Since Donald Trump’s upset victory, we’ve seen a disturbing spike in hate crimes and discrimination against minority groups. But one case in my hometown of Charlotte may be the most outrageous case yet, or at the very least in the top ten. A Muslim-American kindergarten student says that he was bullied and harassed by the very person who should have been protecting him from such behavior–his own teacher.
On Monday afternoon, the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a complaint on behalf of a five-year-old Muslim boy, known only as “Malik,” who says his kindergarten year at David Cox Road Elementary School in Charlotte has been a nightmare. Watch more details from WBTV in Charlotte.
CAIR attorney Maha Sayed claims that Malik has had to endure “relentless bullying and harassment” at the hands of both his classmates and his teacher. Among other things, Malik claims that his teacher made him carry a heavy backpack containing a large textbook and headphones, causing him “significant back pain.” The teacher is also accused of calling Malik “bad Muslim boy” on a number of occasions.
After Malik’s mother complained to David Cox’s principal and guidance counselor, Malik was transferred to another classroom in October. However, he continued to see his former teacher on several occasions, and Malik and CAIR claim that she didn’t let up on her abuse. Reportedly, it finally came to a head on November 16, when the teacher came into Malik’s new classroom, “grabbed him by the neck and began choking him.” According to the report, the boy’s new teacher quickly intervened and separated them.
Sayed sent the letter to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, as well as state deputy superintendent of public instruction Rebecca Garland. She called for a full investigation, as well as disciplinary action against the teacher and anyone else “found culpable of misconduct.” Sayed also wants school staffers to undergo cultural and religious diversity training.
This sort of discrimination would be an outrage at any level. But for it to happen in elementary school is incomprehensible. And in kindergarten? I can’t even. If this is at all true, it would raise a lot of questions about what the parents are teaching their kids. After all, this kind of bigotry starts at home.
While both Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the state department of public instruction are looking into this matter, there is only one acceptable solution if this is even half true. Teachers should be stopping this kind of nonsense, not taking part in it. If this teacher took part in the bullying, she has no business within an area code of a classroom.
Little Malik is almost certainly going to need several years of counseling. No one deserves to be bullied in this manner. Period.
(featured image courtesy JMacPherson, available under a Creative Commons-BY license)
