Political correctness gone awry

The whole thing is ridiculous. But the reason it is ridiculous is not because of the teachers or the principals actions.

It is ridiculous because if they had allowed this to pass without reporting it then the kid had done something violent it would have come back to haunt them. Parents would be in an uproar about why the teachers and school administration didn't do something when the essay was written. Demanding to know why they ignored this redflag. Then the teacher and possibly the principal would have lost their jobs.

Every action of a teacher these days is centered around damage control. From your first day of teaching to your last. I know I did not work long in education but my short 4 months saw plenty of parents coming in and blaming the teachers when their kids did something wrong. And you want to know something? For thr most part, it wasn't the "liberal" parents. It was the conservative "I love god and country" parents that made the most noise. Blaming the schools for their childs behavior because the teachers are corrupting their kids, because religion is not allowed, because the ciriculum is biased, because rules are too lenient, etc, etc.

Some people love to pretend that teachers act like this because they are these super politically correct liberals when in truth they act like this because they are trying to portect themselves from retaliation from the angry mob. They are simply covering their own asses.

Yes, stuff like this is ridiculous and it goes way to far...but not for the reasons most people would like to think.
 
Rangefinder
You forgot a fourth class
The good teacher who entered the field with noble intentions who is now just burnt out on the bureaucracy of it all and is just going through the motions waiting for retirement
 
joab>> Aha yes, I did overlook that one--every bit as relivant. I guess I kind of grouped them in with #2. If they've stuck with it long enough to be waiting for retirement (laxed or otherwise), they've also been in the field long enough to know the difference between a frustrated student venting steam in the form of an essay and a nut-job planning to get back at society for his issues. But good call, none the less.

in truth they act like this because they are trying to portect themselves from retaliation from the angry mob.
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True enough on this end, too. Whenever something happens at school, the first thing so many parents jump up and start shouting is "where was the teacher when all of this started, and what is the school going to do about it?" It sounds like a smaller version of what goes on when something big happens and those same people jump up and say "where was our government when all of this started and what are they going to do about it?" Even so, I think it's gotten blown WAY out of proportion.
My son isn't quite in high school yet, but his teachers and I have always had a very good understanding right from the beginning, regardless of our differences. If my son is involved in something, call me first. If he's in the right, I'll back him. But if he's not, I'll make sure he gets what's coming (and my son knows this well)--school is for education, discipline is a parents duty--I live up to mine, and expect the teacher to live up to theirs as well. I've backed my son a couple times, and his teacher a few times--all on minor issues. That seems to have set the stage for things to work smoothly all the way around. Everyone knows what is expected and what can be expected when something happens. There are no surprises, and everything works.
 
Good point, PBP. However, the school could have covered themselves (and, you know, made sure he wasn't a threat) without involving the police right away. A long sitdown with the district's psych as well as a thorough review of his records should have been enough to clear things up, and a bit of in-house discipline should could possibly have been applied.

No, I think pressing charges in this case was either for the punitive purposes or was an overreaction due to recent events. I'd say it was the latter, but I'd not rule out the former.
 
they've also been in the field long enough to know the difference between a frustrated student venting steam in the form of an essay and a nut-job planning to get back at society for his issues.
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yes but they have so much time invested and are at an age where unemployment is terrifying to them so they just cover themselves and go with the flow.

My father was one of those
I watched him go from an exited innovative new teacher full of plans to to being a glorified babysitter afraid of losing his pension.
I also kept in touch with many of the teachers I had I watched most of them fall into the same category

I really don't fault the teacher as much as the school administration.
The school has resources to assess this kid's intentions while keeping it in house if they wanted to
 
The school has resources to assess this kid's intentions while keeping it in house if they wanted to
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Yup, which is exactly why I feel this is blown out of proportion. They have the means and ability to handle this in-house easily. But the whole system is walking on egg shells now because no one wants the liability--just in case this kid kicks somebody's dog or something on the way home from school and word gets out he wrote a "violent" essay. So it keeps getting passed down the line for someone else to deal with--DA, courts, etc.

I also kept in touch with many of the teachers I had I watched most of them fall into the same category
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Me too. Back when I was in High School, teachers had authority and control--and what they didn't take care of, my dad would. Now, it all just comes down to a liability/accountability concern. Everyone is more worried about being sued than anything, and it makes for harsh decisions over what would have been a firm glare and a couple strategic words back in my day.
 
