This month, a video of a toddler student getting dogpiled by his peers in the classroom went viral. Now, the teachers who snickered behind the camera are in BIG trouble.
Two teachers from Riveroaks Elementary School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana are under fire following a video of a 4-year-old being pummeled by his peers circulated the internet. The child’s mother, Olevia Robinson, told WAFB News someone sent her multiple videos of the incident. In one clip, a teacher is yelling at a student to stop punching Robinson’s child while the teacher behind the camera laughs.
In another clip, Robinson’s son was still being swung on but when another student stepped in to defend him, one teacher blocks him saying, “That ain’t got nothing to do with you.” Both videos were recorded back in January, Robinson says she discovered.
Robinson said she was previously told her son had some “behavioral issues” and that the teachers recorded the video to capture evidence of his alleged aggression, per the report. However, the video showed more of them standing by while the other children jumped on him.
As a result of the incident, Robinson pulled her son from the school. As for the teachers, East Baton Rouge Parish School Superintendent LaMont Cole said in a statement the two are being investigated and were placed on administrative leave.
“To view that behavior by the adults in the classroom is beyond appalling, it’s beyond disappointing, and it’s downright disgusting,” said Cole.
The incident appeared to have a chilling effect across the school’s parents. WBRZ reports another parent and grandparent who have children at Riveroaks raised a similar complaint that teachers don’t intervene with bullying and also considered transferring their kids from the school.
Though the two teachers were held accountable for the one incident, the superintendent hasn’t specified what changes may be necessary for the school as a whole.