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Parents, students defend 'horseplay' teacher

September 5, 2012 @ 4:04 am (Updated: 5:39 am - 9/5/12 )

The Gig Harbor teacher, who's being investigating after students captured video of bullying in his classroom, is now getting support from parents and former students.

Cellphone video from February was released to the Tacoma News Tribune showing John Rosi's out-of-control classroom.

The video shows a 13-year-old student being dragged around a Kopachuck Middle School classroom. It also shows several students stacking chairs on him while he is held by his arms and legs. The 14 minute incident happened in front of the teacher.

GigHarbor

Screen grab from student video taken February at Kopachuck Middle School


The victim's parents say he was bullied and even thought about suicide after the incident. They want him fired.

Now people are coming to Rosi's defense.

Former student Stephen Manjarrez tells KING 5 , "He was one of my favorite teachers. I was just really shocked."

When Manjarrez was in Rosi's class six years ago, he said they'd "mess around" often.

The incident was just "horseplay" according to Rosi's attorney. "Had parents not gotten involved in this it would have been horseplay, and it would have been forgotten," Bryan Hershman told KING.

There's also a new Facebook page offering some support called Bring Back Mr. Rosi, which looks like it was slapped together without much care. The photo, for example, is sideways. There are 266 "likes" of support.

"I've known Rosi for a long time. I was 5 when I met him and he has been a family friend for a long time. He is a big kid at heart! I know his actions were not PC but were also not meant in any way as disrespect," writes Don Donnelly.

Scott Evans posts, "Screw the media, and all the hype on this one people. Ive known John for over 30 years now. Yes he is a big kid at heart. And a great man. So lighten up on the goof ball."

On the page, students and parents are also debating whether horseplay, as the teacher called it in an apology letter, is okay in school.

Janine Weber writes, "It is easy to judge when you only hear one side of any story and a video clip that only shows part of the incident. This type of media attention promotes frivolous lawsuits, defamation of charter, and teaches our young people that they are not responsible for their own behavior. It does nothing to help this young man (or others) learn how to get along in society or to teach him (or other young people) how to avoid negative attention in the future."

Colin Guthrie points out there are clear boundaries that teachers must not cross. "The law requires teachers NOT to touch ANY student at any time; unless the school district authorizes such contact; and whenever physical contact is made, direct permission from parents/legal guardians MUST grant this as well as district authorization must be made in writing; and written documentation must be done each and every time such physical contact is made."

Rosi was suspended for 10 days without pay and moved to a different middle school within the district. Administrators have called the bullying an "isolated incident" in his 18-year career as a teacher.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (18)


  • Add A Comment

  • Oly80 wrote...
    ugh...
    September 5, 2012 6:52 am
    "The victim's parents say he was bullied and even thought about suicide after the incident. They want him fired."

    i really do feel like this story is being pushed on and on and on by the PARENTS of the boy and by people who are crying BULLY!!!! way too fast/much.

    that WHOLE suicide thing was probably just an off the cuff thing that the kid said because he was so EMBARASSED about the situation being blown up so much. and, before people try to crucify me for "dismissing" the boy, KNOW that the ORIGINAL report said that the boy mentioned "suicide" AFTER being at school when his parents had found out about the video and were beginning to raise cain for their poor little baby (who was giggling and laughing throughout the video, AND who BUM RUSHED the teacher and tried to tackle him-watch the video!). the kid was embarrassed!

    this story would NEVER have made news 20 years ago. NOT because we didn't do anything about bullying back then, BUT because this is being OVER BLOWN by MANY different parties.

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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Because it is the political thing to do!
    September 5, 2012 7:25 am
    I don't think this kid was harassed! I think they were just screwing around. Maybe it got out of hand! I still think the teacher should be orally admonished simply because of next time it could get out of hand!

    Of course today, Bullying is the bid political Buzzword. Horsing around with a friend can be looked upon as bullying!

