Twenty-five students who staged an anti-war protest at Morton West High School in Berwyn last week have been punished, including 10-day suspensions and possible expulsions.
Parents of some suspended students are outraged, saying school officials went too far. They plan to meet at the high school today and demand the students be returned to class.
"This is about freedom of speech," said Adam Szwarek, father of a sophomore who was suspended after the sit-in last Thursday. Szwarek says his son now faces an expulsion hearing. "There has to be consequences, but 10-day [suspensions]?"
Let's see, where to start? First, of course, the school never should have overreacted. Quite frankly, the school system has a point when they say. The Superintendent says "I want to stress that this action has only to do with the students' disruption of the educational process."
Very nice, but this is, to use the vernacular, bull. We have little problem interupting the students, or at least we did when I was in school. School "Spirit" days, assembilies. We had time to bring in blatently religious orginizations to talk to us about how condoms don't prevent the spread of aids and didn't really work. We had time for my Sex Ed. teacher to talk to everyone about her church.
I can't count the number of times I was pulled out of pshychology, pre-calc, or AP US history to go to an assembly. Now, folks, this is HIGH SCHOOL! This isn't college. As a matter of fact, no self-respecting college would hold spirit rallies or any of that during class hours.
But high schools do. And I'll bet every dime I have that this high school did. But that doesn't matter to them. All that matters to them is that these students were a disruption. And what is different about these students? They were protesting the war.
Perhaps even more basic than that.
They were protesting.
What makes this even worse is that these types of students; the involved, the dedicated, those willing to risk punishment for what they believe in (and let me make this clear, I include students protesting anything: abortion, the war, the cover-up of the Lincoln assaination etc.) are far more likely to suceede in life. Far more likely to go to a good college, be active in the community, and actually make a difference in this cold, cold world.
But this school doesn't care. And they decided that, rather than standing up and celebrating the fact that they had students that cared, that were dedicated, that were trying instead of simply keeping on, they would decide to attempt to expel these students.
Let me repeat that. Among constant complaints that our students are trying, that our schools are falling apart, that our students are dropping out, this school district decides to kick out the ones who care and get involved. Oh, and they called the cops.
But just as depressing as that is the parents reactions. ""There has to be consequences???" Really, sir? For what? For protesting? Stand up for your children for the love of God!
This isn't the only recent event like this. Hannah Lindquist 14, who goes to Tri-Valley Central School in Grahamsville, N.Y. has been staging protests regarding her school banning the carrying of backpacks and bags. Realizing that this would prevent girls from carrying pads or tampons, so they decided that girls would be allowed to carry bags, but only during their periods. And that any girl carrying a bag would be quizzed on if she was actually on her period. She started protesting, with many of her fellow students and:
The small Sullivan County school has been in an uproar for the last week. Girls have worn tampons on their clothes in protest, and purses made out of tampon boxes. Some boys wore maxi-pads stuck to their shirts in support.
After hearing that someone might have been suspended for the protest, freshman Hannah Lindquist, 14, went to talk to Worden. She wore her protest necklace, an OB tampon box on a piece of yarn. She said Worden confiscated it, talked to her about the code of conduct and the backpack rule — and told her she was now "part of the problem."
This is a disturbing trend. Schools should exist to educate, yes. But they should also strive to make good citzens. And these schools have failed in that. They have served only in one thing: to teach their students that their protests, their opinions, are not only without merit, but they are dangerous and will only result in punishment.
And you wonder how Bush got elected?
Next time: Parents. Capable or Culpable?
No comments:
Post a Comment