Garfield
I guess time’s have changed.
I absolutely do NOT think that it is acceptable that they suspended all the kids, not just the troublemakers. I remember back in elementary school when I got sentenced to have to sit at the “bad” table for one lunch period, when I totally had not been doing anything, I was devasted. Sure, I was an overly sensitive child, but I still remember those feelings of how unfair it all was. It’s not fair to suspend the kids who weren’t doing anything. All it will do is teach them to hate the administration.
My graduating class will be 47.
-foxy
Okay, here’s the part that worries me.
Now, unless I’m wrong, don’t suspensions go on a kid’s permanent record? If the kid hasn’t done anything wrong, other than being in the Cafeteria, why should they have to pay for it the rest of their academic life? I can see it possibly impacting such things as scholarships, for instance.
Maybe I’m attaching to much importance to this but I can’t help but wonder. Could happen, right?
Exactly! They’re just kids, 11 year old ferchrissakes, who got a little out of hand. Sounds like a principal with a God Complex. Another case of Da Man (or Woman) keepin us down. :rolleyes:
I have a sixth grader, and I think wolf_meisters suggestions were on the right track. Why didn’t a teacher pull the fire sprinklers on them or something, with a timely call alerting the fire dpt not to deploy, of course.
Since they had a similar mass suspension just last year, how effective is it at preventing repeats of the same thing?
I wouldn’t punish my child at all if this happened at his school, and I’d definitely be one of the parents at the meeting with the administration that followed that evening.
Queen Tonya
Well, it’s nice to see someone agreed with my suggestions.
As far as suspensions so early in life, I believe employers, colleges, the military, the police, etc don’t pay any attention to any academic achievements, honors, reprehensible behavior, whatever. Still, being suspended in the 6th grade does have a rather negative psychological effect on a student.
Just to clarify my statement, I meant that those authorities pay little if no attention to any achievements or dishonors at the 9th grade level or earlier.
Of course I might be wrong.
It may sound like harmless fun, but even harmless “food fights” can escalate rather quickly.
Would you want 136 kids throwing food around in your dining room?
Even more to the point…would you want several of those students to include forks and knives as part of what was thrown? (because I’m suuuuuuuure all of those those charming 6th graders would exercise restraint in choosing what to throw…)
Even if it became apparent that he/she was participating in the melee?
Umm. Yeah.
I rest my case.
College applications and scholarships usually ask you to explain why you were suspended. Since most kids didn’t even do anything, and this occured in 6th grade, no one will really care.
It sounds to me like the hang-em-high principal doesn’t want to admit that she’s a screw-up.
No, obviously if I had any indication that mine had been an instigator or gleeful participant then there’d definitely be consequences.
With 135 others similarly suspended, how the heck am I supposed to know? I’d be left with nothing more to judge on but my childs predictable assurances of his own innocence, and then I’m stuck with disbelieving my child and eroding his trust in me along with how much trust he’s lost already in all the other authority figures. Do I expect my offspring to be some after-school special hero that somehow should have stopped the entire ruckus and punish him for simply being caught up in the mob mentality?
Naturally, a situation like this would engender a lot of conversation about going along with crowds, peer pressure, how to handle oneself in an out of control situation, etc but I can’t outright see me punishing him if I have not one iota of proof he was in the wrong.
AMEN!!!
What Rhaeven said! Way too damn many parents have read too much Dr. Spock and are more interested in being good buddies with the kid than they are in being parents to the kid.
Wow.
So the choices are (1) Throw stuff in a cafeteria or (2) Heroically “stop the entire ruckus”.
Those are the only two choices available to your boy?
Huh.
And then I’m confused…because you seem to suggest that to “punish him for simply being caught up the mob mentality” (my emphasis) would be a bad thing for you (or the school) to do…
Yet you LATER say
I guess I’m confused. If your boy (for sake of this discussion) WAS “caught up in the mob mentality” by throwing things AND ignorng teachers who told him to stop, I’m not sure how you feel if he should be “punished” by you or the school…since he’s “simply” caught up in a mob mentality.
