As a parent this infuriates me! I have a child roughly the same age (9) and I would be irate if this happened to her. Follow the link below, it's a video. Basically, 7 year old was misbehaving, teacher didn't feel like he was bringing his notes from the teacher home, so she decided to staple it to his shirt for the day. Thoughts?

http://news.yahoo.com/video/miamicbs4-15750840/teacher-criticized-for-how-she-sent-a-note-home-24445195

Really, this Mom is full of crap! This is STANDARD practice in many schools across the country when it comes to small children. They're either stapled or clipped to the shirt with a safety pin. I took home HUNDREDS of notes that way when I was younger as did my kids and every OTHER kid I went to school with.

This is just another NO account parent making excuses for her heathen of a child that hasn't been taught proper manners.

@Music God -- I've never seen this practice before, that's why it ticked me off. It's not standard practice here (Dayton Ohio) to pin or staple anything to a child's shirt. It would actually probably tick a lot of local parents off if it were to happen here.

@Stepanie: Well, I've seen it done in Michigan, where I was raised and in both Toledo, Ohio where my sons attended pre-school AND in Little Rock, AR where they attended school later. I've also asked others from at LEAST 4 other states that told me the same thing...so I thing where YOU live might be the exception here. LOL

And I have to TOTALLY agree with Meesa here as well. Maybe next time the kid will think twice about his behavior. I think a little embarrassment would go a LONG ways with kids today.

Thank You! I know we've had this convo before CJ. This is why kids get their asses kicked at school. lol. TOO MUCH CODDLING! Stapling a note to a kids shirt and embarrassing them is no different than making them sit in time-out while everyone gets to play after lunch embarrassing. No different from reading a passed note aloud in class embarrassing. It seems like nowadays parents flip out about EVERY little thing!

Holy misleading title. She stapled a note to the kid's shirt, not his skin. This is really not a cause for outrage.

@ Anonymous Source - Eh.. she stapled it to the kids shirt.. inappropriate behavior from a teacher.

@Stephanie: This is no more inappropriate than reading aloud a passed letter, or calling on a child to answer a question the teacher knows the child would get wrong, because he was talking or something. Believe me, this child would have forgotten the incident after 3 days, max, if it weren't a goddamn news story.

But hey. It's modern media. They love shitting on teachers over every little thing they do, as long as they make a buck off it. And people like you (really, no offense) will be outraged over nothing as long as these stories are published.

No offense taken. I really did see it as a "WTF" because I've *NEVER* seen it or heard of it being done. Maybe our school district is the exception. I truly didn't realize it was a common practice in other areas! The only thing my daughter has ever had pinned to her shirt was her name tag the first day of kindergarden.. that was it. I guess in this situation, I truly am ignorant of practices in other areas.

However, as a parent.. I would be ticked if this happened to my kid. I don't believe it's an effective tool to embarrass your children in front of their peers. IMO it's not an effective means of teaching.

@Stephanie: I've seen the notes pinned to shirt thing in a few movies. I've had a couple notes pinned to my shirt in my day, it's really not that big of a deal. I highly doubt this teacher stopped class, called the kid to the front, wrote the note and stapled it to his shirt while all his classmates were watching. My notes were always pinned to my shirt as we were getting ready to leave, in a calm manner. Some kids saw, and it wasn't even a big deal. In my experience it's mainly so that the kids don't lose them on the way home.

If I feel like my students aren't bringing their notes to the parents, I will try pinning a note to their shirt/coat. Its not like a small safety pin is going to destroy the shirt or something. You can't even notice the marks.

But the whole note thing greatly depends on what's going on with the student. If it's about talking in class, I'll write a note. If it continues to be a problem, I'll request a note with a signature from the parents (and yes, I'd probably pin that note to their shirt).

I feel like a lot of situations with parents can be better handled through emails or notes, than by calling up the parent and interrupting them at work to say 'oh your kid keeps talking in class.'

@ Jess! :: Eh, maybe.. I still feel this wasn't handled the best way. I wouldn't be comfortable with a teacher reaching inside my daughter's shirt to staple a note to it.. I just feel it's inappropriate. All of her teachers have had an open window of communication with me and it wouldn't have ever been an issue to call home and say what was going on. If she felt the notes weren't getting home, that's what I feel should have happened.

