- Jan 12, 2012
- 27,286
- 113
Speaking as one of those "clear thinking" educators who has been on the job for 37 years, you need to understand where building principals fit into the chain of command. This principal was following the policy put in place by his employer, the school board. What would happen to you if you disregarded your employer's policies? Keep in mind that the school boards are elected by people like you. The next time you have a school board election, question the candidates about topics like this before voting for them.
I may be justifying their actions .. but a vacation after a traumatic incident doesn't sound too bad to me. That and we never know if the assailant may have friends or siblings that may be looking for retribution. So a mandatory cool off period for all parties involved doesn't seem to horrible. I mean its a few days of suspension, it's not like the good kids were expelled or brought up on legal charges.
Speaking as one of those "clear thinking" educators who has been on the job for 37 years, you need to understand where building principals fit into the chain of command. This principal was following the policy put in place by his employer, the school board. What would happen to you if you disregarded your employer's policies? Keep in mind that the school boards are elected by people like you. The next time you have a school board election, question the candidates about topics like this before voting for them.
I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut there IS a written policy. I have two three ring binders on my desk full of policies. My corporation's policy for an event like this is in there.
Also, know that I am not a fan of zero tolerance, but that policy is put in place by the school board, people just like you. If you don't like it, run for your school in the next election and try to change it.
This story seems bizarre enough that I wonder if there's more to it. If he was truly just an innocent bystander that intervened then the suspension is obviously bogus. It sounds like there was an argument and a fight brewing before the kid pulled a gun. I wonder if the "good samaritan" kid was part of it and that's why he was suspended. Typically all kids involved in a fight are suspended - it's been that way for decades. A lot of school buses have on-board video these days. It'd be interesting to see footage. So far we've only heard one version of the story.