Photo: TikTok
The teacher forced them to run laps, even her own son!
By Ethan Cotler — Written on May 22, 2023
Who would’ve thought that showing love to a kind parent would be worthy of punishment? Although elementary school kids being unruly isn't news to anyone, parents and teachers have different ways of correcting poor behavior.
One mom thinks the kids were acting completely appropriately, and it was, instead, the teacher who punished the children for no reason. Even her own child got in trouble!
She volunteered at her 6-year-old son’s school, and his teacher 'punished' the class for hugging her.
Cassandra Jourdan is a stay-at-home mom who often shares parenting-related content to the video-sharing app TikTok. In a recent post, she shared a recent act of kindness that turned sour at her son’s school.
During Teacher Appreciation Week, parents were asked to volunteer for lunch duty so teachers could “enjoy their lunch in peace.”
Cassandra stepped up and decided to help out her son’s teacher by watching over her class during lunch, and it seemed like she was a hit with the kids! After her lunch duty had been served, they all “dogpiled” her in one massive group hug — except without taking her to the ground.
“There were 30 students on me at one point...which I thought was a compliment. They like me, and they think I’m funny; they like that I answer their questions and talk to them like human beings,” she said.
But a text from one student’s mother said otherwise. She notified her that her son had gotten in trouble for the hug. In disbelief, Cassandra asked her own son if that was the case, which he confirmed.
He said that nine out of 12 students got in trouble and had to run laps, even he had to do it!
“So, you had to run laps for hugging your own mother?” she asked. He specified that he didn’t have to run as many laps as the other kids.
Cassandra was still shocked and reached out to the teacher to understand the situation. She responded that her son was “confused.” Instead of getting in trouble for hugs, they got in trouble for “getting out of their seat for other reasons.”
“I was there, teacher; you weren’t there. If a child got out of their seat, it’s cause they were given permission by an adult,” she said.
On top of that, she explained that the teacher didn’t give her any rules or even tell her they “normally do it.” But Cassandra still felt she did well, and the kids behaved well.
“I thought it was a pretty successful lunch, and I’m pretty pissed off that she made them run laps,” she said.
The teacher then explained why it was a “bad lunch.” Though, the examples she gave only pertained to a 1st-grade class — not hers. All of her information must’ve been word of mouth because Cassandra explained that there were no cameras, so there was no way she could’ve seen what had happened.
Many people critiqued ‘running laps’ as a form of punishment.
Cassandra had overwhelming support, and many felt that she should go to the principal to sort the situation out. But many others took more issue with how the children were punished rather than the why.
“I’m more hung up on the punishment. Running laps?” one person wrote. “I’m stuck on running laps as punishment for lunchroom behaviors,” another added.
So, is it wrong to use exercise as a way to punish children? According to a 2018 report from Children’s Mercy, using physical activity is “considered a form of corporal punishment,” which is illegal in 29 states!
Cassandra hasn’t specified which state she resides in, and it’s difficult to say if the punishment was severe enough to warrant a case. But at the very least, if the kids are telling the truth that they got in trouble for showing a parent love, then hopefully, it will get resolved!
Ethan Cotler is a writer living in Boston. His writing covers entertainment, news and human interest stories.