Kid Pelted With Jelly As Punishment

Reuters ^ | Sat Jun 29,11:13 AM ET | Reuters

[vannrox]

Kid Pelted With Jelly As Punishment

Sat Jun 29,11:13 AM ET

CREIGHTON, Mo. (AP) - When eighth-graders lined up to throw jelly at a classmate, their teacher called it creative peer discipline. The students thought it was fun.

But the school board isn't so sure, and has ordered a review of how student discipline is handled at Sherwood Middle School.

"I was horrified when I heard about it," board member Blanche Williams said.

English teacher Frank Fleming had the classmates toss jelly at eighth-grader Andy Johnson as punishment for refusing to take part in a reading exercise.

Johnson had agreed to is as an alternative to detention or suspension. It was among the suggestions on folded slips of paper submitted by other students, and randomly selected by Johnson.

The boy's mother, Carrie Johnson, signed a consent form, and Johnson went to school prepared with jeans, T-shirt, goggles and shower cap.

Williams worried that Johnson's civil right may have been violated. Two other board members said they were concerned that fellow students administered discipline. So the board agreed Wednesday to review staff handbooks for all schools in the 950-student district.

Fleming, who no longer teaches at the school, declined to comment.

School Principal Daphne Thacker said students laughed as they threw the jelly at their classmate, who also was laughing.

"It was real creative, not punishment of any sort," Thacker said.

Johnson said he thought having jelly thrown at him "would be pretty neat." He added, "Nobody has made fun of me, and I don't think it was degrading."

[vannrox]

This is really...something.

[goodieD]

okie dokie. Well hey, if the kid and the parent didn't mind, and it didn't seem to be immoral or illegal, I don't see the problem with it.

[aglax]

I say no big deal, especially since nobody had a problem with it. Heck, my physics teacher in high school made anyone who needed to go to the bathroom do 20 pushups before he'd let them go. All in good fun. If people are upset about this incident they're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

[Dakmar]

He added, "Nobody has made fun of me, and I don't think it was degrading, and why are the other kids remarking about my coat texture, gosh darn it, why, I'm not even wearing a coat. No thank you, I'm all stocked up on Kleenex"

[Gumption]

They can get detention or suspension for refusing to take part in a reading exercise? That's pretty
strict.

[WIladyconservative]

20 push ups? My biology teacher's Potty Pass was a LARGE toilet seat!! You had to take it off the nail on the wall and walk with it to the bathroom! I made it out alive and unscathed and so did all the rest of my classmates!

[Bob J]

The punishment for not playing tag at recess involves a pole and firewood.

[AshleyTodd]

Actually tag has been "outlawed" at some California schools. Something to do with fear of low self-esteem when tagged as "it".

[maui_hawaii]

I'll bet they would have thrown the whole donut at GW Bush had they implemented this kind of punishment when he was a boy....

But I would assume he had to settle for a paddling.

[oldvike]

LOL

[Pontiac]

"I was horrified when I heard about it," board member Blanche Williams said.

Williams worried that Johnson's civil right may have been violated.

Political Correctness hits another new low. The guardians of the helpless and downtrodden again rush to the rescue of someone in no danger at all.

This child was in no way mistreated or maligned. He and his parents had no trouble at all with the treatment he received. Even the principal had no concerns for the psychological repercussions the boy might have from this horrific episode in his life.

Only the idiots on the school board had any concerns what so ever that the treatment was in anyway inappropriate. Which again proves that intelligence and common sense are not requirement for elected office.

Please excuse the excessive sarcasm. I hope I didn’t violate anyone’s rights in my tirade.

[Redcloak]

"They pelted us with rocks and garbage."

[Sonny M]

When we were kids we used to play beat on the kid with one shoe. Actually, we just picked on somone, took his shoe and then chased him and beat him with it. We were in grade school then. Kids can be so cruel.

[toenail]

Mr. Young’s Head Was Pounded To Jelly

[Ken H]

This teacher managed to get himself in a real jam.

[brat]

The problem is that the punishment did not come from the authority, but by ostracism by his peers. This is harmful.

[DWSUWF]

Did any of the jelly-ers call the jelly-ee a 'Negro' or an 'Oriental'?

THAT would make a difference.

[John O]

The problem is that the punishment did not come from the authority, but by ostracism by his peers. This is harmful.

Why? If we as a society exercised more 'shaming' of those who didn't measure up to standards of behavior we wouldn't have the democrat, sexual deviant, abortion problems we face now. If the people who practiced these activities were publicly shunned there wouldn't be so many eager to do them.

God Save America (Please)

[GSWarrior]

Was the jelly still in the jar?

[aglax]

Even Rush is fascinated by this.