It’s not uncommon in Alabama to hear the words “ma’am” or “sir” being uttered by a child still toddling around in diapers.
Like “please” or “thank you,” too many Southern parents, saying “ma’am” or “sir” is part of raising your children right, a way to show respect, part of common manners. If it’s not said, some believe, then it reflects badly not only on the child but the parents, too.
And so, I can imagine the shock and dismay that Teretha Wilson must have felt when her 10-year-old son Tamarion was disciplined by his teacher for calling her “ma’am.”
His punishment? He needs to write the word “ma’am” four times on each line of a piece of notebook paper, front, and back.
According to Teretha Wilson and McArthur Bryant, their son Tamarion came home from North East Carolina Preparatory School disappointed. The fifth-grader pulled out a sheet of paper from his school bag, covered with the handwritten word “ma’am.”
According to their son, the teacher asked the student not to call her “ma’am”, and when he did, she made the student write the word four times on both sides of a paper as punishment.
The student was instructed to take the paper home and have it signed by his parents. The teacher also allegedly said is she had something, she would throw it at him. The parents called the teacher’s action inappropriate, explaining their son was raised to refer to his elders as “sir” and “ma’am”, as a sign of respect.
When Wilson returned the signed sheet, his mother also included another piece of paper where Tamarion wrote the definition of the word.
The teacher reportedly told the fifth grader that “if she had something, she would have thrown it at him.”
Tamarion was moved into a different teacher’s classroom
With this, many folks online are upset about the situation, saying the child was only doing what he believed was right.
When ABC11 reached out to the school and received the following statement from a school official that said: “This is a personnel matter which has been handled appropriately by the K-7 principal.”
Where on earth was this teacher from? Teaching children to say “sir” and “ma’am” to adults is deeply embedded in Southern culture. It chaps my backside that she humiliated that little boy for being courteous. If she doesn’t want to be called “ma’am,” she should go teach Yankees.
Watch the video report below for more details: