Teacher Convicted of Animal Neglect and Hoarding Animals.

You never know having your daughter might be a good thing. Most animal hoarder have alot of love for every one of the animals and because of thier mental disorder they start to not see that they are actually hurting the animals instead of helping them. If she can have that much love for the animals think of the love she can have for her students...

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Yeah, we bipolar people are AWFUL! Stay away! /sarcasm

I'm curious, though, how did she keep her clearances? I would think the conviction would revoke them. Maybe it needs to be a felony, or directly related to kids. So what you are saying is that ELEVEN YEARS AGO, this person had an untreated mental illness, is now on the proper medication, is doing fine (I assume), and WASN'T FIRED. I think you need to have more faith in your school board and superintendent. And stop being so judgmental about those of us with real medical problems that are treatable with the proper medication.

But you asked what would I do? If I was concerned about the qualifications of someone who is going to teach my child, I would go talk to the teacher directly.

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Just because the woman is an animal hoarder doesn't mean she is a bad teacher. Also, being bipolar doesn't mean she is a bad teacher. If your child gets this teacher I would give her a chance before taking a measures.

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I do not think your child will be locked in the closet. I would discuss your concerns with the principal when you can. I would not make myself sick with worry in the meantime. Do not build up this teacher as anything until you have spoken with her or her supervisor.

If she has had no subsequent issues since 2000, then it is likely she has gotten the treatment she needs. I would be more worried about a teacher that has a poor record with children.

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Is she a good teacher? That is really all your concern should be.

It is not like she will put your children in cages and such, there are other people around.

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I would calm down a bit. By 4th grade, a teacher's responsibilities for her students are a bit less. She doesn't have to take them to the bathroom, serve snacks, or really do much "caring" for them. Her job is to teach. If she is able to do that job, and there is no evidence that her bipolar disorder puts the students in any sort of harm, I don't see cause to discriminate. You can be pretty certain that if this is in the news, there are administrators keeping a close watch on things. Your daughter may be safer in this class than any other.

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How long did it go on? Months, years? How long has she been bi-polar? Months, years? How long has she been a teacher? Yeah, here we go - months, years? How has she been since 2000 - on her meds fulltime?

If this has gone on for a long time, if she has been bi-polar for a long time, if she has been a good teacher for a long time, try not to get so afraid so quickly. Just because she has this failing at home doesn't mean that she will suddenly become a terrible teacher.

If however, she is not a good teacher, they will let her go because this will be the excuse they need to terminate her. I would try FIRST to put some trust in the school here.

And please don't call your friends - it's bad enough as it is and she has a hoarding sickness, like people who aren't teachers. (ie, don't hold a teacher to a higher standard in this case.)

All my best,
D.

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The true question here is what kind of TEACHER is she...has she had good or excellent evaluations?

What goes on in her home doesn't mean anything like that will ever happen in the classroom.

If the school feels comfortable in hiring her and letting her teach then her problems have probably been addressed and are under control. After all it was 11 years ago. She made a mistake and paid her dues to society and sought help.

I taught for many years while dealing with an anxiety issue, the teacher down the hall dealt with manic depression, down the other hallway there was a teacher who was an alcoholic, upstairs there was a teacher who dealt with bipolar. Were we good teachers, yes we were...we got excellent reviews, we did our jobs above and beyond, and one of us was Teacher of the Year for our whole district. We loved our students and never let our issues into the classroom.

Wait and see if your child even get this teacher...only a 25% chance that they will...and go from there. If you can't stand her once you meet her then go and have your child changed.

But PLEASE do not drag this up to all the other parents and ruin her career over an 11 year old incident.

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Hoarding is an OCD/anxiety issue. Her item was animals. Its all hoarding. Logic doesn't apply.
DOES your child have this teacher? Do you know yet?
I'd do...nothing. The law will deal with her. The school, hopefully will alow her a leave to get the mental health help she so badly needs.
You'd probably be amazed at the number of people you deal wit every day who have anxiety, OCD, bi-polar or other mental health issues.
They need help--not a stigma. Please be kind.

