Posted on 11/16/2018 8:35:47 AM PST by Red Badger
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A 10-year-old DeKalb County boy says his gym teacher forced him to stand in the cold and rain for more than 30 minutes as a form of punishment. And he didn't have a jacket.
The boy's mother is furious and wants answers. She said her son’s teacher made him wait up against the wall on a day where it was around 41 degrees and pouring rain outside.
“Everybody saw me like soaked,” the boy said.
The boy described pulling his hands up into his shirt and holding his fists under his chin and biting his fingers to try and stay warm.
The mother wants that teacher off the job.
Tara Gilmore told Channel 2 Action News this all started over some kind of dance move her son did on the floor of the gym at Henderson Mill Elementary School on Monday.
“I think best case he would do the right thing and turn in his resignation,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said her son, Joe Austin, even considered walking home.
Austin said he understands why his mother is so upset.
“I shouldn't be out in the cold with only a t-shirt with short sleeves,” Austin said.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the school district.
In a statement, DeKalb County Schools says: “It's highest priority is the health and safety of our students. Furthermore, our staff is always expected to abide by certain standards of conduct.”
A district spokesperson went on to say it is investigating the incident as a personnel matter and will take appropriate action based on the findings.
Photo Credit: WSB-TV WSB-TV
My folks defended my when I was treated unfairly at school to the point one teacher lost their job and my dad would provoke them into saying the stupidest shit to the point I am surprised it wasn;t more than one
On the other hand, if I deserved it then it was my problem and mine alone and cannot remember how many times I got my ass busted or one of the foot ball coaches made me (us) run ladders barefoot in the cold which got your attention quick.
Subjecting the child to possible heath risks is punishment too far. Make him do laps around the gym for 30 minutes, or something other than stick him out in the cold unprotected.
The Penguin
A 10 year old standing in the rain for 30 minutes is not a big deal. I see kids ride their bikes up-and-down the street in rain, running around outside in the snow. people here being a little bit hypersensitive shall we say? And if you’re getting these “oh my God, how horrible” responses from a conservative site,we are pretty much lost as a society.
Unprotected from what? Do you understand 10 year olds run around in rain all the time and play?
There is a difference between a disciplining child who is misbehaving and abuse. This is child abuse! That young child could have become hypothermic which can result in death if serious enough. In any case should have seen the school nurse immediately who, I am sure, would have been horrified and taken him to the ER to make sure that he was okay.
As a mother, I would have had no problem with the teacher dealing with naughty behavior with a time-out or made him run a lap around the gym, etc.
It is hard to believe that a credentialed gym teacher would not have known better.
I hope you realize this child has civil rights just as you do, and teachers do not under any circumstance, have a right to place children in harm’s way because of their naughty behavior.
I am very sorry your mother would not have cared if your teacher punished you in such a way as to jeopardize your life. Most mothers, including me, would be up in arms if our children were treated in such a way!
Without coats, huh? In the cold?
I get some of you are trying to win the hard ass award, but this kid was made to stand out in the cold with nothing.
Yes — the bench outside/in the principal’s office!! Always had kids on it when I was in school. (eons ago)
You are wrong, wrong, wrong! Making a scantily clad child, with his immature system and not much body fat, stand in the freezing rain for 30 minutes, would certainly cause hypothermia; if the child’s core body temperature had become cold enough, he could have had a heart attack and died. What is the matter with you people?
Thank you.
Did the punishment fit the crime?
Do you believe in any random punishment by a teacher?
You remind me of the people in the 90's who set up camps to deal with problem kids.
Kids were beaten, denied medial care and died.
We don't have those camps anymore for a reason.
There's nothing wrong with disciplining a child for an infraction but the punishment should be appropriate not random abuse.
I withhold judgment until more facts are available. This is the word of the 10 year old about what happened. There are no other eyewitness accounts of the circumstances.
I'm surprised at those here who jump to conclusions one way or the other with such little information available.
While I’m not opposed to schools taking appropriate disciplinary action when called for, this particular punishment is asking for a lawsuit and was ill advised to the point of idiotic.
Yes — the bench outside the principal’s office!! Always had kids on it when I was in school. (eons ago) When others saw you they knew you had done something wrong. Punishment enough.
He was made to stand against the wall. So he wasn't allowed to create heat from activity. We might have played in the rain at 10, but I doubt many of today's 10 year olds do.
I think if that had happened to your child you would not be so "understanding". 8>) At least I would hope so. Punishment is one thing. Jeopardizing a child's health is unacceptable.
What did the boy do to make his teacher react so...where are the facts? Thirty minutes of discomfort may just be the greatest life’s lesson he will ever get.
What did the boy do to make his teacher react so...where are the facts? Thirty minutes of discomfort may just be the greatest life’s lesson he will ever get.
I doubt it, unless your mom is some sort of bitch that don't like you all that much the begin with.
Everyone likes to pretend like their parents would have been cool with the teacher punching you in the jaw for passing notes because “we were more hardy back then, by gum!”, but putting a kid outside in the cold with no coat is just stupid as hell.
You never went to a Catholic School in the 50s-60s or early 70s, or you would never have posted this pussy crap.
The Nuns would beat the hell out of us using paddle boards, 12" rulers, and the vicious ones would use the sharp side.
They would then give you a note for your parents, which guaranteed at least one if not two beatings at home.
It is not "we were more hardy" it was called discipline, and there was the no smart mouthing allowed, or you paid the price.
The price was a physical ass whippen' and as some one who has taken his fair share, {every one was well earned} it was a better system that the snowflake luven one that is in effect today.
I don't know if the kid deserved to be punished or not, but he was not beaten with the sharp side of a ruler until his knuckles bleed. Spare me the tears.
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