When Alma Gallegos' 11-year-old daughter returned from Red Oak Middle School one day, she was furious. Her daughter's hands were blistered and sore. The reason? A severe punishment from their physical education teacher.
“I get angry all over again, all over again. It’s an anger that just doesn’t go away,” Alma told Fox.
Her daughter and six other female students were forced to do bear crawls on the turf during 90-degree weather. They went from the end zone to the field goal of the football field six times. Many of them were crying in pain.
“I tried to tell her that I burned my hands but she just told me to go back in line and do [more bear crawls],” the 11-year-old said.
The girls were punished for being late to class, and Alma agrees that they should have been reprimanded, but not with a punishment so severe they ended up in the emergency room. (Harsh punishments have been making the news lately, just recently a school came under fire for keeping students in cages.)
“Run an extra lap, run an extra two laps,” she said. “Why would you put them on turf? You get on the turf and you let me know how it feels.”
The school is investigating the incident with the help of the principal, who realized the turf was extremely hot.
“I’ve gotten apologies from everyone else but her and an explanation as to why she did it,” she said. “Some people may say, ‘Oh this generation, kids are crybabies.’ It’s not cry baby. It’s just that this isn’t military. This is school.” [sic]
With a doctor-prescribed ointment, Alma's daughter is healing…but without status on the coach, Alma doesn't believe the story is over just yet.
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