Adams Says Principal Wrong On Barring "Overdressed" Students From Graduation (idiot educrat alert)

The Chattanoogan ^ | 5/18/03 | staff

[GailA]

Adams Says Principal Wrong On Barring "Overdressed" Students From Graduation

May 18, 2003

County Commissioner Curtis Adams said a county school principal was wrong in barring several students from taking part in an eighth grade graduation because they were "overdressed."

Police had to be called to the East Lake Academy on Friday after parents became upset when principal Wendy Jung would not let some students walk across and get their diplomas.

She said one boy "looked like a pimp."

Commissioner Adams said, "I am sure some school officials are going to be pretty upset when they get to the bottom of this. This is embarrassing for the school system. I understand it got on CNN."

He said, "The principal should have let those students walk across the stage. We are getting very thin on good principals in the county schools."

Commissioner Adams said, "A lot of girls wear long dresses and boys wear suits and ties for their graduations.

"That boy probably doesn't know what a pimp is."

Police officers had to escorted several parents off the campus after they protested the principal's decision.

A parent denied that the parents became unruly and said there was no need to call police.

Gabrielle Cameron, one of three girls who were told their long gowns were too dressy and who were not allowed to walk, told Channel 12, "It makes us feel bad 'cause, you know, we worked these three hard years to get up to the 8th grade and see ourselves walk across the stage and we can't do it."

Lakiesha Cannon, another girl barred from the stage, told the station, "We couldn't even get our little diploma thing. We just were sitting right there listening to them walk across the stage."

Parents claimed that some girls wearing dresses that were similar to those banned were allowed to go on stage.

Kimberly Reed, whose son was told he looked like a pimp, told Channel 12, "I feel that it was very racist for her to tell my child that he looked like a pimp. My child do not know what a pimp is. And also, he is making honor roll today. And his name is Walter Williams, and I'm very proud of him."

Some parents said they planned to speak with a lawyer about the incident.

[GailA]

Wear a suit and tie and get called a "pimp". All I can say is that this EDUCRAT is DUMB as a box of rocks and taking PC to the max.

[ctlpdad]

"And on tonights show of "Administrators Gone Bad...""

I say kill all school administrators, close the unions and start over. OK, maybe skip the lilling part, but..

[Just another Joe]

My questions on this would be -
Was there a dress code?
Was a dress code put out ahead of time?
Were these students in violation of said, put out ahead of time, dress code?

If the answer to any of these questions is, "No", then the principle should have their head handed to them.

[Tacis]

I'll defend the educator! I can guarantee that, as a member of a teachers' union, she knows what a pimp looks like.

[hobbes1]

Kimberly Reed, whose son was told he looked like a pimp, told Channel 12, "I feel that it was very racist for her to tell my child that he looked like a pimp. My child do not know what a pimp is. And also, he is making honor roll today. And his name is Walter Williams, and I'm very proud of him."

Walter Williams???

[Charles Henrickson]

Gabrielle Cameron, one of three girls who were told their long gowns were too dressy and who were not allowed to walk, told Channel 12, "It makes us feel bad 'cause, you know, we worked these three hard years to get up to the 8th grade and see ourselves walk across the stage and we can't do it."

Lakiesha Cannon, another girl barred from the stage, told the station, "We couldn't even get our little diploma thing. We just were sitting right there listening to them walk across the stage."

Kimberly Reed, whose son was told he looked like a pimp, told Channel 12, "I feel that it was very racist for her to tell my child that he looked like a pimp. My child do not know what a pimp is. And also, he is making honor roll today. And his name is Walter Williams, and I'm very proud of him."

And these are the graduates?

[hobbes1]

Talk about wrecking the Grade Curve.

[Skywalk]

"And his name is Walter Williams, and I'm very proud of him."

Well, he has a great name, but sadly his last name is not his mother's name. At least he's on honor roll, right?

But I'll say this, I doubt it's because he was "overdressed" that he was told he looked like a pimp. I'm going to take a flier on the possibility that the kid was wearing a colorful suit, the kind you'd see Michael Irvin wear from time to time. Maybe even a derby hat or bowler.

You shouldn't prevent the kid from getting his diploma/certificate, but I wouldn't assume that he DIDNT look like a pimp.

[DB]

The idiot should be sued if true.

The idiot wrecked these kids one and only 8th grade graduation.

[pubmom]

8th grade, not high school. (Thank goodness:)

[VRWCmember]

Police officers had to escorted several parents off the campus after they protested the principal's decision.

I wonder if the reporters/editors who wrote this story graduated the eighth grade.

[sirchtruth]

"We couldn't even get our little diploma thing. We just were sitting right there listening to them walk across the stage."

Ok, right. I realize that my sentences are not always correct, and my spelling is atroshish, but when you're about to graduate, do you really want to refer to your education certificate to be known as a "little diploma thing."

Futhermore, WHO listens to people walk across a stage...?

[AnAmericanMother]

You mean like this . . .

Seriously, it's a cultural difference that the principal should have taken care of ahead of time. I know highly respectable church ladies who dress their grandchildren in what your main-line WASP type person would consider unsuitably flashy, loud clothes. So what? It's not worth getting exercised about. The principal should be spending more time making sure these kids know how to speak Standard English.

[ringgold]

My wife and I saw the tv report the other day, and I can say that we both thought the young men looked fine. I didn't really get a look at the girls dresses, but it sounds to me that the principal created an unneeded controversy. My question now is, why do we have to have graduations from everything? There are graduations from preschool, graduations from kindergarten, graduations from elementary school, etc. Let's just go back to high school and college graduations and leave it at that. But no, we may hurt someone's self esteem!

[TaxRelief]

Some of those grammatical errors were produced by the parents.

[goldstategop]

Hmmm... I didn't know not dressing like a gigolo or a two bit street hooker violated the graduation rehearsal dress code.

[MHGinTN]

The kid is what, 13 or 14? Yeah, the kid knows what a pimp is! But that isn't the sort of remark a school admin. or teacher ought to be spewing in the presence of the students. In the teacher's lounge, well ... but never embarass the kids just for the adult ego trip.

[dsc]

Why do they even have 8th grade graduation ceremonies?

In my day (back when rocks were still in the planning stages) there was no ceremony until high school.

We really can't tell whether the clothes were appropriate or not without seeing them, can we?

The banned gowns were "long," but they don't say anything about what was going on with them up around the mammary area. Or whether they were slit up to the waist, or anything.

My daughter bought a "teen oriented" magazine's "prom" issue and left it in the car. I was enduring a long wait in the car, and picked it up.

I actually tore pages out of it and threw them in the trash. And that was text. Some of the photos may have come off "hot teen porn" web sites.

[TaxRelief]

8th Grade graduations began when it became clear that many children would not go on to graduate from High School. Some misguided educators believe that interim goals improve the chances of reaching longer term goals.

[YourAdHere]

My question is, did the parents graduate? Some of their grammar is atrocious!