In 2014, a teacher named Rebecca Lane at Success Academy, a charter school in Brooklyn, was recorded by a teaching assistant while confronting a first grader about an incorrect math answer. Recently, this video was brought to public attention by a prominent news outlet.
In the footage, the class is seated on the floor in a circle. Lane instructs a student, “Count it again, ensuring your numbers are correct,” in an evidently frustrated tone. As the student counts aloud, she hesitates and glances up at her teacher. In response, Lane abruptly snatches the student’s paper and tears it in half, shouting, “GO TO THE CALM DOWN CHAIR AND SIT. THERE’S NOTHING THAT INFURIATES ME MORE THAN WHEN YOU DON’T FOLLOW WHAT’S ON YOUR PAPER. SOMEONE COME UP AND DEMONSTRATE HOW SHE SHOULD HAVE COUNTED TO GET HER ANSWER… DO NOT RETURN TO YOUR SEAT AND SHOW ME ONE THING THEN DISREGARD IT HERE. YOU’RE CONFUSING EVERYBODY.” The use of capital letters indicates the intensity of her shouting, directed at young children for not solving a math problem correctly.
Success Academy Charter School had previously attracted criticism for maintaining a “got to go” list of students they intended to remove from the school. The video was secretly recorded by a teaching assistant who recognized Lane’s actions as inappropriate and shared it after leaving the school in November.
A spokesperson for the school stated that teachers should never yell at children, use sarcastic tones, or employ shaming consequences. However, these guidelines seem to be disregarded in practice. A former educator and principal mentioned to the media that starting in third grade, children often faced embarrassment for perceived poor performance, which was sometimes encouraged by school leadership. “It fosters a culture where making a child cry is seen as effective teaching,” she noted.
Some parents have come to Lane’s defense, claiming that this incident does not represent the overall environment at the school, describing it as “an unfortunate minute and a half out of an otherwise exceptional experience.” However, the fact that an assistant was prepared to record the incident suggests concerns about the classroom atmosphere that go beyond this isolated event. One parent remarked, “They demand excellence, which is a good thing. It’s not negative; they achieve results that are rare in other schools.”
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In summary, the incident involving Rebecca Lane highlights serious concerns regarding teacher conduct and the emotional well-being of young students in educational settings. While some parents defended the teacher’s approach, the implications of such behavior warrant careful consideration in the context of fostering a supportive learning environment.