Seventh Graders could drive you to drink!
By laglen
@laglen (19759)
United States
March 29, 2010 12:06pm CST
March 25, 2010 (THERMAL, Calif.) -- A Southern California school teacher has been arrested for allegedly teaching while drunk.
Toro Canyon Middle School teacher Tonya Neff was taken to the Indio jail Tuesday afternoon and booked for investigation of felony child endangerment.
Administrators at Thermal's Toro Canyon Middle School told the Riverside County Sheriff's Department that the 47-year-old teacher was apparently intoxicated on campus.
Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Tapp says Neff had taken prescription drugs and alcohol and an alcoholic beverage was found inside a container.
Coachella Valley school district Superintendent Ricardo Medina says there was never a threat to Neff's seventh-grade students. Neff has been placed on leave.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
I am not excusing this behavior. This is meant in fun. But I can see why if you had to spend all day everyday with 12 year olds!
1 person likes this
8 responses
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
30 Mar 10
I guess it happens in every profession. It seems funny on the surface. I guess they are just lucky it wasn't a bus driver, lol.
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
30 Mar 10
I'm sure she had a 'ahem'.. problem aside from teaching. Perhaps she had been told she could not miss a day of teaching or something lol. I don't know, I'm just speculating.
I volunteered with 6th graders while I was pregnant with my daughter. Someone told me I was CRAZY. I just chuckled and said I needed some experience because in 11 years I'd be in the same boat all over again...
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
29 Mar 10
I'd like to know if the 12 year olds were really 'endangered' ... in danger of making fun of their teacher perhaps?
"Miss, miss! Please would you read out this math question for us?"
"Err ... OK. It says-zh 'If Peter Piper pocked a puck of peckled puppiesh ...' err ... 'IF ... PETER PIPER ... pecked a pick of ...' Dammit (oops), Garcia! YOU read it!"
Is California the only place where a teacher would be arrested for being drunk? Here, the police wouldn't be involved (unless actual harm had occurred) because it would be a work-related offence and would be dealt with by the school authorities!
@cripfemme (7698)
• United States
30 Mar 10
I found this story a little disturbing. This person is supposed to be a role model. First off, the last time I checked role models didn't drink on the job. Secondly, the last time I checked, adults who had authority over children (especially unsupervised authority) didn't get drunk when they were doing that. I don't think that this man should ever teach again unless he joins AA or a serious stress management group. He's not cut out for it.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
29 Mar 10
That is too funny. I agree that spending that much time with that age group would drive anyone to drink! I love kids but I can't stand the ones that are sassy little back talkers. I'm dreading my kids hitting that age. I've already started drinking in preparation for it! lol just kidding. At least she wasn't a threat to the kids. She probably was in a pretty good mood while teaching them lol. I wonder how they figured out she was drunk this time, because chances are she has come to class drunk before this.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
30 Mar 10
I get where you are coming from. having raised 4 girls ...I totally get this teacher's desire to drink. I so get it. that being said, If I as a parent got drunk around my kids on a regular basis then I'd risk losing my kids. that is why we pay them...they are professionals and above this behavior. If they aren't then they deserved to be called out on it.
@samijo719 (1052)
• United States
30 Mar 10
I live about 20 minutes from Indio in Palm Springs and this just makes me so irate and I don’t find it amusing at all. Yes, I get it you deal with kids all day drink to deal with it haha. But if they didn’t want that job and had to “drink” they shouldn’t have taken it. This woman obviously needs to get some help if she’s showing up to work drunk and drinking teacher or not.
Do you know how many teachers have been laid off due to budget cuts that loved their job and are now struggling?! In the Indio/Palm Springs districts, 300 last week! It’s been all over the radio. And for this women to just take advantage of that! Agh. I’m sorry but I just don’t see the humor in this. I’m not uptight and I love a good joke but children’s education is not a joke to me.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
29 Mar 10
Not for nothing, when you decide to become a teacher don't you have to really like kids deep down in your heart. Regardless of the age of a child if you are truly a good teacher you can overcome a childs behavior. When studying to become a teacher isn't that taught how to deal with the kids. For you to resort to drinking in the classroom that is pretty bad. You would think before it gets to that point she would got some kind of guidance either from her Principle or other teachers. What a shame!
