A mother in New Zealand is furious because she found her son’s mouth taped shut because he talked too much in class. She is not the only child who has been punished this way, and she wants to know why and what will change. When parents send their kids to school, they expect them to be treated fairly and with respect, even if they act up.
This New Zealand mom is so angry because her son’s teacher taped his mouth shut as punishment for talking too much in class.The thing that happened at West Auckland’s Colwill School wasn’t just with her son. The school says that this teacher plays a game with the kids that they seem to like. This little boy did not like having his mouth taped shut at all. It scared him so much that he had to miss the last two weeks of school, including the Christmas show.
She says that her daughter, who also goes to the school, told her because her son was too embarrassed to tell her himself. Her daughter found out from one of the boy’s classmates on the playground. The boy, who also has trouble breathing, is now very worried about going back to school next term. As soon as the mother found out, she called the school to complain.
However, she did not follow the school’s formal method for making a complaint. She thought the school wasn’t moving fast enough, so she stood outside and gave out papers about what had happened. She also talked to other moms and dads to get their help.Rob Taylor, the principal of Colwill School, says that the school took the report seriously, but that it takes time to talk to everyone who needs to be talked to.
He sent the parent a letter on December 11 explaining what had happened and saying that a full investigation had been done. “All children involved and their parents, except for [student], have now been properly interviewed by the school’s Social Worker, who tells me that [staff member’s] view that this was a game that the kids seemed to enjoy and wanted to play with her was, by all accounts, the correct version of what happened,” he wrote.
He told the mother that the boy can get therapy from the Ministry of Education to help him feel better about going back to school. The letter also had a statement from the teacher who was involved. It said, “I am very upset by what has happened and very sorry to [the student] and [the parents] for causing trouble to your family.”
The thing that bothers the mother the most is how long it took for the school, and especially the teacher, to say they were sorry.”I asked my 7-year-old what he thought about all of this, and he said, “When we do something wrong in class, we have to say sorry and promise not to do it again. Why can’t the teacher do the same?” she told me. Now, the family is waiting to hear what the probes find. If they are still unhappy, they will file a formal report with the local office of the ministry. The director of Colwill School hasn’t said anything yet about what’s going on with the teacher in question.