Frustrated Teacher Cuts Off Little Girl’s Braid In Front Of Class…Assaults Her With Scissors!
A Milwaukee city school teacher has assaulted a little first grade African-American girl in front of her class, by aggressively cutting off her French braids because she wanted the child to stop playing with her hair!
What is more surprising about this story is that her mother calmly went to the school to discuss the assault on her child, and when the teacher became indignant, she quietly left the classroom, to discuss the matter competently with the principle.
That is a good thing, and a good example for us all,…especially me. I commend her in her measured approach to this assault on her daughter’s hair.
I say this because, I probably would have handled it differently.
I remember a situation that happened to my brother, when he was in elementary school.
Apparently, the principle at his school, had taken it upon himself to spank my brother with a paddle, for some minor infraction, and to top that off, he was spanked in front of his classroom.My brother was in the third grade, and this was the late 60’s, not that long after black people had received our civil rights.
My dad , upon learning of this news, rushed to the school, that was not too far from our house, and immediately began a violent beat down of the principle, because he was upset over what he saw as a physical attack on my brother.
It was a traumatic situation for all involved, but no one was incarcerated for any of it, the principle was reassigned,and I believe that my father got his point across.
My dad became a neighborhood legend for that beat down, and people still talk about it to this day.
Now, this assault on little Lamya Cammon, has similar overtones.
Lamya has a french braid hairstyle, quite nice I must say,…and she has a lot of beautiful beads that adorn her braids, and they dangle. Being a 7-year-old child, Lamya would twist twirl and fidget with the beads, like a little kid would do.
Lamya Cammon...teacher assaulted her and cut off her hair
The teacher, having a bad day, asked her to stop playing with her hair, and Lamya probably did not at the level that satisfied the teachers demands.
Lamya Cammon says the teacher called her up to the front of the class at Congress Elementary, took a classroom scissors and snipped the beaded braid that frames her face.
“I went to my desk and cried. They was laughing. She threw it away.” Cannon said.
The teacher also went on to ridicule Lamya, and mocked her by telling her …..”now you can go home and tell your mother I did it”….and…”what you going to tell your mom now”… just to taunt her.
Cammon’s mother,Helen Cunningham, is furious. She went to the school and confronted the teacher, and she was able to keep her composure, unlike the approach that my father employed.
“I said, ‘Well, you know, you cut a lot of her hair off.’ And she was like, ‘Well, I do apologize.’ She said, ‘But I was frustrated,’” Cammon’s mother, Helen Cunningham, said.
Frustrated?…a first grade teacher at a public elementary school will be frustrated from time to time, because that goes along with the territory of teaching little kids.
I would hope that the teacher could source some patience and professionalism, and above all, keep their hands off of the children. There is no school district that I know of in America, that continues to spank children as a disciplinary action.
I find it highly inappropriate for any teacher to lay their hands on a child in their class, and in turn the students have no right to disrupt the class or physically abuse anyone there.
The teacher should have called Lamya’s mother, way before she resorted to cutting off her hair.
A report from Chicagonow.com states that… the teacher may face disciplinary action, but has not been removed from the classroom.
When the District Attorney’s Office said there were not grounds for criminal charges, police issued the teacher a $175 dollar ticket for disorderly conduct.
Ironically, the teacher received that weak punishment, but Lamya has been moved to another class which separates her from her school friends, that she has bonded with for the past 2 years.
I call for the dismissal of this unnamed teacher, and I believe that if spitting at someone is a felony assault, then cutting ones hair , a physical crime, is far worse than that.[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=elementary+classrooms&iid=1471892″ src=”3/9/6/f/Government_Plans_Education_2602.jpg?adImageId=8342068&imageId=1471892″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]
The school system has made statement about budget cuts causing mounting frustrations on the teachers, as a rationale for the assault.I say that if this is the case, then that school system should be taken over by the feds, so that they can put in place some competent oversight of the school system, and to hire some professionals to teach the children there.
As it stands now, Lamya has received the short end of the stick,and I have to wonder that if she was not black, then this assault on a child by a teacher would be an even bigger story, with the appropriate charges, not this non-charge, being levied on this rogue teacher.
I see that for $175.00, which is the fine for a disturbing the peace ticket in Milwaukee, that the teachers there can physically assault and abuse our children at will.
I believe that my father’s approach, although not as refined as some would prefer, got more effective results from the school system, and served as a better deterrent than $175.00…which, even in these times of recession, still is not a lot of money.
I want the mother’s out there to comment on this case. What would you do if this were your daughter?….regulate the situation like my father….or what?…I do not think this minor fine will serve as any deterrent for this form of physical humiliation and assault on a little girl, to happen again.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=school+children+reading+books&iid=4095875″ src=”e/2/a/4/PicImg_education_bb30.JPG?adImageId=8342707&imageId=4095875″ width=”234″ height=”309″ /]
Sources…
http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/frustrated-teacher-cuts-students-hair/
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