Chicago-Area Substitute Teacher Bully - A suburban Chicago substitute teacher, who joined his students in harassing and bullying their, 330 pounds classmate has been suspended.
According to reports, the unacceptable incident happened at Streamwood High School on Thursday during a math class.
15-year-old Stephen Davis, a freshman, says he is used to being picked on because of his weight. However, when the teacher joined his peers in taunting him, it was unbearable.
"I was literally livid," he said on Friday, "and embarrassed."
Stephen says it all began when he came to class and saw someone had drawn a rough sketch of a person on the whiteboard. He added that the teacher wrote "Stephen's ugly ass," next to the sketch.
"Everyone told me, 'That looks like you,'" Stephen said in Daily Herald interview.
"Everyone was standing there pointing at me, laughing, (while) I'm on the verge of tears."
Stephen added that he is used to being picked on and has experienced it since first grade because of his size "but I always learn to just move along...(It) is basically background noise."
However, this is the first time a teacher has taunted Stephen in front of the class.
"He should not be allowed around children, if he's going to do this to someone," the child said. "No other family should have to go through this suffering. This is unimaginable."
The incident became viral after Stephen recorded a video of the drawing along with the teachers snide remarks on his Smartphone. He showed the footage to his family and they posted it on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Administrators of the Elgin Area School District U-46 have since suspended the unidentified teacher and are currently investigating the incident.
"Immediate and appropriate action was taken early this morning pending the outcome of our investigation," U-46 CEO Tony Sanders wrote in a Facebook message concerning the incident.
"We are taking this very seriously as we do any type of relationships that we have with our students," John Heiderscheidt, the district's coordinator of safety and security said."We acted upon this immediately."
Reports indicate that the Streamwood High School authorities have sent a message to all staff members, met with Stephen's parents and spoken with the parents of all the other students in the class.
Everett Davis, Stephen's father, said his other children have graduated from the school without incidents and says the school's principals admit that he is son was respectful towards his teachers.
"We've never had a problem," Davis said. "This is my third child going through Streamwood High School. (Stephen) gets picked on a lot because of his size, and he can deal with that. He has always laughed it off."