Good point, PBP. However, the school could have covered themselves (and, you know, made sure he wasn't a threat) without involving the police right away
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Not really. The school is not a law enforcement entity and cannot act as such. If they had kept this "in-house" and then something had gone wrong they would have have crucified not for ignoring the behavior but for knowing something was wrong and not going to the proper authorities.

That would be the type of ammo cheezy layers love to get ahold of and sue school districts. By alerting the authorities the schools shift the burden from themselves (who parents love to try and sue into oblivion) and the police force which is less of a target.
 
The school is not a law enforcement entity and cannot act as such.
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True enough, but it still comes back to an issue of accountability vs. liability. More and more, parents are trying to shove liability over onto the schools, who then shove it over onto LE agencies--rather than parents taking responsibility for the behavior of their own kids and holding the kids accountable for their actions. It's all just a game of finger-pointing and someone elses problem/fault. Back in my day, if I stepped out of line, the teacher notified the principle. If it needed to go farther than that, it went to my dad (the worst place it could go, in my opinion--because that always meant I had some serious reprocussions coming). Everything stayed in-house, and all was fine. Even smearing the Jr. Varcity quarterback all over the parking lot after two weeks of putting up with his threats stayed in-house without ever making it back to my dad beyond a phone call that said basically "Your son was in an altercation, but we believe it's been handled accordingly so don't worry about it just yet..." No cops involved, no attornies, no lawsuits... Just a couple weeks of in-house suspension and a lot of writing exercises for us both along with an intimidating Vice-principle saying "I don't ever want to see you two idiots in here for something like this again, or we WILL have your dads in here--and I know you don't want that. Got me?" *YES SIR!* I guess those days are long-gone.
 
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did anyone else notice that this kid has similar physical characteristics as the VT killer - the buzz cut, glasses, korean.

Why do you insist on trying to play the race card with the VT incident, it's getting sickenly boring
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I agree with you joab, it is getting boring. Also, they aren't form Korea, his Father immigrated from China some 36(IIRC) years ago.
 
Really? Never heard of "In loco parentis," I presume?
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Yes, I have heard of it.

I have also seen how inconsequential it is in real practice. It has been so watered down by court precedents over the years that it has become worthless.

Teachers cannot punish students.

They cannot refer students for medical care unless in a dire emergency.

They cannot refer a child for pychiatric care without parental approval.

And so on and so on...

It really is meaningless in most ways that matter.

Case after case has been won against school systems for doing things a parent should do to a child.

Even then, the school is still not a law enforcement agency...no more so than a parent. A parent cannot enforce the laws and incarcerate a child either. They cannot simply walk down to the court house and say "Billy was bad and I want him to serve 48 hours." That is the job of the legal system.
 
"Just one more reason added to the list why I'm considering home-schooling my son more and more these days..."

I think that it is the duty of parents to find another form of education than the public school. If you are letting that large government teach everything to your children You can't expect anything but huge government. I was predominantly home schooled however I did go to school here and there. The education I got at home far exceeded anything that was "taught" to me in the public school system.
 
^yah, I second that motion...^

I've been a bit displeased with quite a bit of the public school system's version of education for quite some time. Right now, my son gets what the school gives him, then he gets the corrections and finer details from me. He's only 11 and grasping the basic points of geometry, algebra, and trig from what he gets at home. That's just because he can do it. The portion that really upsets me with public schools are the areas of history and social studies---what a buttered up work of fiction! My son loves thumbing through my left-over college text books, that's where he figures out all the things the public schools are BS'ing about. He's taken a liking to being able to call BS on it from time to time--and be able to quote where his information is coming from.
 
That's a shame Playboy. All the things you listed used to be the norm... Including dragging my boy down to the station and telling them to "lock him up" for the weekend!
 
I guess at 45 I'm just so far out of the loop I don't know what schools can do and not do

Paddles in principles officeswere still mandatory equipment in elementary schools when I started and a phone call home still meant something

I was talking to my ex about this subject yesterday and she told me that I have no clue what I'm talking about.

My son was suspended for sharing a video on his phone in class and telling the teacher to F off and she must be having that time of the month.

I blame the parents in that case, he still gt to keep the phone and go to the previously planned trip to Disney with his friends.
But the school was powerless to do anything but in school detention
 
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