In Avon Park, Florida a six year old girl threw a fit, was arrested, cuffed, fingerprinted and held in jail for – being a kid.  Now, not all children behave as this one did.  Most or, say, 99& do not.  And the way this child was treated is not typical of 99% of police departments.  One must wonder, however, how badly this child behaved and why there were no other remedies present. Avon Park’s Police Chief had a cop’s mentality that allowed a disruptive child to be treated like a criminal. Bob Herbert reported this in today’s NY Times.

This calls to mind an incident I had in Robert Treat Jr. High School where I taught Social Studies back in the 1950’s.   I was a veteran of World War II and had a Bachelor of Science and History and a Master’s Degree in the Social Bases of Education under my belt. Despite this preparation I was able to teach in a difficult Ghetto school to learn the basics of handling children in whose homes books were not objects of value.  I had also spent a year teaching in the State Village for Epileptics in Skillman, N.J. and two years teaching English in Elizabeth, N.J.

But, Robert Treat Jr. High School was a good experience for me.  I was allowed to teach instinctively instead of according to “some book” of rules. We had a great group of teachers there and despite some flashes of “Blackboard Jungle”, the kids were great and cooperative and there was no incident like that in Florida except for – let’s call her Sadie. Nothing prepared me for this “happening”.

Sadie was not one of my students.  I had been warned that she showed up in school at various times and that I should steer clear of her.  She was a small, slight and strange child. Her strangeness included a wraith-like personage that sort of floated, darting this way and that in the halls.   I had stayed in school late one day and heard a commotion in the lower floors where the elementary classes were held.  I went to take a look and there was Sadie terrorizing other children and no teachers in sight. Not knowing any better, I approached her and asked if I could help.  I made the mistake of taking hold of her arm to get her to look at me and then I found that I was wrestling with something not quite human.  She had enormous strength and slipped out of my grasp but tied up my arms, legs and body with her struggle.  I ended up on the floor with her pounding me. Eventually, some other teachers arrived who knew her and quieted her down and led her away. I was a wreck.  My shirt was torn and I was scratched and bruised but Sadie seemed none the worse for my trying to ask her what her trouble was.  I never learned what that was. I am glad there were no police involved this time. At one point I was sure that Sadie floated a few inches off the floor. Surely the Police Chief in Avon Park, Florida did not have to treat a six year old child like a criminal.  She needed help and not from a cop.