Our desire to seek justice for Gabriel, in my opinion, is what’s causing some people to blindly lash out and point fingers at everyone they can. Including his teacher who really did everything she was supposed to do. My reasons for this opinion are:

1. ⁠His teacher called DCFS 4 times on 4 separate occasions. AKA she never stopped calling. She did everything in HER power multiple times to try and get him help.

2. ⁠She was aware, heartbreakingly so, that calling them only made things WORSE for Gabriel. Gabriel himself told her that every time “that lady” came to his house he would be “hurt worse”. This means that his teacher always had to contemplate even calling in the abuse, but she continued to call anyway in the hopes that something would be done.

3. ⁠After the principal advised her to not “investigate” she refused to ask him for help after that. She did not want to sweep this under the rug like he did and she never consulted with him about Gabriel again. She knew he was no help either. (So now there are 2 “higher-ups” refusing to help her with intervention for Gabriel).

4. ⁠She did not force him to make that Mother’s Day project. She had told Gabriel that if he did not feel comfortable making it that he did not have to. It was Gabriel who INSISTED on making one for his “mother”. His teacher was just honoring his sweet and heartbreaking wishes to still try and please his “mother”. The only reason it is still in her possession is because Gabriel did not take it home/come back to school. It was left in her classroom and she has not thrown it away. It is most likely something she cherishes as one of the last things Gabriel made in her class.

5. ⁠Just because she did not cry on the stand does not mean that she did not care about him. His father did not cry on the stand either. Does that mean his father didn’t care? None of the paramedics, forensic experts, or the firefighters cried on the stand. Does that mean they didn’t care about Gabriel? Of course not. Everyone processes grief differently. She still refuses to use the number that she assigned to Gabriel in her classroom because “that is Gabriel’s number” now. Just because she didn’t cry on the STAND doesn’t mean that she’s NEVER cried for him nor does it mean she doesn’t care. She herself had said that she cried and cried” after he made that project.

6. ⁠The security guard was in the same exact position as the teacher and yet no one is pointing their fingers at him. He was a security guard who was just a middle man between the public and his supervisors in the same exact what that a teacher is. He was ALSO told to not get involved, but he ALSO made the call anyway, and his call ALSO didn’t work. Both the security guard and the teacher did the right things, both were wronged by agencies that were higher up, and yet we are only trying to condemn ONE of them? It’s almost like we shouldn’t blame either of THEM, but we should be blaming their supervisors and higher up’s instead.

I know we all want to see the people responsible for failing Gabriel punished. But blindly pointing fingers at his teacher, who the system ALSO failed, despite her trying her best (in my opinion) isn’t the right way to go about it. She called, she tried to intervene, she persisted, she mourned. She did her job, it was DCFS who didn’t do their’s.

I'm watching the Netflix documentary. I don't know why but the teacher really rubs me wrong. I know she called and the failure was with child services. But the injuries she says he came to school with...how could she not do more? Get the principal involved? Call and insist on speaking to a supervisor? Something more.

Did anyone else feel this way?

Can someone with teaching experience share their opinion on this woman?

I understand she was instructed by the institution not to investigate and to report only. But I can't understand why she never took Gabriel to the school nurse! A very small, defenseless child with bruises, black eyes, BURNS, bleeding from a belt wound, and a bullet wound approached her and she did report it.... But never took him to the nurse? Never sought to find him basic medical attention? Doesn't this seem like a MAJOR oversight?