There were two stories about problems in school on the local news yesterday. The first was about a 14 year old that was suspended for five days because she was in a picture where other kids were flashing gang signs. The second was about a teacher who tied the wrists of students together on a museum field trip because they were misbehaving. The teacher was “disciplined.”
I am having trouble understanding this.
The 14-year-old student was standing among a group when someone decided to take a picture. She smiled, and others made gang signs with their fingers. She has been suspended and will miss her final exams because she was standing among a group of children. She was suspended for breaking zero-tolerance rules. Is there a rule against standing, loitering, or smiling? What is even more unbelievable is the school board stands behind this ruling because even though it is clear that she is not making gang signs in the picture, she is affiliated with the kids who did. She is guilty by association. This is unbelievable!
On the other hand…
A teacher decides her students were too rowdy on a museum class trip. She decides that the best way to control them is to tie their wrists to a long rope like a prison chain. Some of the children were physically uncomfortable. Most children felt mistreated. No one spoke up for over a month because the children knew the teacher would get in trouble. But finally someone found the courage to do so. Somehow, the school tolerated her actions. She was “disciplined”, whatever that means.
So… the child gets suspended because she knows people who flash gang signs and a teacher who physically ties fourth graders together gets to keep her job. I cannot tolerate such inequity.
I sure am glad we homeschool.
You may want to read:
Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: School Evacuations
Reasons I Am Glad We Homeschool: Bad Days