http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1127495--newfoundland-teacher-sprays-fishy-smelling-student-with-air-freshenerNewfoundland teacher sprays fishy-smelling student with air freshenerA teacher in central Newfoundland who sprayed a 10-year-old boy with air freshener because he smelled fishy from his lunch has been put on paid leave.
A spokeswoman for Nova Central District school board issued a statement Tuesday saying the board regrets the situation and has apologized to the family of Christian Roberts, a student at Twillingate Island Elementary school.
“A more complete investigation is currently underway into the incident, and the teacher is on paid leave while the investigation is ongoing,” the board spokeswoman told the Toronto Star Tuesday.
“The district takes any such matters very seriously. We regret that this situation has occurred.”
The board launched its investigation after the boy’s mother, Patti Rideout, complained that the teacher had taken Christian out of class and into the hall after lunch last week and sprayed him with the air freshener.
Rideout told CBC that the treatment of her son was disgraceful.
“I feel like he’s been embarrassed, bullied, and I think what she (did) was very disgraceful,” Rideout told CBC News. “I think my son was treated not like a human being — I think he was treated like a dog, or a cat . . . I’m very hurt and very angry over this.”
Rideout made her son a meal of fried capelin for lunch last Thursday, and when he returned to school the other students teased him and laughed because of the strong fish odour. The CBC reported that Christian was put out in the hall for a period then sprayed with the air freshener.
Stu Auty, president of Toronto-based Canadian Safe Schools Network, told the Star that while the teacher may have been well-intentioned, the fact that she did it apparently in front of other students is where the teacher went wrong.
“Teachers are responsible for many, many things with kids in a classroom. If it is personal hygiene they try to help in that area, too. You have to be sensitive to it for a variety of reasons and this case there seems there was a miss on that,” Auty said.
“Obviously this should have been carried out in a private fashion.”
