TEACHER SUING SCHOOL DISTRICT AFTER STUDENT ATTACK

In Minneapolis, a teacher who was attacked by a student earlier in December is planning on suing St. Paul Public Schools, saying the district has failed to keep teachers safe. Center High School teacher John Ekblad’s law firm says they have been retained to “commence civil litigation against the St. Paul Public Schools for negligence in failing to provide him with a workplace free of assaultive behavior and violence in general.” On Friday, Dec. 4, 16-year-old student Fon’Tae O’Bannon allegedly body slammed Ekblad into a cafeteria table and chair when Ekblad tried intervening in a fight. The student then choked him until he was unconscious. O’Bannon was charged with third-degree assault. Ekblad suffered brain damage and a concussion in the incident and needed hospitalization.
* Wow – this is more violent than Professional Wrestling.
* But then, so is gardening.
* I see two possible solutions. High-tech: on-line high school classes. Low-tech: body armor for teachers.
* I think we’re way past a teachable moment here.
* I’m not a lawyer but it sounds like he has one hell of a case.
* Wait, aren’t we supposed to be falling all over ourselves protecting the 16-year-old’s identity?
* These days they’ll probably just give both the teacher and the student a participation trophy.
* Wow, they went at it like Josh Norman and Odell Beckham.