Principal suspends 8-year old boy for huffing Sharpies. I'm so glad our world has such forward-thinking people in charge of the children. Such learned, open-minded educators who think about the issues they're faced with and never punish through knee-jerk reactions. It's also good that the people in charge of these people back them up unconditionally no matter how asinine they are.
This just hit a button with me. The kid sniffed a sharpie and like the smell. The teacher sends him to the principal's office (ignorance + buck-passing, fantastic), who then suspends the kid. EIGHT YEARS OLD. He's in grade 3! We used makers that you were SUPPOSED to smell when I was 8.
Now, are you thinking, "but you can get high off markers!" Please step in the line marked ignorant. You can't get high off a Sharpie found in a 3rd grade class. You can now step out of the ignorant line if you understand what I told you. If you're the principal or the board that backs him, then please step into the line marked "fucking morons".
But worry not! The problem is solved! They "purged" the school of all permanent markers! Your children are safe at Harris Park Elementary in Westminster Colorado!
Now granted, they did reduce the suspension from 3 days to 1 after the boy's parents complained. And the principal was from a middle school, where all the kids are obviously high on marker. And they have a "Just Say No" campaign starting up to educate the kids... because that has always worked so well.
And here's my real issue - I get that there's a belief that you can get high on permanent markers. This kid kept sniffing it because he liked the smell. But to suspend him is idiotic. The teacher should have pulled him aside and explained to him that it could be dangerous to do that. The principal could have done the same. A note or phone call to the parents could even be seen as reasonable. But to kick out an 8-year-old kid for 3 days is knee-jerk moronic. So what decades of the "war on drugs" (and you think Iraq is bad) has accomplished is fear in people responsible for children... but somehow I think that scaring the crap out of a third grader, for doing something you wrongly think is dangerous, isn't going to accomplish much.
I'm going to install a brick wall at my desk so I have something to bang my head against.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Proactive Principal
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4 comments:
yep. Another example of how the zero-tolerance rule works so well. Most bone-headed thing ever.
Since when is anything ever black and white in life?
I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate your brick wall.
You appear to be getting a contact high from it.
From now on, our school walls are to be build out of soft padded materials.
I'm sorry, your wall is making other people feel uncomfortable. You will have to do that at your time and a place not where other people can be embarassed for your situation.
Also You have to remember that if you are in a non approved housing zone you may not be able to do it there either. Contact your homeowners association for more details.
IT
You forgot to mention that it had been going on for weeks! He was getting the crazy eye, drooling a little bit, and would put a bad over his head while sniffing to make sure and optimize the fumes, like addicts usually do.
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