Teacher Cuts Off Girl's Braid In Front Of Class

[Swede]

At the end of the story they say teachers are under stress because of budget constraints,I'd keep my kid away from this teacher.


Cammon, 7, sports a few dozen braids, but one is conspicuously absent.

"She told me to stop playing with it. Then cut it off and sent me back to my desk," Cammon said.

Cammon's a first-grader at Congress Elementary and said her teacher used a pair of classroom scissors to cut off one of the braids after she absent-mindedly kept playing with them.


http://www.wisn.com/news/21944773/detail.html

[Taverner]

1. That's abuse, plain and simple

Yes I know it didn't hurt...physically

[elehhhhna]

3. Wonder what happens if someone picks their nose in class.

[tonysam]

13. Give 'em a box of Kleenex and not make a spectacle out of it.

That's what I always did.

[Ken Burch]

20. All I can say is, I'm glad this teacher isn't responsible

for preventing major league baseball players from scratching themselves during games.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. I agree. It's abuse.

[GCP]

2. That teacher needs to be fired

That constitutes battery IMHO.

[Individualist]

7. You're right

Assault is an act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent, harmful, or offensive contact. The act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent, present ability to carry out the threat. Battery is a harmful or offensive touching of another.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Assault+and+Battery

The teacher should be charged with assault and battery.

[tonysam]

11. Try prosecuting this case as battery. First of all, no D.A. would ever take it.

The parent will sue the district, and the taxpayers will foot the bill for this silly crap.

[LaydeeBug]

62. No DA, huh? sounds like bullshit, and a teacher assaulting a student isn't "silly crap" ntr

[amborin]

47. +10

[no_hypocrisy]

4. I used to wear braids and that would be an unspeakable violation if it had happened to me.

How cruel and insensitive. Dominating a small child was more important than teaching her.

[Ken Burch]

5. And is anybody in power going to take the hint

and stop INCREASING the stress on teachers through endless budget cuts?

Probably not, 'til a teacher SHOOTS a kid.

[SPedigrees]

14. Oh yeah, that was excusable because of stress. Give us a break!

Nurses are under stress too. Maybe it will be excusable if one administers the wrong med or uses a contaminated needle on a patient.

This is/was a bad teacher who needs to be removed from the educational system.

[Ken Burch]

19. Not excusing it....pointing out that it's a warning sign.

And it's a warning that won't be heeded because school funding is cut and cut and cut again to appease the "you kids get off my lawn!" crowd.

[Fire1]

41. Yes, and nurses as well as doctors fuck up all the time!

Patients DO get the wrong meds and surgeons leave foreign objects like sponges inside the patient. Yes, it happens all the time.

[yawnmaster]

34. I don't see a link between budget cuts and this action...

people who can not deal with stress should probably not be teaching children.

[Raven]

6. That's an assault... in criminal law it's defined as an "unwanted touching".

[Individualist]

10. Assault and battery

See post #7.

[tonysam]

15. Oh, sure. I haven't had a good laugh in weeks. n/t

[Raven]

25. You are right. It's a battery for sure.

[LaydeeBug]

61. I read post 7 and you're wrong. thanksferplayin'. nt

[musicblind]

70. the "thanks for playing" meme is so degrading to the poster who uses it

people should find mature ways to disagree.

[27inCali]

8. If it was my kid this happened too

I'd probably ambush the teacher outside the school and shave her head.

[timtom]

44. See? I think just like that.

[guitar man]

55. Shave hell

I'd snatch her bald headed! :grr:

[FLyellowdog]

9. Teacher will be suspended

if not fired. Sounds like the teacher just lost her cool. It's easy to do, but teachers are supposed to have the training and the fortitude to resist doing such things. I always told people was I training as subs, "these aren't your children and you can't do the same things to them that you would to your own." :hi:

[mzmolly]

24. Why would playing with a braid bother a first grade teacher?

Good greif, the kids are six and seven!

:shrug:

[tblue37]

38. Beads in the braids--probably made noise. The little girl said,

"I wasn't playing with them that loud," which suggests that noise might have been the issue.

But that still doesn't excuse the act of cutting the child's braid. If it is a white teacher, I'd assume racism at the very least.

If the braids were making noise, the teacher could have used an elastic band to tie them back in a ponytail like arrangement. If they were not making noise, though, then there is no reason at all why the child should not be allowed to play with her hair.

I am white, but I have long hair, and I sometimes twirl it around my fingers while talking, listening, or reading--and I am a teacher (college level). It's a natural habit. Young kids fidget, and hair play is one form of fidgeting. It isn't natural for a young primate to have to sit still and do boring tasks for several hours each day, yet that is exactly what we expect of our children. If they can't play with their hair, then they might fidget in more disruptive ways.

[MadMaddie]

65. And that would be the reasonable thing to do

The kids are not getting enough exercise and that is part of the reason they are fidgiting around.

