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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Venturing out a scary step after teacher’s attack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She tried to shop at Wal-Mart the other day.
It wasn’t easy.
“What ifs” hound her, mess with her head.
What if the 12-year-old girl who attacked her is in the store?
What if the girl tries to finish what she started at Lilburn Middle School?
“I intentionally chose to live near the community where I work, so when I go out shopping, I’ll see the parents of my students,’ said Janie Fair, the teacher recovering from the beatdown.
“Now I don’t feel comfortable going into a store.”
On Jan. 29, I wrote about the incident in which Fair was attacked by a seventh-grade girl. The child, a former student of Fair’s, yelled at the instructor, then punched her several times in the face and head. Fair was swollen and bruised and has not taught since the Jan. 23 incident.
The column generated numerous e-mails and comments. Some writers wondered about the child’s mental state, prior behavior and family life. Others questioned whether she should have been on campus. One reader, though, said not to vilify the child, who hasn’t been identified by school officials because she is a juvenile.
“When you have heard all the facts,’ wrote Jane in a response to the Badie blog, “then make a judgment.”
The media tend to overuse words like “tragedy” and “trauma” to portray drama. I’ve spoken to Fair several times on the telephone. Make no mistake: She’s traumatized. You can hear it in her voice, a damaged spirit of someone who considers teaching a calling and still believes she has a lot to offer.
Her recovery has been slow going. She’s been seeing a medical doctor ever since the attack. A week ago, she became a client of Jennifer F. Kelly, a psychologist at the Atlanta Center for Behavioral Medicine. Kelly declined comment.
Fair cries a lot. She dreams about the attack. She dislikes being in public places.
“I was at the Wal-Mart the other day,” she told me. “How do I know I won’t run into this girl and her family?”
The girl had been charged with simple battery and disruption of public schools, according to a report from the Gwinnett County School Police. The status of her case with the school system or justice system isn’t clear. School officials declined to say what, if any, disciplinary action has been taken. In most cases, though, such a student would be suspended, then go before a disciplinary panel.
Fair told me she has nothing against the Gwinnett County school system. She’s received supportive calls from the district office as well as teachers at Lilburn Middle.
“I like this county, and I want to continue working in this county,” she said. “I am not going to let some troubled kid run me out of the career that I love so much. It’s been a very traumatic ordeal. When I tell you I felt like my life was in danger, I did. I just want to thank everyone who has wished me well. This won’t end my career.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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