6-Year-Old Wouldn’t Stop Fidgeting With Her Sandals So Her Teacher Threw Them Out

Student allegedly told to trash sandals, walks barefoot at school as punishment

Let us begin today’s lesson with how not to teach a lesson. Any teachable moment that involves embarrassing and shaming a kid, should not be a teachable moment. End of story.

Alas, that’s what a first grader is claiming happened in her South Carolina school. Six-year old Taraji Edwards says her teacher made her throw her shoes in the trash after she wouldn’t stop fidgeting with them. In an interview with WSPA, Edwards totally owns her part in the matter. You know, with all that shoe fidgeting.

“I was messing with my shoes, and the teacher told me eight times or seven, and I never listened,” Taraji said. You know why the little girl kept messing with her shoe? Because she says the strap was bothering her in math class. A kid that complains about a strap, tag or bow – bothering them? That’s absurd. Kids never complain of such things.

Sarcasm aside, please stand up if you’ve never met a kid that doesn’t bitch and moan about some level of discomfort with their wardrobe from time to time. Right, everyone’s sitting. So clearly, a teacher, who’s presumably been around children a lot, would know this. Her alleged trash-your-shoes instructions to the little girl are way out of line, over the top, and frankly, just plain mean. I wonder if the teacher even bothered to ask Taraji why she was messing with her sandals in the first place? Hmm. Maybe the teacher would’ve learned a thing or two about kids.

The most appalling part is this image we’re about to conjure up for you. Get ready. The little girl says she had to walk around barefoot for awhile before being told she could go retrieve her sandals from the trash. Seriously? Nope. Hell NO. Can you imagine your kid being ordered to walk around barefoot at school?

The little girl’s mother, Chartrese Edwards is rightfully livid telling WSPA, “I feel like it was malicious behavior. I’m angry about it because you could have used a better method.” Ah yeah, like not utter shame and humiliation. Taraji said, “I feel embarrassed, and I did not like how she treated me… that’s not a way I can make friends,” she said. Weh! We wanna just go give this girl a big hug and be her friend.

Edwards spoke with the principal and teacher at the school and will be meeting with the district staff and school board. The school district released a statement that said it “does not tolerate embarrassment or humiliation as a form of punishment.”

To be clear, Edwards does want to see some action taken against the teacher and is currently undecided about where to send her daughter to school. In the meantime, Taraji has a home bound teacher. Edwards said if she does send her daughter back to the same school, she’s going to need to gain a lot of trust.

Her daughter feels the same way.

“I do not want to get treated like that,” Taraji said. “I’m only six.”