When someone is attacked, you might assume that they were the victim of someone of a much larger size. This case happens to be the exact opposite. A New York teacher is taking action after being allegedly assaulted by a first grader. The teacher attacked was a gym teacher, John Webster, who is a former college football player, stands at 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 220 pounds. The 27-year-old sustained injuries from 6-year-old student Rodrigo Carpio back in April. Webster suffered a broken ankle and injured his right knee to the point of requiring surgery. His injuries have kept him out of work up until last month. “It’s very humiliating and defaming, but at the same time, it’s true,” Webster told CBS.
Carpio was acting up while being escorted to the cafeteria. “The student in question started jumping and spinning on the stairs,” Webster said. He tried to get the child to stop, but when he continued to misbehave, Webster grabbed his arms and the child began to bite him. “He was very, very strong,” Webster said of Carpio. “He was kicking me, using his heels to kick me in my legs. He spun around and belted me right directly in the right knee. I was trying to move back away but I was by the stairs and stuff, then I heard a big pop to my knee,” he told CNN. However, Webster wasn’t Carpio’s only target. The 50 pound student also “allegedly kicked the school principal and pinched several other individuals, including a school security officer,” according to news.yahoo.com.
There are other methods in getting an unstable student under control. A similar situation happened to Maria Palopoli, a Maine teacher who has been teaching for over 30 years. One of her students who had bitten another earlier in the year came charging at her. “You have to stay calm and keep repeating the rules or guidelines…the key is staying calm to diffuse the situation,” said Palopoli. If Webster had stayed calm and not grabbed Carpio’s wrists, the child might not have gotten more agitated or started to bite and kick.
Andrew Siben, the lawyer representing Webster, described little Carpio 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 New York Post. Carpio doesn’t even seem to remember the incident. When asked if he kicked Webster by a CNN reporter, he shrugged his shoulders and exclaimed, “I don’t know. I forgot.”
Now having to wear a knee and ankle brace on his right leg along with going to counseling for stress, Webster plans to file a lawsuit against the city in hopes of getting reimbursement for his $10,000 worth of medical bills. “The lawsuit is totally absurd,” Jorge Carpio, Carpio’s father, told The New York Post. “How could my little boy do so much damage? My poor son.” According to CNN, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the office cannot comment on the pending litigation.
This situation could have been completely avoided. Webster had to go through surgery because of some pesky, misbehaved first grader. That’s the result of bad parenting. With the way Carpio behaved, it’s as if his parents never taught him not to kick other people. The child needs to be better disciplined and shouldn’t get away with any of what he’s done. It is unclear whether he received any type of punishment. For the serious injuries he caused, Carpio should have been expelled on the spot. Webster didn’t have much of a chance to get away, either. The poor man was backed into a corner at the mercy of an out-of-control child. In the past, I have had a few out-of-control students in my grade and have seen them act up. It’s terrifying to be a bystander; I can’t imagine what it must be like to be the target or a victim.
After seeing the photos on the Internet of Carpio posing with his fists up like a boxer, he seems like a force to be reckoned with. This is not because he looks “tough,” but because he seems like a major annoyance. After the way Webster described him “spinning on the stairs” and not listening, I have much remorse for the rest of his teachers. However, Webster is a grown man. While I do agree that the situation is humiliating, having to go to therapy sessions seems unnecessary. The injuries that Carpio caused are clearly not minor, but it’s not like he beat Webster to a bloody pulp. I guess being kicked by a first grader must be more traumatic than it sounds. Webster should absolutely sue. He deserves to be reimbursed for all the trouble that Carpio has caused him. I would do the same thing if I had to have surgery and miss work because of some pesky first grader.
Jessica Forte can be reached at jessica.forte@spartans.ut.edu