I’m sure many of you heard this story by now. Recently in Milwaukee, a teacher cut off the braid of one of her students. LaMya Cammon was sitting in her chair playing in her hair (as many little girls do). Her hairstyle consisted of braids adorned with beads so of course, it made a clinking sound.

The sound that the beads were making annoyed the teacher. The teacher instructed the little girl to stop, but the little girl kept at it. Rather than simply putting her in time out, and or writing a letter to her parent as a civilized teacher should have, the teacher called the little girl up to the front of the class, took a pair of scissors, and cut off one of the little girl’s braids. She then scolded her and sent the LaMya back to her desk as she cried and classmates laughed. Here were the little girl’s words:

I went to my desk and cried, and they was laughing. She threw it away, and she said, ‘Now what you gonna go home and say to your momma?‘ And I said, ‘That you cut off my hair.’

Many people were wondering if this teacher was a black or white woman, but in my opinion, this isn’t about race. It would be equally wrong whether she’s black, white, or alien. If “found guilty,” which she pretty much is, the teacher will be charged with a $175 fine.

The charges sound like a slap on the risk, given the situation. I’d say that she would have to pay the mother and the daughter $175 each, and be put in permanent timeout from teaching. In addition, I would make her reenact the whole scene. Only this time, she would be the one getting a lock of her hair cut off.

Don’t get me wrong; the hair will grow back. However, this should have never happened, and a person like this never should have gotten a job as a teacher. There’s no telling how many more similar stories like this would arise if she were allowed to keep teaching. Did you read the part where the teacher said, “Now what you gonna go home and say to your momma?” It was almost as if she were trying to rub it in her mothers face, or that she were asking for a fight. This woman clearly has some demons other than the situation at hand, that she needs to deal with.

If a teacher did this to my daughter, there would be problems. I would probably even make sure to get the teacher’s face all over the news (CNN included), so that anyone who’s in charge of hiring teachers knows not to let her teach at their school. I’m surprised they kept her anonymous thus far.

What would you have done if this were your child?