[Mojorabbit]

39. I had my hair taped in to a ponytail

when I was in second grade because I was playing with a wisp of it. Had my mouth taped shut too. Was an ADD child in the early 60's before anyone knew what that was.

[FLyellowdog]

48. Teachers used to do a lot of things they shouldn't have

but got away with it back then. So sorry. It shouldn't have happened then and I hope it doesn't happen now.:hi:

[Mojorabbit]

58. Yes they did

but in the end I was none the worse for wear. :)

[musicblind]

71. But some children are worse for the wear.

That's the thing, everyone reacts to being abused in a different fashion.

I am really sorry for what happened to you though.

[walldude]

26. Losing your cool is raising your voice.

This had nothing to do with "losing her cool" it had to do with losing her control. She couldn't make this kid stop so she used force. Lucky I'm not that kids parent, or I'd be down there cutting her fucking hair, see how she likes it.

[jsamuel]

30. Not to mention

How does one lose their cool over a student playing with their hair? It doesn't disturb the other students. All it does is indicate that the child is doing something that the teacher feels is inappropriate in a classroom. This is hardly something one could "lose their cool" over. Instead, I think it is more likely that this is a case of inappropriate disciplinary methods, not a moments lapse in judgment.

[tblue37]

40. One commenter on the article mentioned that he/she was sure he/she

knew exactly which teacher it was, so I am thinking this is a teacher who has a lot of issues with normal childhood behaviors and uses inappropriate, even abusive, methods to control her students.

[FLyellowdog]

49. How many hours of teaching in the classroom do you actually have?

Losing one's cool (you say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to)could possibly have resulted because the student had been a problem throughout the course of the day...this could have been the last straw. Some students relish pushing the teacher's buttons and will do or not do whatever it takes. What the teacher did was WRONG...no question, but not all students are as innocent as they might seem. It takes a strong will to walk into some of these classrooms and put up with the insolence and outright defiance that an awful lot of students present as acting out behaviors. If the teacher had not received or been instructed in or been advised of how to handle such situations, then she should not have been in the classroom. It'd be interesting to know what her evaluations from administrators had been over the course of her career. These things are supposed to be recognized by competent (contradiction in terms?) administrators. As I said earlier, she will either be suspended or fired...certainly at least a reprimand is in order and special training in using effective disciplinary measures. You're welcome.

[tularetom]

12. If you are wound so tight that a kid playing with braids disturbs you

you have no business in a class full of them.

Stress my ass. Teacher pay needs to be increased but so do the standards. This cretin should not be teaching.

[Aramchek]

16. Fire that Teacher. Noone that assholish should be in charge of children.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. WTF

This isn't due to budget cuts or stress. This teacher is just plain mean.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. The teacher is a control freak

Playing with one's hair is a nervous habit that does not disrupt the class.

[11 Bravo]

22. Wow, I've taught scores of elementary school boys who constantly tugged at their junk ...

in my 35 years as a public school teacher. Shoulod I have been bringing pruning shears to class all those years?

(And this idiot should be charged, tried for abuse, and fired for cause, if the evidence supports what I just read.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. LOL me too

It's when they pull out their junk that we get worried. :rofl:

[flvegan]

23. ...and that's battery.

A first grader absent mindedly playing with her hair? Really, teach? That sets you off. Please, stay away from children in the future.

[alphafemale]

27. I'll bet the teacher was white and there was an underlying racist motivation to this.

That's the only thing that makes sense.

Not that "racism" makes sense.

[Bucky]

54. No, that doesn't need to be the case.

There's a difference between out of control anger, built up from frustration, and outright racism. Of course the two can be mixed, as well. The teacher needs to be charged with assault. But the fact is that she lashed out at the girl because of behaviors. There is zero evidence to presume racism here.

[ret5hd]

28. Boy, that article went out of the way to avoid giving the name of that teacher!

And what a pretty girl:

[TheCowsCameHome]

29. That's a sure fire career-ender.

[musicblind]

72. One would hope n/t

[Ignis]

31. I want to send the kid a t-shirt with this image on it:

http://img1.visualizeus.com/thumbs/08/09/01/revolution,activism,art,political,politics,stencil-4897e3c25c6d4e6aecd01b2dcc17d2c8_h.jpg

...But then I'm a bad, bad man. :evilgrin:

[HughMoran]

32. Uh-oh - that's a fatal mistake

Bad day = ooops, you're in deep doodoo.

[yawnmaster]

33. If that were my kid, I would hit the roof. That teacher does not have the temperment...

to teach kids and should find another career or at least not be teaching children.
Perhaps an online teaching career.

[malakai2]

67. If that were my child...

Every parent at the next parent-teacher conference would be showing up with a pair of scissors.

[L0oniX]

35. assault ...jail time

[Hatchling]

36. I would be charging the teacher with assault.

I would also be sueing the school district for the cost of a private education for my child through her first doctorate, plus therapy.

