Plenty of blame on school incident

I don’t know who is more irresponsible: the Palm Beach County School Board or Scott Erich Landstrom? The school board for hiring someone who had been fired, two years ago, from his job as a physics teacher at Suncoast High School for inappropriate comments made in class, or Landstrom for his recent behavior while teaching at Boynton Beach Middle School. (“Cops: SouthTech Prep teacher kicked student’s stool, making him fall,” Wednesday)

How could a former physics teacher not realize the consequences of his action? Does he not know Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When a stool is kicked out from under someone, it will respond with equal force ... that is what caused the student’s fall.

As a former middle school science teacher,

I do realize it oftentimes takes the patience of Job to deal calmly with “difficult” students, but it has been my experience that if a teacher treats students with respect, that respect will be returned; it is evident this student was not treated respectfully.

Even more upsetting is the fact that Landstrom, was initially to be arrested on child abuse charges, but, typical of today’s judiciary, the charge was reduced to culpable negligence, a second-degree offense. Once again, the “system” failed all — students, parents, and responsible teachers alike. Shame on those who allowed this miscarriage of justice.

NANCY HORAN, BOYNTON BEACH