Many children that are raised in a stable home are raised to treat their elders with respect. They show this courtesy by saying things like yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, and no sir. A young boy in Tarboro, North Carolina is raised speaking this way. His respect towards his elders led to a punishment which had a mother in disbelief and left her speechless.
At the Northeast Preparatory School, a ten-year-old boy named Tamarion Wilson showed his respect towards his teacher one day by saying yes, ma’am. The teacher had informed her students previously not to call her ma’am but with no reasoning as to why. This small act of respect had her punishing Tamarion. She had Tamarion write a full sheet of paper stating ma’am numerous times. He had to take the sheet of the paper home once completed and have his mother sign it to finish his punishment. When his mother recieved the paper she was shocked in disbelief. She asked Tamarion why he had to do this and he told her that he had gotten into trouble for telling his teacher yes ma’am. When the young boy didn’t follow the teacher’s specific ma’am rule he heard him say she would have thrown something at him if she had something at the time. Tamarion’s teacher has had several years in the teaching field. She had a parent-teacher conference with his parents and told them she was joking when she told him she would have thrown something at him.
This led to a lot of controversy. Many people believe the teacher was out of line for doing this punishment of a small act of respect. Tamarion’s parents both felt they were doing right raising their son. Teaching him to be respectful and addressing elders by ma’am or sir. Tamarion’s father felt responsible as he feels he is raising his son the best way he can and feels this was unacceptable. After the incident, Tamarion’s mother met with the principal to have him moved to a different class. The principal allowed Tamarion to change classes. The school has nearly 1,000 students attending from grades kindergarten to 12th. Many parents of these students fear their children might experience the same as Tamarion if this matter doesn’t get resolved as quickly as possible. The school released a statement stating the matter was handled by the principal of the kindergarten to 7th-grade students. Even though the statement was vague many parents want answers and relief that their students will not receive punishment for respecting their elders. Respect and manners are taught both at home and in school. Many parents expect teachers to uphold their end with the continuation of teaching respect during their time there at school.
