When the mom of a young student received word that her daughter had misbehaved in class and destroyed a computer, she was ready to pay for the repairs. What she didn’t understand was that Central Elementary School Principal Melissa Carter had other plans for the youngster.
The anonymous mother was told over the phone that she would have to pay $50 to the Florida school for the damage her 6-year-old daughter had caused to a classroom computer. The mom, a native Spanish speaker with minimal grasp of English, realized there would be a fine but claimed she did not realise what the school official intended when they referenced “paddling.” Despite her claim that she arrived at the school to pay the fee, the woman was led into the principal’s office.
As the small girl sat in a chair surrounded by Principal Melissa Carter and school secretary Cecilia Self, the mom was given a front-row seat to her daughter’s punishment. The mother claims she recognized what was about to occur when the principal brought out a large wooden paddle and displayed it to the youngster.
The woman, who claims she got concerned since there were no cameras or cops present, withdrew her cell phone from her handbag to discreetly capture the act. Carter and Self can be seen in the video detaining the youngster and bending her over so that the paddling may commence. ”Finally you understand what’s going on,” Self says as she places the screaming youngster, before adding, “Put your butt out.”
A 6yo child in FL. was beaten by her school principal, in front of her mother, for damage she allegedly caused to a computer. ⚠️ this video is graphic. It’s infuriating, outrageous & shocking & the principal is now under criminal investigation. https://t.co/M3cIZeTMKa pic.twitter.com/HPAcbYXlXe
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 2, 2021
The mother informed the media that she wanted “justice” for her daughter, but confessed that she permitted the punishment to occur so that she could reveal what is going on at school. The mom also claims that she took her daughter to the doctor the same day the punishment occurred to verify that the bruises and red markings on her buttocks were caused by the punishment.
Carter and Self were both investigated and face significant federal charges. While many counties in Florida allow school administrators to use corporal punishment, Hendry County School District policy prohibits it.
Obviously, people who watched the video on social media had different opinions about the problem of school authorities paddling.
Others blamed the mom for failing to interfere in what she saw to be her kid’s mistreatment.
The legitimacy of the penalty is obvious: if the school district forbids such discipline, the principal and clerk are in the wrong. Morality, on the other hand, is a different matter.
Whatever one’s feelings about physical punishment, the reality remains that it is never desirable for the government to be the one enforcing it. In most circumstances, parents should discipline their own kids rather than relying on the school or criminal justice systems to do so. If this was the norm, our schools would not be in such disarray.
