that, she said that they would not use social media comments as the basis of their investigation.
What She Said
They Wanted Her Fired
The original petition has over 20,000 signatures from people all over the globe. Can you believe how many people had been asking for the school to fire Bohenek? In the end, they all kept a close eye on the issue. They hoped that justice was going to be served for the sake of Kamdyn.
They Wanted Her Fired
Not Everyone Agreed With Him
It goes without saying that not everyone agreed with what Chris had to say. In fact, some people said that he was the guilty party here. They said that he should use the time he spends on social media to teach his young child instead. These people questioned the way that he was raising his kid.
Not Everyone Agreed With Him
Helping Him Answer His Homework
Knowing social media, we are not surprised to see that some people turned it around on him. They said that Kamdyn would not have gotten that comment if Chris helped him answer it. Despite this, these people are in the minority. The truth was that more people agreed that the dad was in the right.
Helping Him Answer His Homework
Assessing The Teachers
Every now and then, it is a good idea to give teachers the help that they need. It is important to see if their teaching strategies and styles are working. We all know that teachers help mold the future of society. There will always be people arguing about teaching styles. Some of them are better than others.
Assessing The Teachers
Different Styles Of Teaching
A lot of people think that the grades of the students make for a good assessment of the teacher. This is likely true to a certain extent. But we should also consider the different teaching styles that exist. Kids learn in different ways as well. This is why there we always see a variety of results among students.
Different Styles Of Teaching
Training Teachers
It is also important to note that a person is not ready to teach kids as soon as they earned an education degree. A lot of people do not seem to understand this. The people in the comment section of the Facebook post, however, talked about this topic. They believe that teachers should get more guidance.
Training Teachers
How To Handle This Problem
For a teacher to be effective and good at what they do, it is important for them to understand diversity. Kids come from various backgrounds and learn through different means. It is only natural for challenges to arise inside the classroom. A teacher should be equipped to find a proper solution to these problems.
How To Handle This Problem
She Was Actually Pregnant
While the investigation was ongoing, people found out that Bohenek was actually pregnant! This meant that she was on her way to becoming a mother. People thought that this explained her actions. They said that she must have acted up thanks to hormonal changes. Was her short temper just a side effect?
She Was Actually Pregnant
If She Were In His Shoes
When people found out about this, they could not help but wonder about what she would do if she were Chris. Was Bohenek going to react in the same way? Was she just going to let it go? When you work as a teacher, it is important to think of the consequences in the future. As an educator, you should know that it is going to have a huge impact on them. You should always think before you act!
If She Were In His Shoes
Leave Personal Issues At Home
If a teacher wants to inspire students, she should also feel the same way. Kids will be able to tell what kind of energy they bring into the classroom. It is a bad idea to bring your personal problems to your workplace. After all, your students might absorb your negativity if you do this. Even though it is not exactly easy, a teacher should work on fostering an inspiring and positive vibe inside the classroom.
Leave Personal Issues At Home
Hard To Find Great Teachers
In the end, many people only work for the salary that they receive. Many people think that this line of work does not involve a lot of hard work. This is not true at all! As a matter of fact, teachers work very hard to shape young minds. It is sad to hear that there is a scarcity of great teachers.
Hard To Find Great Teachers
Shaping Young Minds
It might be a cliché, but it is undeniably true that the children are our future. We must work hard to raise them right because everything depends on them. A teacher needs to be in the right state of mind if they want to help a child develop their cognitive, emotional, psychological, and physical abilities.
Shaping Young Minds
Inspire Your Students
A small thing that you can do is to be eager to teach your students! You do not need to go overboard with it, but this is going to make a big difference to the young kids. It is going to inspire them to do their best to learn as much as they could. If you ever had an inspiring teacher, know that you got very lucky.
Inspire Your Students
Channel Your Energy Elsewhere
Trust us, a struggling kid will appreciate it if they see that a teacher keeps their best interest in mind. It is not a good idea to resort to negativity as this is not going to help anyone. In fact, that time should be spent helping kids who struggle with the lesson. This is going to do so much more than negativity will!