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  • Derrol_o wrote...
    Oly80
    September 5, 2012 8:58 am
    I fully agree with you if it was ok with the kid while it was going on. If he was taking part in it as "the cheese" against his will then personal boundaries were crossed and that kind of thing is not ok. That's the key difference between "rough-housing" and assault.
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  • 710 wrote...
    Horseplay
    September 5, 2012 9:25 am
    Horseplay is when kids playing rough with EACH other. I guess I fail to see it as innocent horseplay when it is everyone playing rough to ONE kids. Taking off his socks and put it in his mouth? W_T_H? It is probably not as bad as it is blown out to be, but it is definitely not minimal as "just horseplay". I'll change my tune if kids had take turns playing the "victim" of horseplay before.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    you must have had an easy road in high school/jr. high...
    September 5, 2012 2:18 pm
    because what you see in that video, again with the "victim" giggling and playing along, would have been seen as ULTRA TAME in the schools i grew up in.

    they took off his socks!!!??? and FORCED them into his MOUTH!!?? when...he could have just kept his mouth shut? seriously, it's not that hard.

    this is getting WAY out of control.

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  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    So, where do you draw the line?
    September 5, 2012 9:56 am
    If this had a been a female rather than a male student would everybody be defending the teacher? Besides, most of the defenders are idiots themselves who clearly don't know when the line has been crossed, because for them as long as you are a 'nice guy', there is no clear line.
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  • Cameron wrote...
    Teacher needs a lesson in horseplay.
    September 5, 2012 10:42 am
    Let the boy's Dad get a few of his guy friends together and go visit the teacher for some horseplay. Make sure you video record it for posting to You Tube. There is nothing more enjoyable than watching a teacher being humiliated by other adults under the guise of horseplay, particularly in front of his co-workers. Afterall, any claims of abuse and be brushed off later and rationalized.
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  • kata wrote...
    I looked this teacher up
    September 5, 2012 10:50 am
    after the last article. I found him on one of those teacher rating sites. Most of the comments are 2 yrs old (until now - you can imagine the rating system is more active with the publicity.) They are enlightening to say the least. I was correct in my guess that this guy has a reputation for letting the class just "do whatever".

    Bullying or not? I suppose it now up to the courts to decide - if it goes that far. He seems like one of those "fun but useless" teachers I avoided in HS because I was there to learn. I'd be curious to see what the test scores are like for kids coming out of that class.

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  • Pugwamp wrote...
    Test Scores?
    September 5, 2012 10:59 am
    The test scores for this teacher s/b pretty good. He was reprimanded in the past for basically giving the kids the answers to the WASL test the day before they took it.
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  • Loving Life wrote...
    "Horseplay" Sandusky said the same thing.
    September 5, 2012 1:59 pm
    This teacher is a pig. Child abuse is child abuse. This is not PC gone wild. If this happened 20-30-40 years ago, it is STILL abuse. Just because your parents were too drunk or high to care, doesn't mean a crime wasn't committed. You can clearly see that this community is blinded by the very nature of this teacher. Groom the kids, allow the assaults to happen, physically be involved, but say "Hey, I'm a good guy, ask the other (groomed) kids." Rosi you are a pedophile.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    Woah!!!
    September 5, 2012 2:23 pm
    that's a jump! from "teacher who let a class get too out of control" to pedophile!?

    that's libelous, right?

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  • Zagnut wrote...
    Normally I'm railing against the politically correct BS that is ruining our country - and our schools.
    September 5, 2012 3:04 pm
    Not this time. I can't defend this teacher. Whether it was "bullying" or not, and I am virtually certain it WAS bullying, the teacher should NOT have allowed the behavior. It is a flipping classroom, not a playground. That IS what is wrong with so many of our schools. And even if the kid was not crying and screaming, that doesn't prove a dang thing, Oly80. I can totally understand where a kid being bullied and harassed would try to keep a stiff upper lip while having his heart and soul torn out. Your comments are harsh, and I think relatively thoughtless.
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  • Loving Life wrote...
    @Oly80 Pedophile? Yeah, it's a stretch. Was it abuse by Rosi? Yes. Did he have his hands inapproriately on a child? Yes. Not a stretch.
    September 5, 2012 4:10 pm
    Even the video shows an older, sweaty, adult, "wrestling" a child. What did Sandusky do before he actually raped a child. Oh, yeah, he "wrestled" a child. Libelous? No. Freedom of speech? Yes.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    again...
    September 6, 2012 7:18 am
    it's a BIG jump to pedophile.

