Drum Mallets to the Head

Teacher makes 7-year-old hit himself

A music teacher who twice ordered a seven-year-old pupil to hit himself in the head with drum mallets will not return to the Parkway School District next year.

The incident happened on February Ninth in teacher Paul Provencio's music class at Carman Trails Elementary School in suburban St. Louis.

State officials say the 36-year-old teacher intended the head-banging as a lesson to Justin Barricklow about hitting the drums too hard.

The Missouri Department of Social Services investigated the case at the request of the boy's father, Scott Barricklow, who works as a groundskeeper for the Parkway district.

Provencio has since apologized. School officials called the incident "unprofessional and totally inappropriate.