Florida middle school teacher grew fed up with a chatty student, so she turned the classroom into an arena to teach him a lesson

Teachers are trusted for the students’ safety, but we often come across cases where they end up doing the opposite. Previously, we heard of a teacher who grabbed a student by his neck because he referred to him as ‘bruh’. Now, a disturbing case involving a Florida teacher has come to light: the teacher turned the classroom into an arena for an innocent student over something that kids usually do.

As reported by People, 64-year-old middle school teacher Judith Clark is facing criminal charges because she allegedly ordered another student to hit the one she was fed up with. Per the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office statement, the sixth-grade teacher was frustrated with the student because he refused to stop chatting with his classmate, despite Clark asking him to stop multiple times.

The statement said that, when fed up, Judith allegedly asked the class, “Who wants to slap him?” None of the students was willing to answer the teacher, and they did the same when she asked them the second time. As a result, Judith ordered two students to close the classroom’s blinds, and then asked one of the 12-year-olds to hit the student she was frustrated with. The innocent student, afraid of disobeying Clark, gently hit the student.

The 12-year-old told his parents about his disturbing experience

The student who gently slapped the one who was talking, as he was afraid of disobeying Clark, told everything to his parents. They were left shocked by the incident and then reported it. When authorities were involved, the Electa Lee Magnet Middle School removed the teacher from the classroom during the investigation. Per the statement, later, the teacher was arrested and taken to Manatee County Jail for child abuse without great bodily harm.

It’s not the first time we have heard about people who are supposed to keep students safe, but ended up creating an arena for them. Previously, an Arkansas school director did the same to autistic students. Coming back to Clark, Manatee County Schools’ Director of Communications Jamie Carson called the incident, told News Channel 8 that this incident is “deeply concerning.”

He also stated, “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. We are committed to providing a safe, positive, and supportive learning environment for all students, and the actions described in this case are not aligned with that commitment we uphold in our schools.” Judith Clark was later released on a $7,500 bond and is not allowed to interact with either the innocent child she instructed to hit or any other underage person.