Anyway, he asked the group of 500 students, "Who's the worst student?" Which immediately prompted several kids to point at one of their classmates:
The exchange, which Carson prompted to describe how he felt in elementary school, quickly went viral on social media with a flood of criticism before the event concluded.Twitter immediately picked up on Carson's question and the crowd's response, which prompted Carson's handlers to pull the targeted boy from the crowd after the speech. Carson told the boy that he would become a neurosurgeon someday and gave him a copy of his book, "You Have a Brain."
The targeted 10-year-old, who initially turned red in the face, ultimately shrugged off the exchange with a sense of humor. His mother, Robin Blackford, who was not present but learned about it through a teacher, said it was unfortunate but seemed mostly harmless.
"As a mother, it kind of saddens me that he would be pointed out like that," she told The Des Moines Register in a phone interview. "Knowing Seth, I think he'd take it in stride … he's very well-liked by all the students."
When questioned by the Register, Carson said he expected a different outcome when he shouted out to the fifth-graders.
"I figured people would be pointing around to all different people who they didn't like,” he told the Register.
You can watch a video of Carson, the boy, and their awkward interaction here.