Teacher puts plastic bag over girl's head
By paradisesuns
@paradisesuns (1754)
United States
April 11, 2007 2:10pm CST
EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (UPI) -- An art teacher at an elementary school in a Chicago suburb apparently put a plastic bag over a student's head as a bad joke.
The teacher used poor judgment, Craig Fiegel, superintendent in Evergreen Park, said in a letter to parents. The superintendent said that the bag had a hole cut in it and the student, a sixth-grader at Southwest Elementary, was never in any real danger, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"I believe he knows that that isn't something you do. It was an unfortunate thing to do," Fiegel said. "You have to weigh in some of the intent and look at the situation. We all have lapses in judgment, make mistakes."
The art teacher has taught in the school district for 22 years.
Lt. Greg LeCompte of the Evergreen Park police said that the girl's parents have no interest in filing charges and the investigation has been completed.
9 people like this
30 responses
@socorban (650)
• United States
12 Apr 07
WHAT! Bad joke or not that teacher needs to be fired regardles of work history. The parents were fools not to file charges. A hoel in the bag or not that was extremly inapropriate for any situation inside or outside of school. I hope they fired the teacher. You better believe it that was my kid (if i had one) that teacher would be on the back of a milk carton right now.
1 person likes this
@paradisesuns (1754)
• United States
19 Apr 07
Okay this is about the fourth or fifth time I have marked you for "Best Response"...for some reason or another it just isn't sticking to you...."So I here by Dub Thee Best Response"....
@Swtrose (3385)
• Canada
12 Apr 07
According to the full article, it is not over yet. The school board may still choose to take disciplinary action against him. I'm curious to what would provoke a teacher to do this. Obviously he was joking around and trying to be one of the kids, but this is not something that you joke about and was obviously a very poor move on the teachers part.
@paradisesuns (1754)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Well it's good to know that it is still not over.If I were that child's parent I would make sure the teacher was held accountable for such a stupid act.Whether a joke or not it is not funny, it's just plain stupid on the teacher's part.We as parents are suppose to trust teachers...right?
1 person likes this
@loved1 (5328)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I would love to know the rest of this story. What kind of joke would include putting a plastic bag over a child's head? I sometimes make paint smocks out of plastic grocery sacks for the children but they have heard the "don't ever put a plastic bag over your head" speach so many times it is unbelieveable. Someone who has been an educator for 22 years must have had a serious lapse in judgement, or someone is blowing things way out of proportion.
1 person likes this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I agree. Either someone is blowing things out of proportion or this teacher seriously needs some help with making judgement calls. You would think if a 4 year old knows better then to ever put a bag over their head or anyone else, a grown adult who teaches 6th graders would know better as well.
@anonymili (3138)
•
12 Apr 07
I'm not even sure why this story made it to the papers. The parents are not filing charges and no harm has been done to the child so I'm not sure why this has become a newsworthy item. The teacher sounds a bit weird though - if I had kids and a teacher did this, I wouldn't find it in the least amusing. And this teacher has been in the profession for over 20 years! Strange teacher!
1 person likes this
@4cuteboys (4099)
• United States
11 Apr 07
Wow, that is absolutly ridiculous! I don't even let my kids joke about stuff like that. Sometimes I see them trying to put a pillowcase on their heads and pretending to be ghosts, but I wont allow it. But I mean a plastic bag?! When does that seem like a good idea, especially for an ADULT and a TEACHER to be doing that. Wow, that's pretty sick. Mean I know, but I would have liked to see the parents file charges.
1 person likes this
@paradisesuns (1754)
• United States
11 Apr 07
And people wonder why parents home school their children...
2 people like this
@michele609 (1687)
• United States
12 Apr 07
That is a horrible thing to do to a student and being a teacher he/she should know better then that.
1 person likes this
@ashiflett (1045)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I have to wonder the same thing...exactly what was the joke? It sounds as if the investigation concluded the teacher had no criminal intent...but it still sparks my curiousity on why someone would do this.
1 person likes this
@nickventere (1420)
• Zambia
12 Apr 07
That was a silly bad joke for an adult to play on a kid! Suppose the hole was too small and obstructed? There would have been the issue of post mortem!
I would sue the teacher if that was my kid.
1 person likes this
@Impervious (1147)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I just can not believe that this girls parent's are NOT interested in filing charges. Ok yea everyone makes mistakes but this is rediculous. personally if it were my kid, I would have kicked his As*. And what is even more astonishing is that the police do not seem to be fliling charges either.
That just blows my mind. And to top it off the school say's there was ahole in the back so the child was never in any real danger. I don't care what the danger level was that is no joke and not funny.
@ldybgsgma99 (798)
• United States
12 Apr 07
There must be more to the story that we haven't heard. Something just isn't quite right. If that was my child I would be tearing the school down brick by brick to get to that teacher. Something smells really fishy about this.
1 person likes this
@motherof35108 (192)
• United States
12 Apr 07
that is uncalled for and the parents should have pressed charges. it does not matter if the child is okay or not the point of the matter is this teachers get away with to much and the bus drivers get arrested for slamming on thier brakes. life is not fair and the teachers should get punished just as much as the bus drivers do. they should be suspended with out pay until the investication is completed. if i where the parent of that child i would make shure that teacher does not teach anywhere anymore and i would make her life heck.
1 person likes this
@Lady_Justice (969)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Lapse in judgment? How about lapse in sanity? How about child abuse?
Any parent that did something so horrendous and stupid would likely lose custody of that child. Yet, we leave our children in the care of schools many hours each day, and they are not held accountable for our children's safety. Why should a teacher get away with doing such a horrible, dangerous, irresponsible thing? I can't believe the parents aren't doing anything about this. I certainly would.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
11 Apr 07
That is very wrong of the teacher. He knew better and should not have done it. I hope he gets proper disipline since the parents are not filing charges.
1 person likes this
@hikarushidou (843)
• Philippines
12 Apr 07
Gosh this is such a no no. plastic bags even come with a caution to keep away from children coz they might suffocate themselves and this is just awful the teacher should be punished!
@coolchai (753)
• Philippines
12 Apr 07
that is not at all a joke to a plastic bag over someones head esp a student! he is giving a BAD example to his students and he is not being responsible! even if the bag had a cut you cant do that coz the students might realize that its ok to put a bag on someones head.
@moondream (7)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Bad joke!? No way! Even if student was "was never in any real danger," you don't go and put plastic bags over peoples' heads! Geez, you'd think someone who has been teaching that long would have a little more common sense.
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I have a feeling that things were taken out of context in this story. It may have had something to do with an art project they were doing. Of course, the teacher used very poor judgment as he had to have known that this would happen, but I don't think his intention was to harm the student. I do think though that teachers really need to think twice about what they do with their students, even if they have the very best of intentions.
1 person likes this
