Lisette Lopez of Oakland Park, Florida, was furious when her 12-year-old son, Erol Faustin, was suspended from school for disobeying and cursing in class. So she designed a punishment
that would be as public and as humiliating for him as his behavior had
been for his teacher: He had to stand in front of Rickards Middle
Schooll every morning and afternoon for the three days he was suspended,
holding a sign apologizing for his actions.
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"My
kids know not to disrespect people, and he's not a bad kid," Lopez told
the Associated Press while her soon bit his lip and looked away from
the camera. "He plays around in class like most all kids do. But he has
to know that when you're in school you're there to learn you're not
there to play.
He's been in trouble before, Lopez told told WSVN News7,
and has been acting like the class clown this year; the sign holding is
her last-ditch effort to get through to him, she said. His father is
not around and has a criminal record, she told the news station, and she
didn't want her son to follow in his footsteps. "He has a younger
sister and brother who look up to him," she said. "He needs to be a role
model."
When his teacher asked him to move his book back, he refused, saying
that he "doesn't give a 'f'," and called her the 'b' word, Lopez said.
Standing with her hand on her preteen's shoulder, Lopez explained her
reasoning behind the public punishment. "He did it with the whole class
there, and it would get around the whole school," she said. "And I
didn't want people coming up to him being like 'Oh, good job' or 'Oh, we
all wanted to do that.' So his apology was public, in front of the
whole school."
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Erol
wore a black suit and tie on Tuesday as he held the large handmade sign
for his classmates and their parents to see. As students milled around
him, there were tears in his eyes; one kid patted him on the shoulder in
a kind way as he walked by.
"I disrespected my teacher," the sign read in part. "I am now suspended
for 3 days. I would like to apologize not only to that teacher but to
all adults." When a TV news reporter asked him if he thought he had done
the wrong thing, he simply said, "Yes."
Erol says that he's learned his lesson.
"I learned that I won't call a teacher or any adults or staff out by
that name again," he said, sounding contrite. "Because it's
disrespectful."
