Debate: Should the teacher have been fired?

[DawnCt1]

I am sorry, I don't have the link but the article was in today's Hartford Courant. A 60 year old history teacher was fired because a student in his class room pricked her finger on a needle and syringe that was found on the floor in his class room. The teacher is a diabetic and apparently has been improperly discarding his syringes in the waste basket instead of the nurse's office in an appropriate container. After the finger stick, the teacher submitted to blood testing but delayed reporting the results. Unfortunately he is positive for Hepatitis C. There is no information available as to the Hepatitis C status for the student.
My first thought was he should absolutely be fired. At 60 years old after years of teaching, one should know how to dispose of their needles. Secondly, he was certainly aware that he had Hep. C. The shocker in the article came when I learned this incident occurred in May of 2003! He has been on paid leave since then. I think that this decision could have and should have been made in far less than a year and not at such an expense to the tax payer. Anyone else agree?

 

[grinningghost]

Yes, he should be fired. A 60 year old teacher should have alot more sense than that. Now this student faces the possibility of suffering a severe illness. Very sad story.

 

[caitycaity]

it sucks, but yeah i think he should be fired.

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Definately fired! If the teacher can't be trusted to practise simple IMO safety procedures than is that someone you want teaching your kids?! I can't believe they are paying him after that! I feel horrible for those poor parents and their child!

 

[southernclass]

Without a doubt YES!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Yes, or severly reprimanded. Firing is a big step but at 60, a man should know how to dispose of needles properly.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by grinningghost
Yes, he should be fired. A 60 year old teacher should have alot more sense than that. Now this student faces the possibility of suffering a severe illness. Very sad story.

The student is a high school girl and one could argue that she should have known better than to pick up a syringe and needle, but the point remains that it should never have been there in the first place. The Hepatitis viruses are much more easily transmitted that HIV. One can only hope that she didn't and won't test positive. Regardless, I would think that she would have a good law suit against the teacher/school district. I couldn't imagine having to worry about Hepatitis, even for 6 months. I am not litiginous by nature but I would sue.

 

[treesinger]

Sadly yes. I'm sure he didn't mean anything to happen, but we still have to take responsibility for our actions.

 

[Sirius]

Sadly, yes. He should have taken the time to dispose of his needles properly.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

What a shame. Yes, he should be fired. It's very sad, but he screwed up big time. My grandmother was a diabetic and she was so very careful with her needles. It doesn't take that much effort to dispose of them in a safe manner.

 

[Pooh67_68]

I agree with everyone, yes he should be fired. And lest we forget there is no cure for Heptitis C

 

[cheyita]

Doesn't seem to be much debate here, because I, too, think he should have been fired. Funny how we can all agree on that, but yet that is not the action that has been taken!

 

[Rajah]

No question. Absolutely he should have been, and it shouldn't have taken that long to decide it.

 

[mt2]

Yes, a childhood friends DM died many years (20+) after her initial contact. She didn't even know that she had it. That young girl must be numb right now. He should have been fired on day one.

Happy Thoughts to all,

mt2

 

[Saffron]

He needs to be fired ASAP. Not only did he leave contaminated medical supplies laying around his classroom, he disregarded the schools policy about where to use and dispose of his supplies. He knows he has a contagious, incurable, potentially fatal disease that can be transmitted via a needle stick, and chose to be negligent. He had total disregard for the students in the classroom. I don't care how old the student was that picked the needle up -- she probably did so to prevent others from being stuck, but who knows -- he is totally to blame. If he isn't doing his best to make his classroom a safe environment, if he just doesn't care enough about his students to keep them safe from something he has total control over, then buh-bye, see you later, no sympathy from me at all.

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

He lost his job and credibility all because he couldn't /wouldn't handle his needles properly, you'd think at 60 he'd be smarter than that! Add in the factor of hep C and I hope the girls family takes legal action.

All of it comes down to a $5.00 sharps container. I've always been super careful with my needles (I've been on heparin off and on since 2001) the last thing I want is one of the kids to get hurt! I can't even imagine what was going through his mind, or wasn't.

 

[Van Helsing]

Yes, he should be fired and never allowed to teach again.

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by Van Helsing
Yes, he should be fired and never allowed to teach again.

I completely agree!

 

[denisenh]

I don't think he should be fired.

If he took the syringe/needle and stuck the student with it himself that would be different.

Some people have no common sense and maybe he really didn't think he was doing anything wrong.

Would it have mattered if he didn't have hepatitis C?
If he were a newly diagnosed diabetic and ill informed on needle disposal?
He could be a brilliant instructor, a wonderful person...who made a mistake.

I would want to know more details if I had to decide whether to fire him.

People are so quick to throw the book at another these days.
Now that's what I call sad.

 

[Talking Hands]

Fired.

I am a substitute teacher who is diabetic and uses insulin. I would never think of disposing my syringes or lancets in the classroom. They are carried home and disposed of in a sharps container. The only way a student could get at them is by going into my purse and then into my diabetes kit (hard case).

At one school I work at we have a hs student who is also diabetic and he also carries his kit with him and goes to the clinic to test and/or inject several times a day. We also have a teacher who tests and/or injects in her classroom and does as I do and carries everything home in her kit. So far we have not had any incidents of other students being stuck.

This teacher was irresponsible.