British Teacher Uses Cupboard As Time-Out Room
July 18, 2008 – 1:44 pm by Kim
A teacher at Avenue Primary School in Clarendon Park, Leicester has apologized for locking a 7-year-old student in a cupboard after he acted out in class. The cupboard is 4-feet-by-4-feet and has no exit and no handle.
Unfortunately, this was not the only time Stephanie Tate has used the cupboard as a punishment, and reportedly has placed many students in the make-shift time out room. She has apologized for not informing parents of its use and says that students were only in there for a few minutes.
The 7-year-old has been suffering from nightmares since the incident and the school has suspended the use of the room until a review is carried out.
To make matters worse, the 7-old-year lives with adoptive parents because he was neglected in the early years of his life. The last thing he needed was to be shut in a small, confined place. The boy’s mother said that he has a hard time trusting people as is and it will take some time for him to recover from this incident.
The school is now looking into alternative methods of time out, such as having a child sit outside a classroom and reflect upon their poor behavior. Many teachers already use the “time-out chair” approach, but say that for some children this isn’t an effective approach.
So far no punishment has been arranged for the teacher. Perhaps this is because the school has been unable to locate a large enough cupboard.
