Back in mid-October, a Clay County, North Carolina Music Teacher, Lindsey Cope, tied a first grade student to a chair and taped the child’s mouth shut. Additional claims that she slapped the student are not being confirmed by investigators. She later instructed the other first graders to say nothing about the incident. Thankfully, the children did tell their parents about the incident, and they in turn reported it to the school. On October 26th, Cope was suspended with pay! Yesterday, it was announced that Cope will face no criminal charges for her actions, as she was not in violation of any North Carolina laws. Furthermore, the parents of the child have asked that no charges be filed.
We all know how trying young children can be at times; but as a good caregiver or parent, we control emotions so that actions or reactions are not carried to the extreme. This teacher, unable to control herself, grossly abused her power and the faith the students, parents and school placed in her. She most likely frightened many of the young children creating issues with trusting other teachers and feeling comfortable going to school. Though the family is probably eager to put this all behind them by not pressing charges, it is hard to accept that these actions will go unpunished. And to think, the teacher continued to receive pay from taxpayers coffers. Moreover, it is horrifying to think this incident could potentially be setting a precedent for both acceptable behavior from teachers and the acceptable treatment of children.We hope that the parents in this community in NC will start a grassroots effort to figure out a way to make this sort of treatment of children as illegal and unacceptable.
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