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This was a long time ago. She perhaps was going through a bad bipolar episode at the time. I would give her a chance if she happens to be your daughter's teacher. She may be a wonderful teacher. I know first hand how bipolar disorder can effect a person. My sister is bipolar. She is a very caring, intelligent capable person. This disorder can be well controlled by medication. Your school wouldn't hire someone that would be a danger to children. Give her a chance before you judge her.

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Email the principal or call the Board of Education...
are you sure it's the same person?

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I am so pro animal it is not even funny...so the idea of someone miss treating an animal makes my blood boil. BUT that is not the issue.

Bipolar disorder is a disease and as long as the person is taking medication should not be treated any differently than a person with any other disease ( In my opinion) This person may very well be an incredible teacher....I know we want the best for our kids, but discriminating against someone in order to get our kids the best is just not ok in my book.

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Can you call the nearest local school district? See if you can change her school out of the concern of safety and stability of your daughter? Or for at least advice on HOW to change teachers in general? **EDIT** I just saw that the report was in 2000...if she has been successfully teaching for 11 years, I think the school district has a reason to keep her employed.

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Well, considering this was 11 years ago, I would try to stay calm and trust that she is well. If you do wind up with this teacher, you could schedule a meeting with the principal, but it's possible that her employment history would be confidential and they wouldn't be able to share details with you. But be open -- it's entirely possible that the struggle she went through over a decade ago has been properly dealt with and she is fine. try to stay calm and be open. If she is indeed stable and capable now, doesn't she deserve that chance? Be as watchful and attentive as you would be with any teacher your child gets, and face any issues you see as they come up. But don't go looking for them.

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Hoarding is a disease, and it may not affect her teaching abilities. However, I would be concerned with the bipolar. If she is on meds, bipolar is easily managed. I would talk with the principal and express your concerns. They will find out about this and they may have strict rules for that teacher to follow in order to keep her job, ie: taking her meds etc. I'm with you. I would be deeply concerned, and I would definitely be having a meeting with the principal, and or school board and ask what they do in a situation like this when one of their teachers are convicted of such crime.

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I think i would actually trust this woman more than the twenty somethings that teach during the day, spend their paychecks at teh salons and at the bar partying.

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I think you are working yourself up over something that is not that pertinent to her job.
I mean, I wouldn't be happy about it, but I wouldn't freak out either.
At least you know the situation...think of all those teachers/people harboring wacky/scary secrets you don't know about.
That's what would really worry me.

In 4th grade I had a teacher who had a line of duct tape on the floor. We were not allowed to cross the line. She had a fan in the front of the room and sprayed Lysol into it (onto us).
She wouldn't let kids go to the bathroom if she thought they 'didn't really have to go'. Kids peed their pants in front of the class.
She talked about her dead daughter all the time.
She got mad at us for sneezing too loud.

And she was a "good teacher".

I could go on and on and on, but you get my point, right?

I would wait and see how the situation plays out before acting nutty myself...

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I would call the office and request this teacher NOT have your DD in her class, talk to the principle and stick to your guns....yes people are different but not someone like that to teach your child IMO

Can you talk to the superintendent since the principal isn't available? I would relax, if you don't want your daughter to have this teacher...she doesn't have to.

I think if you contact the principal and voice your concerns you should be able to get your daughter into any class you want. This clearly is beyond the ordinary behavior for a teacher, which the school will recognize. While I'm not saying fire the woman, you obviously have some strong feelings about her behavior. I would too. I'm sure the school will accept your request.

I understand that you are not vilifying this woman - you're not looking to ruin her life, job, career, etc. You would just rather not have your daughter in her class. I think it should be an easy fix.

Good luck!

So the teaher has mental illness and that makes her a bad person? Oh lord! You know how many drs are drug addicts? And yet we trust them? If she still has her teaching license then yea...I'm not one to judge against someone with mental illness especially bipolar...my 5 year old son is bipolar. And if she takes her meds which I'm sure is a requirement for teaching then she will be fine. It's sad for animals to be in that situation but sometimes horders don't know what they are doing wrong. So to answer your question YES I would allow my child in her class. Being bipolar or any mental illness doesn't make someone a bad person who's not capable of taking care of children.