What she's been doing is tantamount to kicking a puppy. It's cruel, unnecessary, and pointless.

Let's pretend that ds was actually in over his head. Would that have made her actions any less heinous? I don't think so. There is no justification for ignoring a child in your care. It doesn't matter if she overlooked his intellect- she still treated him very poorly.

I taught a class with a child in over his head, and I did not ignore him, ridicule him, or treat him as an inferior human being. That's just not productive or helpful in any respect.