DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Ohio Teacher Sites Fear of Children in Lawsuit

An Ohio high school teacher who claims to have a phobia of young children is suing a school district for discrimination.

Maria C. Waltherr-Willard, 61, of Greenhills, is suing the Mariemont school district, where she worked for 35 years, saying it discriminated against her when it reassigned her in 2010 from its high school to its junior high and then pressured her to resign, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

According to the paper, the suit is a discrimination claim based on her age and disability -- a rare phobia called pedophobia, an extreme fear or anxiety around young children. Waltherr-Willard’s suit claims she has suffered from the condition since the 1990s.

Waltherr-Willard, who teaches Spanish and French, experiences stress, anxiety, chest pains, vomiting, nightmares and higher than healthy blood pressure when she’s around young children, according to documents filed by medical professionals, the Enquirer reported.

Last week, a federal judge dismissed three of the six claims in her lawsuit, claims which alleged the school district violated an implied contract to keep her from young students.

In court documents, Mariemont officials say they did not expect Waltherr-Willard to resign when she did.
They said she was replaced at the high school by teachers who also were in their 50s.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/13/ohi.../#ixzz2HswkmaGw


Really!?!? You're 'scared' of kids so you become a teacher? I don't know the details, but let's say she teaches seniors... that's 17 y/o. Then you go to 7th grade... maybe 4 or 5 years difference?? And you're so scared of them you sue the school...

I understand having a phobia... but if you're scared of kids DON'T BECOME A TEACHER... and I have a hard time believing someone who has been a teacher for as long as she has actually has a fear of kids... just crazy...

I agree if u have a phoebia of children. Why become a teacher. It sounds like she is at retirement age and looking for a payday.

It sounds like the phobia started AFTER she became a teacher, and apparently she is fine around older kids.

It's still sounds like a nutty lawsuit, but we only have 1 side and probably partial information.

If this was a big corporation and they moved an employee into a work situation that they had a known phobia of, most would be calling for the CEOs head.

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Waltherr-Willard, who teaches Spanish and French, experiences stress, anxiety, chest pains, vomiting, nightmares and higher than healthy blood pressure when she’s around young children, according to documents filed by medical professionals, the Enquirer reported.

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I guess my question is, what is she doing sleeping in class?

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I agree if u have a phoebia of children. Why become a teacher.

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According to the article, she has been a teacher since the mid 70s and first started experiencing this phobia in the 90s... Phobias do develop later in life, it's not always something you have had since childhood.

And the problem is with her "implied" agreement with the school system.. if it isn't written down or you can't prove that it was discussed and agreed to orally some other way, then you don't really have an agreement.

This will get interesting.. it's a shame it will probably fall off the radar and we will never hear about it again.