Report: Teacher Forces Boy To Wear Skirt As Punishment

[Brent]

Report: Boy Forced To Wear Skirt As Punishment
Teacher Allegedly Confesses To Putting Dress On Student

POSTED: 4:57 pm EST February 27, 2004
UPDATED: 6:14 pm EST February 27, 2004
http://www.local6.com/money/2881645/detail.html

A Central Florida preschool faces allegations of punishing children in an unusual and potentially traumatic way after a teacher's reported confession of putting a boy in a girl's dress, according to a Local 6 News report.

(They say "children" in the paragraph above, but it appears only boys were singled out for this kind of abuse/embarrassment. -Brent)

The family of a 5-year-old boy who was reportedly put in a yellow dress because he was talking too much said Friday that they plan to file a lawsuit against the Merriday Montessori School.

"It was a form of punishment, because he would not listen, they put him in a dress," the boy's grandmother Brenda Bradley said. "A yellow dress, and had my other grandson and the rest of the class laughing at him."

The details Bradley told Local 6 News about were confirmed in a 43-page Department of Children & Families report obtained by Local 6 News. In the report, the teacher admitted that she put a dress on the boy because, she stated, he was "being unruly."

Local 6 News obtained a copy of the taped interview between the DCF case worker and the 5-year-old child describing the incident:

Child: "When I was watching TV, I was talking too much and Miss Valerie put the dress on me."


DCF worker: "What color was the dress?"

Child: "Yellow."

DCF worker: "With flowers?"

Child: "Um hum. -- they laughed at me with the dress."

DCF worker: "Who?"

Child: "Everyone."


The child's mother, Tiffany Fairlamb, told Local 6 News that the teacher said her son would not listen so she had to put him in a dress, according to the report.

Local 6 News has learned that the case may not have been an isolated incident, according to reporter Wendy Saltzman.

Saltzman said that another child told his mother that a different boy at the school had been punished in the exact same way.

"I think this is a practice that happened more than once, by more than one teacher to more than one student," Fairlamb said.

Local 6 News reported that Merriday Motessori School stonewalled repeated requests for an interview and refused to acknowledge the unsettling allegations.

Local 6 News reported that DCF closed their case without any action, because, they said there was a low level of risk since the family has already removed their two kids from the school.

However, Local 6 News will investigate whether DCF did their job in Friday night's 11 p.m. show and speak to another parent.

[Indigo Mom]

Now teachers can put our boys in yellow dresses with flowers???  Good gawd.  Even "I" would be embarrassed to wear a dress like this!  

This teacher needs to be fired, in my opinion, and the entire school needs to be investigated.  We do NOT humiliate children!  It isn't a "punishment", it's an abuse!  Can you imagine being a 5 year old little guy, forced to wear a dress, and forced to listen and watch all the other kids laugh at you?  How traumatic!  Not nice...and very wrong.  The teacher is an idiot.  What happened to the good ol days when a child had to stick his/her nose in a corner????  Did that suddenly "stop" working?????  

And...wtf?  This teacher is mad because the boy is talking...disrupting the movie?  Well...didn't the kids who laughed at him disrupt the movie even MORE?  Try settling down a bunch of little people after THAT kind of episode.

-----However, Local 6 News will investigate whether DCF did their job in Friday night's 11 p.m. show and speak to another parent.-----

Good for Local 6 News!  Hopefully they are able to do "something" about this terror.  I hope they ask "why" this yellow dress with flowers was there in the first place.....

[kiddosmom]

Brent you should contact whats his face that exposes the 'boys are stupid' shirts about this one!

[Imom]

I read this a few days ago and wanted to reply but I was not sure how too. This may be a little different but...........A few years ago I heard in the news a teacher would write on kids face if they had forgot something or was bad, now she used washable maker on them but not on the African American children she would use black permenent marker.  There are come STUPID teacers out there. And I'll tell one thing if my 7 year old son's teacher tried to put him in a dress HE would beat her a$$, and no I do not condone my son hitting or fighting but she would be better of him doing it then me.

[Peanutsdad]

What I'd like to really know,, is the teacher fired???