A kindergarten teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been placed on administrative leave after she reportedly made one of her students dig out feces in a clogged toilet.
Now the boy’s mom is calling for the teacher’s termination.
Ashley Murry said she was horrified when her son told her about what the teacher made him do.
“It’s degrading for a child, so I don’t feel like any child should have to go through this,” Murry told local NBC affiliate KARK-TV. “They basically made him go in the toilet and get his feces and the dirty tissue out of the toilet.”
Murry said after she learned of the incident she immediately pulled her son from the class at Crystal Hill Elementary School.
Although she spoke with the teacher, she said she wasn’t reassured by the explanation ― or lack of one.
“She got on the phone with me and she said she didn’t have an explanation, she just knew she was wrong,” Murry said. “But she stated to the principal that she was trying to teach how not to stop up the toilet.”
Murry’s mother, Tami Murry, a former teacher, was shocked by the teacher’s actions, which she said were not acceptable.
“You want a child to put their hand in there physically and clean out the commode ― no, no, no, no, no. He’s not a janitor, he’s not a custodian, he’s not maintenance, no, not at all,” Tami Murry told KARK-TV.
The Pulaski County Special School District put the teacher on administrative leave on Tuesday pending an investigation.
On Wednesday, PCSSD Superintendent Charles McNulty released a statement to local station THV11 acknowledging that the incident has roots in deeper issues.
“Systemic racism, classism, sexism ― they play a part of our daily lives, and sometimes these events overshadow who we are and who we need to be,” McNulty said. “Over the past three years, PCSSD has taken extensive steps to enhance equity and excellence across the district. Our professional staff continues to mirror our communities and the many cultures that thrive in our schools.”
Murry told THV11 that she spoke with lawyers on Wednesday and said her son is experiencing emotional distress over the humiliation and embarrassment.
She believes the teacher’s actions warrant her being taken off the job permanently.
“She needs to be terminated, Murry said. “She does not need to be teaching in any school district. She does not need to be around kids. Her license needs to be taken,” Murry said.
