An Ohio teacher who has a phobia of children is suing the school district that employed her for discrimination by not accommodating her disability.
I could just stop here. There is really nothing more outlandish that I could conjure up. However, I just can’t help myself…..
The teacher has taught Spanish and French in a Cincinnati High School since 1976. However, due to curriculum changes, the French classes were being discontinued, and she was transferred to a middle school to teach Spanish there. That was in 2009, and apparently the “seventh- and eighth-graders triggered her phobia, causing her blood pressure to soar”. She says this forced her to retire in the middle of the 2010-2011 school year.
According to court records, the teacher has been receiving treatment for her phobia since 1991. In addition to her fear of children, she also suffers from general anxiety disorder, high blood pressure and a gastrointestinal illness.
Do I need to state the obvious? A teacher with a fear of children? How about a policeman with an irrational fear of criminals? A bus driver with a phobia for driving? A computer programmer with a fear of technology? A blogger afraid of keyboards?
Stop the accommodation merry-go-round, I want to get off.
I sympathize with the teacher in a way. Today’s seventh and eighth graders scare the bejesus out of me. I wouldn’t want to be trapped in a room full of them either. However, I did not choose a profession that kind of sort of maybe predisposes oneself for exposure to them. And that is my issue. It is not like an insurance company took a lowly claims person and without warning tossed them to the auditors. This was a teacher. Kids kind of go with the whole package.
Why is the school district now responsible for her exposure to them?
The teacher claims that this has cost her “over $100,000” in lost wages. The attorney for the school board questions that number, as she currently is receiving 89% of her $80,000 salary in retirement. This is just continued nanny state inanity, if you ask me.
If I am wrong, I need to speak to my lawyer. My keyboard is really creeping me out…..