Some say she's overreacting; others are on her side. Zoey Zapfe is a 15-year-old Stevenson, WA, student who came forward about her teacher's "wicked" punishments.
When Zoey was caught chewing gum in chemistry class, her teacher, Kem Patteson, told her to spin the wheel of misfortune. It was a wheel that determined which unusual punishment the student would receive.
"I was chewing gum in class," Zoey said. "She looked over and she told me to spin the wheel, and that's like a normal thing."
That's when Zoey landed on punishment by "firing squad." Each student in class is given a rubber koosh ball, and they get to throw it at the accused as a disciplinary action.
"I clearly said that I didn't want to do this, and after that I found out that you can opt out with a lunch detention," Zoey said. "And when I said I don't want to do this, she said 'too bad' or something, and I got pelted."
Zoey said the punishment is painful, especially when the boys throw them. But Zoey wasn't the only victim of the strange punishment. A secretly recorded video surfaced of a male student in the same class being pelted with Koosh balls. The boy is clearly humiliated and hiding his face, as the classroom gleefully chants in excitement to hit him.
Patteson said she had beed doing the punishment for two years. While other students say you can always trade in the odd punishment for a regular lunch detention, Zoey insisted that she wasn't allowed this option.
"I'm gonna be honest," Zoey said. "I'm hoping she gets fired because it was beyond humiliating."
Patteson was placed on administrative leave pending a third-party investigation. What do you think of this punishment? Is it too cruel or is it appropriate?
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[H/T: KATU]
