Teacher discipline tactic: humiliation

The last time I checked, humiliation and theft was not part of Wegner Elementary School's 5th grade curriculum. However, I seem to have been mistaken.

As some of you may know, the new rage among elementary school kids is the new $1.99 collectible wrist bands sold at Walgreens. They come in various colors and styles, and children are collecting them and trading them with their friends.

My 5th-grade son came home from Wegner Elementary in West Chicago incredibly upset because he "lost" his whole collection of the fad bands. When I talked to him about it, I found out that he had become distracted by the bands several times during the school day. After several requests from the teacher to stop playing with them and pay attention, she had to ask him to take them off and bring them to her. At this point, I was completely on her side and commended her for maintaining control in her classroom.

However, I found out that instead of just confiscating his property, she demanded that he put his wrist bands in the classroom "prize bin." Throughout the school day, the teacher invited my son's classmates to go to the prize bin and pick out prizes, and my son had to watch while his collection was redistributed to his friends and classmates.

When I asked her about her method of discipline, she shrugged it off. She stated that she didn't know, nor care where my son or his classmates got the "silly" bands.

Shame on this teacher, and Wegner Elementary, for using humiliation as a disciplinary tactic. What a terrible lesson for our children.

Debbie Culbertson

West Chicago