Substitute teacher berates class over missing rubber bands

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016
California teacher's meltdown caught on camera
Liz Cho has the latest details.

CALIFORNIA -- A shocking moment inside a California classroom is begging the question: how angry is too angry when it comes to teachers?

One educator had what many would call a meltdown, and the whole thing was caught on camera.

The sounds of screaming in a sixth-grade classroom prompted the substitute teacher to angrily berate the class, apparently over a missing box of rubber bands.

The teacher demanded a student go through the trash to get them, and reports say the teacher may have thought the children took them to wear as bracelets.

"That does not give any teacher the excuse to go ballistic," school board vice president Walter Ruehlig said. "Nothing out of the ordinary that was done by the kids. I am actually marveled by the composure of the kids. They put up with this erratic behavior, which is inexcusable."

Some parents worry about the message an outburst like this sends to the children.

"He can't treat the students like that," parent Amalia Garcia said. "He has to be professional for his job."

Ruehlig agreed that the behavior was extreme.

"I don't know where he got trained," he said. "He should have a good, hard look at the training he got to be dealing with children."