[Sanity Claws]

37. Playing with one's hair is natural

Several of my classmates did it while reading or working on something. I understand it is a way of soothing oneself.

I can't believe that a teacher would discipline a child in any way for doing it.

That teacher does not belong among children.

[varelse]

42. Gah

If I'd had a teacher like that at 7 years of age, I'd have been bald. But then, so would she - snatched bald, by my mom.

[Raine]

43. The teacher should have a chunk of her hair cut off

right where it shows the most. I have long hair and play with it when I get nervous (it's a habit I can't seem to break) if someone did that to me ... they'd have those scissors stuck somewhere that makes it impossible to sit. :mad:

edit: spelling

[Fire1]

46. Just as I suspected. The braid per se was not the problem.

It was the noise from those damned hair beads! That is distracting and in no way "soothing" to someone trying to teach and hold the attention of 35 or 40 students.

The teacher should have put the child and her desk in the hall outside the classroom until which time she was ready to be attentive OR send her to the office with a note explaining disruptive behavior.

[hayu_lol]

50. If that is a real pic of the girl...

she is pretty. Probably inspired to become a lawyer later on because of this.

Only thing occasionally happening to pigtails 'back in my day' was that some of them were dipped into the inkwells in the desks.

[Bucky]

52. I'm a teacher. I have my share of disruptive & inattentive kids.

That doesn't excuse physical assault. The principal should have made herself more of a resource for a stressed out teacher before hand, but that doesn't release the teacher from a physical assault either. There are lines and there are rules, and neither should be crossed.

[bermudat]

53. 'Damned hair beads?' Hmmm

[Ms. Toad]

56. Yep. Those - or anything else making constant repetitive noise

- fingers drumming, gum snapping, foot scraping, page fanning (all equally common among students of any race).

It may be soothing to the person making the noise - but is is extremely distracting to everyone else around (and there are times when it is intended to be distracting).

That does NOT excuse the teacher's behavior. As others have suggested, there are far better ways to handle it - but having taught for 10 years I recognize the frustration.

[Bucky]

51. I'm a teacher. I'm under stress. Still, your daughter's ponytails are safe in my class.

Jesus Christ, that teacher needs to be charged with criminal assault and locked up for at least half a year.

That isn't LeTourneau-level evil, but it's evil enough. Lock her up. Braids grow back, but trust can be destroyed forever.

 

[Number23]

59. "Braids grow back, but trust can be destroyed forever."

Absolutely right.

I completely disagree that the teacher should be fired and I certainly don't think that she should go to jail. A suspension, fine, and four consecutive weekends doing something she REALLY doesn't feel like doing (I'm thinking working at a black hair care salon cleaning up hair) would do the trick for me. :)

[musicblind]

73. "working at a black hair care salon cleaning up hair would do the trick for me."

Great idea! I love it! :)

[tonysam]

57. Update on this story

"It's shocking because I know things happen to kids everyday. I didn't think it would get the attention that it's getting," Cammon's mother, Helen Cunningham said.

Cunningham said she was surprised how many people have been critical of her for not getting physical with the teacher.

"I don't want to teach my kids that violence is the answer. I'm the single mother of six kids. I don't want them to go out here every time someone does something wrong and start fighting. There's a better way to handle things and hopefully a lot of other people can learn from that," Cunningham said.

To the surprise of a lot of poster's, she isn't necessarily calling for the teacher to be fired.

link

And this:

The only punishment, as of yet, is a $175 fine issued by the Milwaukee Police Department for disorderly conduct. The district attorney's office declined to file criminal charges. The teacher is still in the classroom at Congress Elementary, though the principal has moved Lamya to another classroom. The Milwaukee Public Schools District said they were going through the disciplinary process with the teacher


link

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

60. How disgusting! Teacher should be fired. Mom is incredible showing that much restraint.

[MadMaddie]

63. This is appalling!

I understand classroom size is an issue and teachers are over worked however; that is no excuse for a lack of common sense.

This should be considered assault and the teacher should be removed from the classroom.

[FourScore]

64. The teacher shoud definitely get fired, but all these people

who are making excuses for her with all this talk of "stress"!?! I mean, WTF??? I'm stressed too, but I don't go around assaulting people because of it.

[asdjrocky]

66. That woman could get a serious ass kicking for that in my neighborhood.

[hedgehog]

68. There used to be a lot of frustrated women in classrooms when I was

a kid. I'm thinking of all the women who ended as as teachers because the only other choice was nursing and they didn't like sick people. Today women have lots of choices. I won't say they have every choice that men have, and there are still places where they'll be unwelcome. BUT, no one belongs in a primary classroom unless you really like real children!

[hedgehog]

69. 16 kids per teacher? and the woman claims stress?

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/milwaukee/congress-elementary/

[GreenPartyVoter]

74. Is this story from 1870? Holy cow!