It's hard to fathom how adults in charge of students could act this way.
The Genesee County mother of a 10-year-old autistic student feels the same way.
The mother, in a letter to her lawyer Patrick Greenfelder, expresses shock how the Oaktree Elementary School in Goodrich, just north of Ortonville, handled an incident in which her son's head was stuck in a chair during an indoor recess, George Hunter writes in The Detroit News.
Fifth-grade teacher Nichole McVey allegedly used her cell phone to record the incident and taunted the boy. She's on a paid administrative leave and is fighting the school board, which voted last month to fire her over the incident with the boy who has Asperger's syndrome, a milder form of Autism, The News reports.
“I am almost at a loss for words to be honest,” wrote the mother in the letter, according to the paper. “My son did nothing wrong but yet this seems to be another case of blaming the victim." Some parents who supported the teacher blamed the student.
“Watching the video of my son trapped in the chair is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I felt incredibly helpless watching my son sobbing. He was pleading for help and they just continued to watch him and almost taunt him with their lack of compassion.”
In the video, which is available online, the teacher can be heard saying:
“How did you get into that situation?” Do you want to get Tasered?”
The mother's lawyer says that the maintenance staff was summoned to help, but the Principal Michael Ellis says: “It’s not really an emergency in their book.” The principal has resigned.
ABC 12 reports that some parents are supporting the teacher and say the word "tasered" isn't a reference to a stun gun but rather to tickling someone to distract them.
