Teacher Passed Out Cupcakes To The Whole Class Except The Birthday Girl Despite The Girl’s Mom Sending Them In
She believed that she was teaching the little girl a lesson. However, others are calling her actions spiteful.
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock After a mother sent in her 7-year-old daughter with cupcakes to share with her class to celebrate her birthday, she was confused when the little girl came home from school claiming that her teacher “hates” her.
When the mother reached out to her daughter’s teacher to find out what exactly happened that day, she was astonished by the teacher’s response.
The teacher did not allow the little girl to have a cupcake on her birthday with her classmates since she was ‘not focused’ throughout the day.
The little girl’s aunt, Felicia Monique, took to TikTok to share her niece’s heartbreaking experience on what should have been an exciting day.
“As a parent, how would you feel if you bought cupcakes for your child’s birthday, and you took them up to the school so the teacher could distribute them to the class at the end of the school day, however, that teacher gives every student in the class a cupcake but your child whose birthday it is?” she asked in a video that has been viewed nearly 1 million times.
If you are a parent, it is safe to say that you would be outraged on your child’s behalf. This is exactly what happened to Monique’s 7-year-old niece after her sister-in-law sent in cupcakes for her class on her birthday.
According to Monique, when it was time to distribute the cupcakes to the class, the teacher decided to withhold one from the birthday girl as a punishment since she allegedly acted up beforehand.
The little girl came home in tears saying that her teacher 'hates' her because she was not given a cupcake like the rest of her classmates.
To avoid jumping to conclusions before she learned the entire story, Monique’s sister-in-law messaged her teacher, asking if she had failed to make enough cupcakes for the entire class, which is why her daughter did not get one. But that was not the case.
“We had several talks today about being excited for her birthday, but still needing to stay on task and follow directions,” a screenshot of the teacher’s message read. “Unfortunately, she didn’t make her day after our talks, so I had to follow through and just give her juice.”
Monique argued that the teacher’s punishment for her niece went too far, and failed to give her a valuable life lesson in the end.
Photo: triocean / Shutterstock
“It would be understandable why a 7-year-old would find it hard to focus on their birthday,” she said. “They’re excited, this is the one day that’s all about them. They get to choose what they want, and they’re excited to celebrate… and then you’re gonna punish them because they’re so excited?”
As an educator, Monique thought that her niece’s teacher was simply just being mean and spiteful.
“I would never do that to even high school students, nonetheless an elementary school student,” she said. “I’m so upset about the situation because she made my niece’s birthday horrible, she had her crying cause she didn’t get a cupcake and she let everybody eat these cupcakes but the birthday girl.”
Others were appalled by the teacher’s treatment of the little girl on her birthday.
“Imagining her sitting and watching all her classmates eat cupcakes is crazy!!! It boils my blood,” one TikTok user commented.
“You never forget it when a teacher picks on you. I'll always remember my 2nd-grade teacher dumping my desk out and making me clean it up,” another user shared.
Others encouraged Monique to tell her sister-in-law to take it up with the school principal and even pull her daughter from the class.
In a follow-up video, Monique explained the term “make your day,” for those who weren’t familiar with it.
“‘Make your day’ is a citizenship program within the school where students earn points based on their behavior and completing tasks,” she said.
The quota students must reach to make their day is 54 points. On her birthday, Monique’s niece earned 53 points.
While both she and her sister-in-law have respect for educators and understand the complexities of their jobs, they still want the little girl’s teacher held accountable for her hurtful actions.
They decided to meet with the school principal to address the situation.
Thankfully, Monique said that the principal was “very apologetic.”
“She completely admitted that the behavior from that teacher was unacceptable, it doesn’t align with their culture within their school, and she stated that they already had a conversation with that teacher to address that her actions were unacceptable,” she said.
The principal added that there would be a follow-up meeting with both the little girl and her mother present along with the teacher so that they could “repair the damage.”
Photo: Iryna Inshyna / Shutterstock
While teachers have the right to educate their students about appropriate behaviors and discipline, they should never use food or humiliation as a form of punishment.
Forbidding a student from enjoying cupcakes while they are forced to watch the rest of their peers have them will not teach them a lesson. Instead, it will only make them more anxious about going to school.
One of the most effective ways for teachers to get their students to follow directions is by treating them with the same respect they expect from their class.
Instead of focusing on all of their shortcomings, praise their good behavior and understand that they are still children who are learning the ropes of how to act appropriately.
They are bound to make mistakes, and even if they do, let them eat cake on their birthday!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.