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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be really disgusted at this teacher in the news?

248 replies

user1477282676 · 17/11/2016 21:17

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3944882/Nutter-Fort-Primary-School-teacher-snatches-microphone-autistic-boy.html

It's a DM link sorry....this teacher in a US primary school....she SNATCHED the microphone from a little boy who has Autism right before he said his line.

:(

It's made me really sad...it seems that some people have not moved past the 1970s in attitudes and think squashing children emotionally is "ok"

Some comments have said "she thought the play was over" and that the child had other lines in the play.

SO??? His face is devastating! He was really distressed! I'm inexplicably angry over this...a child so far away and yet he could be any child who has Autism....it's not ok!

OP posts:
WilburIsSomePig · 17/11/2016 21:19

YANBU except the fact he has autism doesn't really come into it. She shouldn't do that to ANY child.

Floofborksnootandboop · 17/11/2016 21:23

That actually broke my heart, poor lad. Sad

Original poster
user1477282676 · 17/11/2016 21:23

Wilbur no that's right! It's just that for him it would be even more upsetting as he would struggle already with understanding people's reactions at times...but yes, any child of that age would be devastated.

OP posts:
allowlsthinkalot · 17/11/2016 21:24

YANBU and I think it's pretty bad too but it's not exactly as it appears.

The boy had said his lines. He had been allowed to say his part.

He got up on stage at the end to say an unscripted "gobble gobble" and the teacher prevented him from doing that.

Very poorly judged but not the act of deliberate cruelty that preventing him saying his lines would have been.

crashdoll · 17/11/2016 21:25

YANBU. It actually really upset me to see his little face.

Original poster
user1477282676 · 17/11/2016 21:26

Allow had he inserted the lines himself I wonder and been saying them all along...she was very petty to do that all the same. VERY petty. What's one line?

A child in my DDs school got up to do an impromptu dance in the Nativity when DD was 5 and she also had Autism...did anyone stop her? No! She was allowed to do it and then got a little clap. It's inclusive and helpful to allow children who have difficulties to explore and enjoy performance. He was not disrupting anyone!

OP posts:
BackforGood · 17/11/2016 21:33

YABVU to take any school / teacher story reported in the Daily Fail at face value Hmm
You weren't there, and I wasn't there. We have no idea what actually happened.

Palomb · 17/11/2016 21:35

Poor kid having his face splashed all over the daily mail!

MidniteScribbler · 17/11/2016 21:43

She didn't even look like she was looking at him. If it was an unscripted line (and it looks to me like it was, as the other two boys looked at him like 'why are you over here?', she might have just been in the mode of 'get microphone after X says "thank you for coming", give it to Y."

isithotinhereorisitjustme · 17/11/2016 21:46

I know we don't know the full story but the sheer devastation on his little face was heartbreaking. Had the teacher misjudged the removal a quick 'silly me' and briefly return the mic to the boy for his additional line would have ended it on a warmer note.

SaucyJack · 17/11/2016 21:47

It's a complete non-story if you watch it objectively.

BillSykesDog · 17/11/2016 21:49

YABU. It sounds like a storm in a teacup, probably a bit of a misunderstanding. And it sounds like the story has been misrepresented. And she didn't snatch the microphone from him, it was on a stand. It's sad he was upset, but really it is a very minor incident if an incident at all.

It could probably have been dealt with effectively within the school. It's pretty appalling for the parents to splash it all over the net obviously intending for the poor woman to be pilloried and abused. If they're the sort of people who want to incite internet hate mobs over one petty incident then I think it's pretty safe to say they're not very nice people. And splashing their son all over the place is an awful thing to do. Such an invasion of his privacy and what if he wants to get a job in a few years and they google him? I imagine his teenage years are going to be very hard labelled the 'Gobble, gobble turkey boy'. Poor kid.

dybil · 17/11/2016 21:54

Its the Daily Mail. They trade in outrage and bullshit. I imagine it was an honest mistake.

Baylisiana · 17/11/2016 22:02

Heartbreaking is a massive overstatement by the DM! Also the mother saying she was in tears....Hmm...that will have helped him feel better.

It did look like potentially pretty bad behaviour from the teacher though and worth a response by the school, but if she was not expecting another line that is slightly different. She might have thought he had gone up by mistake and would not know what to do. Or not, hard to tell.

CocktailQueen · 17/11/2016 22:03

The play was finished. He'd said his lines. This was an unscripted 'gobble, gobble' at the end. The teacher didn't even look at him. Not malicious.

Complete storm in a teacup. Very poorly judged of the parents to plaster it all over the Internet. With all the real news going on - wars, refugees,Syria, famine in Yemen - why on earth are we worrying about this?

The parents would be much better off calming their Ds, explaining that these things happen, and moving the heck on!

TheRealMrsClarkson · 17/11/2016 22:19

YABU for reading the Daily Mail and inciting others to do likewise. Stop supporting hatred.

SuperPug · 17/11/2016 22:25

Yes, perhaps misjudged but how has this seriously become a popular facebook post, Daily Fail article and then a thread on here?
I'm not condoning her actions but naming and shaming the teacher online and also publicising her son's embarrassment is cheap and unnecessary.
Sounds like the mum wants her five minutes of fame and to wind up other parents.
What also gives her the right to put this video online and promote it with other kids and members of staff clearly visible? Obviously, this isn't a private post.

sonlypuppyfat · 17/11/2016 22:30

She wasn't even looking at him when she took the microphone, it's a complete non story

ClarissaDarling · 17/11/2016 22:37

Who on Earth is pushing this story?! It's everywhere!

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 17/11/2016 22:40

OP, it did upset me as well at first, the little boy reminds me of DS and she looks so heartless.
But as others have said, it was DM shudders, and it appears to have been a bit of a storm in a teacup upon reflection.

Pallisers · 17/11/2016 22:40

What ever happened to arranging to meet with the Principal if you have an issue with a teacher's behaviour?

These parents were absolutely wrong to paste this on the internet. It is unfair on their son and absolutely unfair on the teacher.

GazingAtStars · 17/11/2016 22:42

What an absolute non event

bibbitybobbityyhat · 17/11/2016 22:43

Another thread on this!

You should be more disgusted at whoever shared this clip. Was it his parents? If so, they made an awful mistake here.

BertrandRussell · 17/11/2016 22:44

I don't think the teacher even saw him. She heard the last line in th play and took the microphone to say something to the audience.

But the Daily Mail has never let the facts stand in th way of a good story. Particularly if it's a teacher bash.

Iamcheeseman · 17/11/2016 22:48

We have no idea what actually happened or anything about that boy or his behaviour in rehearsals etc. The article says he had said several lines and the other boys in the video clearly end the show.
He isn't even a turkey if you look properly.

Swipe left for the next trending thread