Teacher Sues District Over Her Fear of ... Children

A former teacher near Cincinnati is suing her school district for allegedly discriminating against her illness: a fear of young children. Maria Waltherr-Willard, 61, claims the school transferred her from a high school to junior high school despite her diagnosed pedophobia. Experts who filed documents in the case say Waltherr-Willard suffers from a range of symptoms when teaching young kids, including vomiting, chest pains, nightmares, and high blood pressure, reports Cincinnati.com.

Her trouble with the Mariemont school district began when she told parents that online French classes might replace teacher-led classes. Irked school officials warned her not to spill the beans on such proposed cuts, and, she alleges, retaliated by sending her down to junior high. She claims to have done well teaching Spanish classes there but suffered from health problems and asked to teach high school again. When officials refused, she finally retired last year. The officials say they never expected her to quit. (More Pedophobia stories.)