Minnesota teacher locks boy in closet with chairs as he pleads to be let out while other children laugh
LAKEFIELD, MINNESOTA: A middle school teacher was put on administrative leave after a video of her locking a student in the school closet surfaced on Reddit. The child in the video is seen to have begged to be let out and go free from the closet while the teacher keeps him confined, turning a deaf ear to his cries. What’s even more devastating is watching his fellow students laugh at the situation.
Daily Mail reports that another child had stepped up and tried to help, but the teacher in question had asked the child to step back and said, “No, no, no, no, no; uh huh.” The student probably felt threatened and walked away, but not before saying, “I’m not even doing anything.”
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The video goes on for 54 seconds, with one other child saying, “He’s stuck in the closet” in the background. The child locked in the room sadly asks, “Can I have help?” as the other children laugh louder, making the video more heartbreaking. A child is heard saying, “The help you need is not going to be here.”
The video led to many people worrying about what the child had done to deserve such cruel treatment. It sparked a lot of outraged comments as well. One commenter spoke out with their own similar experience, "There are instances of parents losing custody of their kids doing this crap. I threatened to go to the news when the school locked my autistic nephew in the closet. If he acted up they were to call one of the contacts and we would deal with him. You don’t lock a child in a closet all day because you don’t want to deal with them. They never did it again…."
Another commenter had a similar experience as well. They posted this comment, "I was locked in a closet in the 2 grade. I have cystic fibrosis and needed to leave ten minutes before lunch to go to the front office and get my medicine. My teacher knew this, but I guess it really pissed her off because one day I stood up to go to the office and she hauled my ass to the supply closet in the classroom and locked me in there. I’m claustrophobic now because of it."
A third commenter made his displeasure known, as he said, "doesnt f****n matter thats assault and teachers are getting dumber then kids. hope this one got fired." Another commenter also raised concern for the students being taught that abuse was okay, as they commented, "If you listen closely, you can hear the sounds of kids being conditioned that abusing others is normal and funny."
Another commenter had his own take on the incident, "I don't have the patience for that stuff. I'd have bashed those doors down and made a huge fucking scene that I would end up being embarrassed about for the rest of my life."
Jackson County Central School District Superintendent Barry Schmidt issued a statement in October, regarding his action on the incident. He said, “Dear Families, I am writing to you today to address the online rumors and a video that has been spreading through our community regarding an issue with a classroom incident that allegedly took place last month. The District is aware of the video and had recently learned of its existence. Unfortunately, the District is prevented by state and federal privacy laws from discussing the specific details of the incident, or the individuals who may have been involved. However, we can assure you that immediately upon learning of this incident, the District opened an investigation and placed the individual who was involved in the matter on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. We continue to work through that investigation, and hope to have the matter concluded soon."
While the outrage from the incident is expected and evident, the identity of the teacher and student has been kept under wraps. It is also unclear what the status of the teacher’s job is, after weeks of being kept on administrative leave.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.