When 6-year-old D’Avonte Meadows was suspended for three days from his Aurora, Colorado elementary school for singing the lyrics to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It,” his mother didn’t find it funny it all, reports Denver’s ABC 7.
“I could understand if he was fondling her, looking up her skirt, trying to look in her shirt. That, to me, is sexual harassment,” said Stephanie Meadows. “I’m just, I’m floored. They’re going to look at him like he’s a pervert. And it’s like, that’s not fair to him.”
“Aurora Public Schools is committed to providing equitable learning for all students. We have policies and protocol in place to prevent any disruption to the learning environment. Due to privacy laws, we are unable to discuss appropriate disciplinary consequences about a specific student.”
Ms. Meadows had no such qualms about privacy, revealing to 7 News that D’Avonte got in trouble for the same thing last month. — with the same girl. This time, though, he added a “little booty shake” for good measure:
“[I told] my son not to shake anything in the girl’s face again,” said Meadows after a meeting with an assistant principle. “I’m going to definitely have to sit with him and see if he understands exactly what the song means.”
While it’s easy to say that the punishment was excessive, what about the little girl? She was obviously uncomfortable with the attention to the point of reporting it to someone. What message would a lighter punishment have sent to her? Perhaps that a learning environment free from “booty shakes” and “sexy” lyrics is not in the cards for her? Should she also expect and accept similar actions as an adult in the workplace?
It’s true that D’Avonte is a young child; however, he received a fair warning — more importantly, so did his mother. At some point, he has to learn that there are consequences for his actions — and 6-years-old doesn’t seem too young to start.
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