An article appeared in the local Atlanta newspaper about a child who had his mouth duck taped at school by a teacher. Apparently the child was being disruptive and the exasperated after school tteacher decided to take the seemingly desperate measure of taping the child’s mouth shut. Naturally, the child’s mother, upon learning of the incident was not amused. The mother complained to the principal and filed a police report as well. I ask you…is this over kill?

Twenty four years ago when a certain Phalanx editor was in elementary school, his mouth was taped shout by another frustrated teacher who had grown tired of repeated interuptions by the young libertarian…Well the mouth taping seems to have done the trick, the young boy didn’t think much of it after the fact, never even bothering to tell his parents. Though had he decided to do so the reaction of the child’s parents would have been distinctly different. Rather than complaining to the principal or filing police reports, the child’s parents likely would have punished the child for being disruptive and misbehaving in school.

Today’s children have no concept of what is appropriate behavior in the classroom and in many cases parents have become enablers (very often encouraging such behavior through their unwillingness to actually parent). Today parents will defend almost anything their child does, no matter how outrageous or disruptive it may be.

While the teacher may not be excused for their actions, most parents probably would object, though filing a police report seems a bit extreme, but the incident highlights a major problem with children today. Perhaps the teacher may have feared the parents wouldn’t deal with the child’s behavior. Most teachers didn’t didn’t sign on to become a teacher to assume the role of surrogate parent, discipline is a parental matter. I’ve seen students who will curse at their parents in the presence of a teacher and naturally the parents did nothing. So what’s a teacher to do when children don’t even respect their own parents?
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2007/10/03/tape_1004_web.html