    the dude was a WRESTLING coach, if i'm not mistaken. he also was "that" teacher who it seems ALL the kids goofed off with. inappropriate? yes. abuse!? come on, really? the kid jokingly tackled him, and you go to abuse?

    sorry, but no. just a teacher with REALLY poor classroom managment skills.

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  • BeenThere wrote...
    Let kids screw around in class then help them cheat.
    September 5, 2012 4:48 pm
    Have parents and students tell you how great you are. All the while getting paid. Sounds like a great job. Any training or education needed for that position?
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    The horrors of sensationalism
    September 5, 2012 6:35 pm
    And not just by the media....

    I saw the clips, read the articles, including the teachers explanation as well as the suspension notice.

    The teacher willingly accepted the suspension in lieu of termination.

    Sure, he let things go on for too long. He should have stepped in and had the class in order sooner then he did. He was suspended for 10 days without pay and reassigned to a different school of the Districts choice.

    If I didn't know the back story I would be pretty incensed, especially after reading the title of the articles. :-{

    The kid was not being bullied. He was playing right along with the others. The only time he was being boisterous is when his feet were being tickled. I have very sensitive feet. I react the same way even today when anyone so much as touches my feet. And believe me, people who are aware of that, go out of their way to touch..... ;-)

    He was not being held against his will. Had he put up any ounce of struggle the rest of the class would have been watching more intently and I am convinced that the teacher would have at that time stepped in and stopped it.

    Yes, this is not proper behavior in a classroom setting. And the teacher was rightly disciplined. He accepted the discipline and served it. Getting the police involved is so overboard and ridiculous, to say the least. There are REAL incidents of bullying going on all the time. Focus on those. This is just a case where a teacher let some students blow off some steam at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

    Unless we want robots teaching our kids (not literal robots, but teachers who act like robots who are so afraid of legal recourse for any slight), we need to quit trying to criminalise every action a teacher is involved in, in which we do not approve!

    And some wonder why we have so many unqualified and inadequate teachers today? The good ones find other employment......

    As far as the suicide angle goes..... That is on the parents. Not that I blame them for their initial reaction. However, they blew this up and when the teacher was removed from the class the other students wrongly thought (imagine that) that the boy was responsible, as though he had "narked" on the teacher (he didn't) and as it goes with kids that age, they ganged up on him for this perceived wrong. As a result, he felt rejected and abandoned by his peers. Those actions can erupt very powerfully and negatively in a kid that age.

    I hope in time, cooler heads will prevail. But, unfortunately, that is not the norm today......

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  • O-town listener wrote...
    Still not a teacher I want my kid to have...
    September 5, 2012 7:53 pm

    When Manjarrez was in Rosi's class six years ago, he said they'd "mess around" often.

    Isn't that what recess is for? Not the classroom.

    The incident was just "horseplay" according to Rosi's attorney. "Had parents not gotten involved in this it would have been horseplay, and it would have been forgotten," Bryan Hershman told KING.

    Curse you parents for getting involved in what happens in the classroom! Curse you! That is definately the major problem with our school systems - too much parent involvement! Ummmmm... wait........

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  • Derrol_o wrote...
    soo purletiv
    September 6, 2012 12:22 am
    Bottom line: If the kid was ok with it then I'm ok with it. If the kid wasn't ok with it then nobody should be ok with it.
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