I agree w/ Miss Ice Finger and Blue Bella... it's not that hard to pull the note off and it clearly isnt going to solve the real underlying problem.

@ Stephanie: I wouldn't be comfortable reaching inside a shirt either. But you don't have to reach inside a shirt to safety pin a note (or staple, really).

Some parents, like yourself, have open windows of communication. But in schools that isn't always the case. The parent may not have been returning phone calls, or didn't have a phone. I know that's been the case in several schools I've done my student-teaching at, it's one of the main things teachers bring up. A lot of parents don't involve themselves in schooling - and won't answer phones. Sometimes a note is the only way to get the message across. Obviously the mother in this story wasn't communicating with the teacher, or the teacher wouldn't have had any doubt about whether or not the notes were received.

The real, underlying problem (to me) seems to be this parents lack of involvement with her child's school. Not the note being stapled to the shirt.

@Anon Source ZOMG, the teacher TATTOOED HIS MISDEMEANOUR TO HIS FOREHEAD

I agree with you! This was unneccesary! Honestly, if the teacher was so concerned why did they not CALL the parent and request a face to face meeting or talk to them via telephone about what they THOUGHT was going on?!?!?!

I dont have kids so that might render this comment irrelevant to some, but that's pretty stupid. I mean idk if i'd be OUTRAGED but it's definitely unnecessary. I'd make her pay to replace the shirt, and probably tell her to just call me next time, but i'd also probably be giggling a little on the inside. Pretty crafty.

As a parent, I could care less about the damage done to the shirt. My concern is that she flat out embarrassed the boy and that's obviously what her intention was. I'm sorry, teachers are there to teach. Discipline is up to the parents. Teachers = teach. If there's a problem with getting the notes home, call or send an email to the parents. You don't put a safety pin on a child's shirt and embarrass them in front of their class mates and school mates. Totally inappropriate and as a parent, I *would* be outraged. Your job as a teacher is to teach and to encourage education -- not embarrass the crap out of my kid, who was obviously fearful to bring the reports home. I'd have yanked my kid out of her class and possibly out of the school.

It's amazing what things parents get all up in arms about these days. If the teacher had stapled the note to let's say his forehead then I can see outrage. However, these days parents want to go very soft on children. No discipline. I don't think this was cause of outrage.

I think I'd be more upset over holes in my child's shirt and the fact that said child hadn't been giving me the previous notes. Now, if the teacher had stapled the note to my child's arm or other body part, sure I'd be angry.

You know, I learned at a very young age (in elementary school) that if you misbehave you are made an example of in front of the class. For example, you pass a note in class, everyone gets to hear it. So I learned quickly that if you don't misbehave, you aren't embarrassed. Clearly the child had misbehaved before because the teacher felt their notes were not being given to parents. Why do we have to coddle children so damn much? If anything this kid should learn a lesson the same way I did: goof off in school and get embarrassed. It's not the end of the world.

We coddle kids because they're not as strong and intelligent as we are, so we have to make sure we keep them in a bubble so nothing ever happens to them. Because if our kids are ever embarrassed at school obviously they will need years and years of psychological therapy to overcome such an issue.

Oh yea I forgot. I mean, what the hell, we're afraid about hurting someones feelings by making an example out of their bad behavior in class? Blow me. What's going to happen when the kid grows up and gets turned down for a promotion or something? OH WAIT, Mommy will come to the rescue, cover little douchebag's ears and say to the boss, "Don't say things like that. You'll hurt his feelings and he'll need more therapy. He's still in therapy from back in gradeschool when his teacher pinned a note to his shirt..."

Thank god I'm not going to be a teacher anymore... Id have to smack a fucking parent.

@Meesa: This TOTALLY made my night. I sat here and laughed for a good 20 minutes at it. Maybe it's the mean side of me...but it's hilariously true.

You're welcome :D I try to be awesome and I clearly have succeeded.

That...um...might make you a better teacher. hahaha. Some parents seriously need to be smacked.

My cousin had a note FAXED to my Auntie's work because she said "I don't like your drawing" to another kid. ... My Auntie replied, "Was the drawing any good?" lol

@ Beautiful Lies -- I'm just glad that I'm an involved parent and that my teacher won't have to go through anything like that to ever get ahold of me. I'm sure my child will also appreciate how involved her parents were, so she'll never have to suffer undue embarrassment because we neglected a f'in note home.