Teacher Uses Dog Cone on Students, Could Lose Her Job (PHOTO)
A science teacher in Florida could be dismissed after using a dog collar on a student during class. Students maintain that it was all done in good fun, but parents are upset and school officials say she violated their policy of conduct.
"Since we're always doing bad stuff, she [teacher Laurie Bailey-Cutkomp] thought it'd be funny-a real 'cone of shame'-and put it on us," freshman Tanisha Medina told Fox News. "She asked me before, is it fine? I was like, sure. She didn't tie it; she didn't connect it."
Medina said her teacher got the idea while the class was watching the Disney-Pixar movie "Up," in which dogs wear the formidable "cone of shame" as punishment. "Her No. 1 rule is don't eat, don't drink water, don't chew gum," she explained. "And I'm always chewing gum; I'm always drinking water, I'm always eating, but she kind of laid off on that because she's a cool teacher."
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After Medina posted a picture of herself wearing the collar on Facebook, another student copied the photo and used the caption, "This is how teachers punish kids at Zephyrhills High School."
Superintendent Heather Florentino learned of the incident on Facebook and sent Bailey-Cutkomp a letter recommending her dismissal for "inappropriate interactions with students and extremely poor judgment."
"I am stunned that you would put dog collars on your students for any reason," the letter read. "I am very concerned that you used this collar to punish and embarrass students in front of their peers."
Students have maintained that Bailey-Cutkomp did nothing wrong and was merely joking around with them. Even her colleagues are coming to her defense, which will certainly be necessary when she goes before the school board on Tuesday to hear of her fate.
"I believe that Laurie Bailey-Cutkomp is an excellent instructor and role model for students at any school," science teacher Steven L. Wilkinson wrote to the school board. "She is an asset to the teaching profession and should be allowed to retain her present position."
At least one school board member has said that she doesn't have a problem with Bailey-Cutkomp's actions but rather the publicity received on Facebook. "It's one thing to show pictures in private to the superintendent or a person in charge, versus showing them publicly," Cynthia Armstrong told the Tampa Bay Times.
As for superintendent Florentino, she fully insists that Bailey-Cutkomp be dismissed. "You said that you intended for the collar to be 'innovative' and 'related to real world situations' but that it did not work," she wrote to Bailey-Cutkomp.
She has been suspended without pay for now but will appeal that at the school board meeting on Tuesday.
