Shamica Neal was told that it was part of a reading initiative called “I’d rather be reading,” in which students posed in different settings performing different tasks.
“That had nothing to do with reading,” Neal said. “It was humiliating for him because kids were teasing him.”
Neal, who provided a copy of the photo to The Dallas Morning News, said she did not give the school permission to take or display the photo. She has filed a grievance with the school district against the librarian, alleging that the incident caused emotional damage to the child and humiliated him. The NAACP has also met with the school about the incident.
retaliation? really?
from the story:
“Neal [the mother of “garbage can boy” as he is now known on the internet] believes that the incident was retaliation for another incident she complained about involving her daughter, a third-grader, being sent to alternative school by administrators.
So what do you think?”
I bet the librarian thought that since kids like gross stuff that this would be funny. Guess she thought wrong. But to think the librarian planned and waited until the boy went to the clinic to take his medicine as part of some school plot would only make sense to someone like Michael Bay.
Totally Offensive
That they did such a bad photoshop job with that thought bubble.
poor judgement, but probably not intentional
The photo itself is an astounding lack of good judgment, but I’m more concerned about the failure to get the parent’s permission to take & display the photo. Unless the school asks parents to provide permission at the beginning of the school year (i.e., you allow us to use our judgment to take and display photos during the school year), they should be getting the parent’s express permission. I don’t think this is a racial issue, but definitely really poor decision making on the part of the school.