Ok, to clarify a bit, I figure most of the kids weren’t actively destructive, quite a few were probably scared, and probably none of them were able to control the situation. Hence, I couldn’t see me handing down a blanket punishment were it my kid involved.
Should/could the school punish all the kids for acting stupid, the mob mentality? Yes, a thousand times yes, make them do yardwork each Saturday for a month, clean floors, paint fences, whatever the administration can come up with that might have a shot at being meaningful discipline. I don’t think mass suspensions solve or prevent anything, and as a parent I’d have a difficult time punishing my kid without proof of wrongdoing, that’s all.
I’m not sure what you mean by the term “destructive” as it applies here, so I’ll ask again, if your kid was involved in (a) throwing food (and/or silverware etc…) and (b) ignoring a teachers warning to stop…would your kid deserve punishment?
Who should supervise those students that must do yardwork (or paint fences) on a SATURDAY? Floors are already cleaned by custodians. And again…you seem to think it’d be easier to specifically identify the offenders in THIS instance. What happens if the school says little Tommy was throwing food, but his parents claim he wasn’t (because…the school after all never offered PROOF that he was involved)…notice how in your statement below, even YOU won’t punish your kid without PROOF!!!
And the proof that would satisfy you would be…?
Would a statement from one or more other students that your kid seemed to be involved be enough?
How about a statement from a teacher that your kid seemed to be involved?
What kind of proof are YOU looking for here…there are 136 students in a cafeteria. If it’s like most school cafeterias that I’m familiar with there MIGHT be 5-10 staff members available to babysit them. Actually, the number would be closer to 5. And no, there usually ARE NOT more staff available to monitor cafeterias…if anything, most schools lately are cutting staff.
What kind of PROOF will those 5 teachers be able to supply for EACH of those 136 kids?
And if there is not sufficient proof (in your mind or another parent’s mind) that a certain kid was involved…I guess he skates? Out of 136 students being observed by staff, I can easily see more than half of those kids not meeting your level of proof.
I notice several folks eager to lambast the staff there, calling them “screw ups” etc…I STILL haven’t seen anyone offer up a workable, reasonable alternative.
Coupla quick follow ups…
First off I goofed on the numbers. The 16 students I mentioned earlier were suspended on MONDAY in incidents unrelated to the students sent home on Wednesday.
There is a follow up in the local newspaper (registration required).
I’ll include a few of the points:
<snip>
This is their principal.
Website for the school
It seems that some school staff DID volunteer to turn out on a Saturday for the clean up. Apparently this is one of seven magnet schools for Oklahoma City. The fact that students (and parents) voluntarily choose to go to this school probably creates a different environment for discipline than traditional schools.
I open my big mouth and suddenly I’m the prototypical parent who spoils my darling child? 
Yes, if my child were involved in throwing things and disrespecting teachers, he’d deserve punishment. A teacher or administrator telling me they personally witnessed my kid misbehaving would be ample proof, or even a teacher telling me that multiple kids reported mine being involved.
My original point was that I doubt the teachers could possibly tell parents of all 136 kids suspended who was truly involved, and who was cowering under the tables. See, mine’s a bit of a wuss and my first thoughts upon reading is that’s where he’d be in a similar situation.
Would I punish him for being one of a gaggle of kids suspended? No, and thats what I thought your original question was.
Are magnet schools like charter schools? I’m not sure there are any magnet schools near me, but if they’re similar to charter schools with the voluntary parental committment stuff you sign at the beginning of each year, shouldn’t be too much of a problem drafting enough parents to oversee the little laborers.
Is it terribly contradictory to say I wouldn’t condemn my child out of hand without corroboration, yet also endorse a different group punishment that’s not suspension? Making them clean and maybe repaint the cafeteria would at least take away their TV/computer/videogame/telephone time and show that their actions had real consequences. Military-lite, if you will. Arbitrarily assigned make-work wouldn’t be as meaningful as making them fix as a group what they destroyed as a group.