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First-Grade Teacher Cuts Off Student's Braid
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
Milwaukee first grader Lamya Cammon was told by her teacher to stop playing with her hair. When she kept doing it, the teacher cut off the 7-year-old's braid.
The little girl told Milwaukee's News12 that the teacher, whose name was not revealed in the report, called her over to the desk, said that she was going to give her candy, then cut the braid and threw it in the trash while the entire class watched and laughed. Lamya went back to her desk in tears. She says that the teacher asked her, "'Now what you gonna go home and say to your momma?,'" to which she sensibly replied, "'That you cut off my hair,'" according to News12.
At the start of the news report, the anchor says that the story is also about, "the growing concern over teacher stress." Lamya's mother, Helen Cunningham, told News12 that the teacher apologized when confronted, and explained her actions by saying that she was "frustrated." A News12 reporter spoke to an expert who agreed that teacher stress was a problem.
Although the local school district would not comment on the specifics of the case, an apology was given.
The News12 report says that the District Attorney has decided not to press charges, but police did issue a $175 fine for Disorderly Conduct.
What would you do if this happened to your child?
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 33)
12-15-2009 @ 11:06AM
SConey said...KDP, and this is why you quit and rightfully so....and yes I agree to suffer consequences when rules/instructions are not followed....but this was extreme and she too needs to stop teaching. And there should be some consequences for that teacher! She really should lose her job. It comes a time when you realize that you cannot handle the job anymore and give it to someone that can handle it... your situation was far more different and I think it takes a RETARDED person to empathize cutting a student's hair for beads making noise. If anyone agrees to such punishment should seek psychiatric help.
12-15-2009 @ 7:06PM
pjhenry77 said...Well said KDP.
12-17-2009 @ 9:13PM
dean said...kdp you are a f--king idiot and you shouldnt teach anywhere, what do you think fives years of teaching in a inner city school would make you any less of a biggot
12-15-2009 @ 9:56AM
T Walker said...@ SKL you are right "it's just hair" which is why it was wrong for the teacher to cut it. She was just playing with HER hair, and the fact that it irritated the teacher does not give her the right to cut it.
If this would have happened back when I went to school, my mother would have been upset also, and I am pushing 40. It has nothing to do with "coddling" this generations kids. WRONG IS WRONG, and the teacher definately overstepped her boundaries. There were other ways she could have dealt with the situation.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 10:19AM
SKL said...I absolutely agree that it was wrong. My comment was for those responders who apparently think it is appropriate to egg the child on in being outraged. My instinct as a parent would be to recognize that what happened is irreversable, and thus help the child to put it in perspective and move on. And to deal with the adults separately.
12-15-2009 @ 10:46AM
Jim said...I am a bit stunned as to the low level of education that people on these boards "seem" to have. Just as the teacher displayed a lack of grammatical skill, so do some of us here.
Laff is spelled Laugh. The only place I have encountered this spelling of the word laugh, is on the candy Laffy Taffy.
Prey, as in speaking to God is spelled Pray. Prey is a hunting term. Although I will concede that the use "prey" as directed towards SKL does have scent of correctness to it. ha-ha.
There are others, it is just these two which were beyond ridiculous, as they do not appear to typos. That and they are "simple" words, which normally are not misspelled.
I only point this out too highlight the impact that an unqualified teacher, like the one in the article, can have on the life of others!
The irony is laughable that a teacher in a Grammar School has none to teach. That alone should be cause for removal.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 12:06PM
jenn said...Haha..my husband is a TERRIBLE speller...but hes so freakin smart...i always ask him, how can you be so smart but just be a TERRIBLE speller...so yeah...im his editor whenever he writes something lol...but anyway, this is insane, this teacher lost it, that child did not deserve to be humiliated in front of the whole class like that. seriously if every teacher would of cut my hair off for playing with it in class, i would of been bald !!
12-15-2009 @ 12:34PM
SConey said...Jen,
You need not to explain grammar to that idiot!
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 12:58PM
david said...We need to get this teacher removed. Please do as I did and write & contact the school to let them know this will not be tolerated!
Congress Elementary School
5225 W Lincoln Creek Dr
Milwaukee, WI 53218
Milwaukee County
PHONE: (414) 616-5300
FAX: (414) 616-5315
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 9:36PM
teacher said...Thank you for the information. I will be writing a letter.
12-15-2009 @ 1:36PM
Marie said...I read most of these comments. I cannot believe how anyone can say it is okay to cut a child's hair for a punishment. Yes, children need punishments, but this way out of line. I do not see why it is wrong for a first grader to in trouble just because she was playing with her hair. All first graders tend to this if they are nervous or just because they are kids.
The teacher should not be able to use the words she was stressed out. She was dumb, selfish, and thoughtless.
If a teacher was to cut my child's hair, there would be a big deal made about it. The child now has to cut all of her hair to look right. What a shame. This child has pride like us all. The child no doubt feels very bad inside.
I do not understand how people can say this is not a big deal, lets cut everyone's hair who stresses us out a little.
That is the problem with our society, it is okay to be stupid when one feels stressed. It was so wrong.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 2:20PM
donna said...Well ,was it a real braid or an extension?
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 2:40PM
Patsy said...It was real but regardless of the fact weave costs money. I'd still sue her for damages. This is assault and completely unacceptable behavior. Temrination is in order.
12-15-2009 @ 2:37PM
SConey said...Donna,
Does it really matter? It wasn't her place to touch that child.
12-16-2009 @ 7:49AM
malaika said...Why does it matter? This childs hair would be intertwined withing the extension and cut when the braid was cut. How is it ever justifiable to have someone cut ANYTHING off of another person's body that isn't a tumor?
12-16-2009 @ 8:07PM
LARISSA said...No teacher has the right, no matter how stressed, to place their hands on any part of the child and least of all to cut off a part of it.
I don't care how "stressed" the teacher was she not only placed her hands on that child in a way that is inappropriate and is a violation of the law but she humilited the child in front of the class. That teacher has no place in a classroom. In my opinion, she should be dismissed from her postion and replaced with an educator that is better equiped to deal with children.
If I were the parents I'd put teacher and that school through the ringer.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 2:35PM
SConey said...Larissa,
Honey, that was spoken like a true parent! Yes, for sure
12-15-2009 @ 2:28PM
ricochet said...By law, that is battery.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 4:35PM
heidi said...I dont blame the teacher this child was distruptive in class and obviously doesn't listen, maybe now she will listen when told not to do something she is not supposed to do.The mother should teach her child to have respect for other people and not to annoy them. The teacher should not be fired at all I hope they keep the teacher and I hope other children learn from it,and I do have five children but they are very respectful and would never be disruptive.
Reply
12-16-2009 @ 4:17PM
LovelyHoney said...I'm a school counselor, You're an idiot. This teacher completely over-reacted. This first grader was doing what most first graders do--she was fidgeting. Even though the child is not a behavorial problem, a "real" professional teacher would know how to use some form of behavorial modification technique to eventually get her to stop over time.
Since you seem to feel this child's behavior was so "disruptive"--aren't we the DRAMA QUEEN here--and so into "discipline"--then you will agree with me that if you and others who think like YOU, ever get pulled over for speeding, a DUI, talking on the cell phone while driving, etc., that cop has the right to whip your a$$$ good with a billy club - LOL!