Posted on 02/23/2010 11:07:57 AM PST by 668 - Neighbor of the Beast
COAL TOWNSHIP - About a dozen Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School students were suspended for a day for what school officials are calling "an act of disobedience and defiance" regarding the clothes they wore to a girls' basketball game earlier this month.
The punishment has been met with outrage from some parents, who feel the discipline violates their children's freedom of speech and puts a stain on their conduct records. ...
A group of Lourdes students reportedly dressed as farmers for a game at Tri-Valley Feb. 1... The student body was subsequently warned not to dress like that for future games.
However, some reportedly did for a Feb. 14 playoff game...
The suspensions are a result of that defiance, Principal David Becker said Monday...
Anna Garancheski, of Coal Township, whose son, Alex, was suspended, believes the school is making too much of the incident.
Besides, in the case of her son, Alex, she said he simply wore a pink and white John Deere hat to the Feb. 14 game; he wore a straw hat, flannel shirt and bib overalls to the Feb. 1 game...
"He attended a basketball game on a Sunday afternoon and wore a baseball hat. He was not a part of the team, he did not travel with the team and he did not act inappropriately at the game. He was a fan in the stands who had a baseball hat on."...
Mrs. Garancheski said the principal acknowledged there was nothing wrong with the pink and white hat, which she showed him, but that her son was suspended for the "intent" he had by wearing it.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsitem.com ...
I have yet to meet a school administrator or most teachers for that matter who don’t have more than a touch of Gestapo in them.
What if a student actually IS a farmer?
He’ll be in REAL trouble then, because no matter what he wears he will be “dressing like a farmer”.
;-)
You seriously suggesting that a real farmer is going to wear a pink and white cap?
It sounds to me like one group's right not to be offended trumps the other group's right to dress as they wish.
Can’t tell if this if private/public school...
having been on the board of a private church school, defiant behaviour is not tolerated. Attending a game, representing the school, is a school function. There is probably something in the school handbook the parents had to agree to and sign. Simple contract stating the rules to attend the school.
didn’t say it’s right - just might be the rule.
That's pretty cool. I've never heard that phrase before.
Do you mind if I use it as the name for a punk rock band I'm putting together?
Touch of Gestapo!
"Are you going to the Touch of Gestapo concert tonight?"
I think it has a pretty good "punk rock vibe" to it, don't you?
“For ‘intent?’”
Yes, of course. Thought crime is the worst crime and cannot be overlooked. You know, you may be a thought criminal and not even know it.
I have no problem with what the school did.
The issue was one of disrepect. The kids, by dressing like they did, were mocking their opponents. They certainly have the right of free speech in their private lives, but the school has responsibility to control conflict and to prescribe rules while on school property — just as a business can enforce rules of conduct and dress codes in the workplace.
Had violence resulted from the taunting, the school would have been criticized for lack of security.
These kids were being snobby and snitty, and the school was right.
Hell go right ahead it actually does have that kind of vibe.
They were suspended for dressing like farmers? WTF? Why would that bother anybody? What does the school have against farmers? Were they gay farmers?
I have kept track of these kinds of alarmist reactions from school administrators and in almost all cases ( I am saying almost just covering myself, for in reality every case I have read) the administrator or teacher or decision maker has been a woman. Over and Over....
I am not saying all female educational administrators are alarmist goose stepping freaks, but I am saying almost all alarmist goose stepping educational administrator freaks that arrest kids for butter knives, or suspend 3rd grade kids for bringing a 2 inch plastic lego figures gun to school are... female. Something to think about....
It is a parochial school. However, the offense did not occur there nor on school time. What if it had been a homeschooled student attending and wearing the same hat? Would he have been charged with anything? With “intent?”
PC is spreading its rot. Not ten years ago some unruly ol’ boy in that same community actually shot Santa Claus in a Christmas parade. Santa was only pinged in the leg but I don’t believe he made a huge fuss about it. Now you can’t even wear a hat someone doesn’t like?
Suspensions go on permanent records. They can affect college admissions.
I’ll never understand why parents put their kids’ future at the mercy of a school administrator.
I’m with you. This is a parochial school, and they have very strict rules of conduct, that apply to the students while at school and during their own time. A student can be expelled for immoral conduct during vacation.
For those who are challenging the school’s decision, remember our public schools also ONCE had discipline and standards of conduct, before they were destroyed by parental lawsuits claiming “rights” violations!!
Look, my family has been in Texas farming for 140 years, and in Kentucky farming before that. I grew up with blackland dirt under my toenails, clodhopper to the core.
It doesn’t matter what some city slicker dreams up with a John Deere logo on it. I don’t know a self-respecting farmer/rancher who would wear one of those.
But maybe I’m just not associating with the “in” crowd. ;-)
I don’t know if this school is private or not.
That said, in public schools, when parents drop their children off for the day, THE SCHOOL THEN HAS LEGAL CUSTODY OF THAT CHILD. If Child Services shows up and wants that child, the school CAN turn them over. And usually does.
This fact is not generally known by public school parents.
The schools have alot more power than you are generally told.
Think about it. They OWN your child when you drop them off.
Not at all. What gave you that impression?
They were ridiculing the other team.
Reminds me of a local issue a few years back when the cheerleaders of one school wore t-shirts mocking a rival school. Printed on the back: “Yo mama works for my mama.”
The kids were being disrespectful, and the school said to stop it. Good for the school.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.