The nightmares for DeUndre Williams have all been the same for the past week.

The 7-year-old finds himself inside his Denver school and his teacher is using tape to cover his mouth.

"I don't want to do anything no more," the now quiet boy said.

The dreams stem from an encounter DeUndre had last Thursday with his second-grade teacher at Oakland Elementary School who used tape to discipline him and another boy.

"There's enough bullies in school for a parent to be worried about than what the teacher is doing to your child," said DeUndre's mother, Gina.

She agreed to talk if the Rocky Mountain News withheld her last name. She has a different last name than her child.

The teacher had put tape on the mouth of a student because he was whistling in class, DeUndre's mother said. DeUndre then started laughing and was punished with a single piece of scotch tape placed across his mouth.

"It was big enough to cover my mouth," DeUndre said.

Denver Public Schools is planning to discipline the teacher for using scotch tape on the two boys. Oakland Elementary is located at 4500 Dearborn St.

The district will not discuss what type of punishment the teacher will face because it is a personnel matter, said Lisa Schiff, communications director for DPS.

"This is not an action the district condones," Schiff said. "This is not an appropriate way to discipline." Schiff said teachers are encouraged to treat disruptive students by talking to them in private or by sending them to the office.

Putting tape on DeUndre's mouth could have been dangerous because the boy has suffered from asthma since he was born, his mother said.

"He could have passed out," she said. "The teacher told me, 'It was only for 10 minutes.' "

DeUndre's mother met with the teacher on Friday and is planning on having another conference with her and the principal after spring break.

Since the incident, DeUndre does not eat as much or want to play with his two younger siblings. He cries more often.

"It's like she broke his spirit," his mother said. "I just want the teacher to know it's not right."

She added that she also wants her son to "be the same old DeUndre."

doligosaf@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2970