A teacher in Tennessee was suspended after she ordered her young students to surround a boy  in the kindergarten class and “oink” at him because of his messy habits, school officials have revealed.

Irish American Debbie Hayes, was caught in the act when a co-worker walked into her classroom and found the gang of students, oinking, squealing and snorting at the young boy.

"The students in the circle were 'oinking' and making pig sounds at the little boy," a statement about the incident reported according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

After making the discovery, the teacher told the school principal, Candace Lett who them confronted Hayes about the incident the following day.

The kindergarten teacher told the principal that she had tired of  the student’s sloppy habits on the day in questions  and she told him: "Your area looks like a pig sty. Oink. Oink."

When questioned the student told school officials that Hayes had told them to file around the child and "call him a pig and make noises," according to the report.

Dr. Toni H. McGriff, director of Roane County Schools described the incident as: "simply unbelievable."

McGriff told Hayes she was "appalled with the actions in this situation.''
"It's a black eye on the profession,'' McGriff told the Knoxville News Sentinel."It's a black eye on our schools.''

Hayes who has been a teacher for 38 years in Roane County, received a one-day unpaid suspension on March 18 and was officially reprimanded.

Bowers Elementary School offered to transfer the child into a different classroom but the mother declined.