Channel Your Energy Elsewhere
Teachers Are Not Perfect
But let us not forget that teachers are not superheroes. The truth is that they are also just human. It is worth seeing where they are coming from as well. Even though a huge responsibility falls on their shoulders, it is a terrible idea to expect perfection from them. They are constantly learning as well.
Teachers Are Not Perfect
Everyone Deserves Second Chances
As humans, it is in our nature to make mistakes. Despite this, we all deserve a second chance every now and then. However, we should keep in mind that repeated mistakes are likely done on purpose. Parents need to be active in the education of their children to ensure that everything is going well at school.
Everyone Deserves Second Chances
Behavior Of A Bully
A lot of people agreed with what Beth O’Brien from Peckville had to say. According to her, the teacher behaved like a bully! She deserved to be punished for the way she traumatized the young boy. Bullying is already bad enough on its own, but it was even worse that a teacher was doing it.
Behavior Of A Bully
He Wanted To Protect His Son
Chris only wanted to stand up for his son and defend the helpless little boy. He did not ask for the removal of Bohenek out of malice. This dad just wanted to ensure that she would learn her lesson and no longer harm other kids. There was no reason to tolerate the behavior that she displayed to children. We can’t blame him for doing what he did!
He Wanted To Protect His Son
An Important Lesson
The father said that he wanted all the children to feel comfortable inside the classroom. By talking about the problem online, he raised awareness on an issue that many people do not know about. It was a good way to bring attention to such an important problem. He did not want this to happen to anyone else.
An Important Lesson
In The Comment Section
If you go through the comment section, you are going to find people who fully support him in this. They believe that Bohenek should not have acted like that. Yvonne, another parent, was upset to hear the story. She said that the teacher did not deserve to teach a classroom full of young kids.
In The Comment Section
Going Too Far
On the other hand, some people wanted to talk about the homework in question. One person even brought the spotlight to the math skills of the young boy. They even went as far as to talk about his abilities in a negative light. Why would they do such a thing? The poor kid was already hurt and upset!
Going Too Far
He Was Doing Fine
While Bohenek did not have good things to say about his work, others thought that he did well. She should have focused on the positive side. Rose said Kamdyn was smart enough to answer 13 questions in only a span of 3 minutes. This was pretty good considering that he was only in the second grade!
He Was Doing Fine
The Boy Did Not Deserve It
A different parent by the name of Erona talked about her concerns. She thought that it was too harsh to call for Bohenek to lose her job. Despite this, she did agree that the teacher had been in the wrong. There was no reason for her to put down any of her students. Kamdyn did not deserve it at all.
The Boy Did Not Deserve It
Dealing With Personal Issues
Margaret, a different netizen, brought up how Chris said that this had been going on for some time. There was really no need for her to insult the little boy. This commenter could not help but wonder if Bohenek had a personal problem with Kamdyn. That would definitely explain a lot of things.
Dealing With Personal Issues
The Poor Boy
We are glad that, in the end, Kamdyn received plenty of love and support. Even so, Brittney still felt bad for him. It was hard to imagine what he was going through! In the comment section, she said that a teacher should encourage a child and not make them feel bad for how they were doing.
The Poor Boy
Everyone Had Different Opinions
Education is one of those things that people will never see eye to eye on. It was a given that people from all walks of life would chime in to give their two cents on the matter. In the end, this is where social media comes in. Everyone gets to talk about how they feel and what they think should be done next.
Everyone Had Different Opinions
The Best Thing To Do
Chris had to think about what to do after this. A person called Sandra told him that it would be a good idea to put Kamdyn in a different class with a different teacher. This way, he could ensure that the young boy was no longer going to suffer any more trauma at the hands of Bohenek! We hope that the teacher has since learned her lesson as well.
The Best Thing To Do