It's a Gun.

[jackofallgeeks]

So, Here is
an article dealing with the case of a highschool student who got two days of
detention for wearing a particular T-shirt (or, specifically, for not
turning the t-shirt inside out to hide it's message) and the family who is
suing the school district over it.

The offending t-shirt showed the image of a military-issue pistol and had
the words "Volunteer Homeland Security," "Special Issue Permit No. 91101"
and "Terrorist Hunting Liscence" on it. A bit more enthusiastic for my
tastes, and the references to Homeland Security and 'terrorist hunting' make
me a little uneasy, but generally a clever and harmless t-shirt, I'd say.
The shirt was given to the boy by his uncle, who is currently serving in
Iraq, and the boy wore it in his honor.

The school apparently asked him to turn the shirt inside out and when he
didn't gave him two days of detention. That's pretty severe for wearing a
t-shirt, even one with a message you maybe disapprove of, and some might
argue it's a violation of the boy's constitutional right to free speach.
That's exactly what the boy's parents (and their lawyer) are arguing in
their suit.

The school has apparently made the defence that they need to keep kids safe
in a time when school shootings are occuring at such a rate that some of us
hardly notice them any more. And while this is probably true... I mean,
look at the facts here. A kid got two days of detention for wearing a
t-shirt that *showed a gun*. The mere *image* of a gun is dangerous to
students? Nevermind that the t-shirt is patriotic and no less aggressive to
American citizens than the Homeland Security it references. It's a T-SHIT
for cripes' sake.

What we have here is a case of zero-tolerance towards guns taken to such an
extreme that we're to the point of zero-tolerance towards their very image.
And zero-tolerance often translates to zero-common-sense. It's just dumb
and, to be honest, this sort of stuff really gets nder my skin.

Comments

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I may agree a little bit more with your re-worded "following the rules is not about agreeing with them or not." I'd have to sit and think about exactly why, though.

-smirk- Even if you aren't a teacher (yet), Nifer can hear us... :p

I agree, with 4000 kids for 8 hours a day with some percentage their by force alone: yeah, you need these kind of rules. But rather than agree that these rules are necessary for the system to work, I argue that the system is broken (in part) because it requires these rules to work. Systems that are broken ought to be changed.

There is, I think, a slight difference between saying, "dress codes are not as strictly enforced in The Real World" and "you don't have to follow the rules where I work." We do have rules, and some of them are very, very binding. But the rules are reasonable, the punishments commensurate. You can still get fired at my job, but wearing jeans won't do it.

I agree whole-heartedly with you that following rules is about respect, but I don't give my respect out freely or particularly easily. I respect you, as a friend and highly-intelligent woman; I would remove my shoes. I expect my friends to respect me, in turn, out of that mutual friendship and, well, respect. You are very right to respect you students, and I commend you more than I can express. But I don't respect institutions very much, as a general rule. I didn't respect many of my teachers in my 16 years of education, because they proved themselves unfit for my respect. Some I respected a lot, and the difference was noticeable. But I won't respect someone who doesn't respect me, and I think it's wrong to ask students to do otherwise. Schools don't respect students. Many administrators don't respect students. A lot of teachers don't respect students. So, what basis of respect are you to appeal to for these rules? There is, I think, a basic level of respect due to all people, but that respect doesn't extend far enough to cover this sort of thing, I think. What's more, the zero-tolerance, no-argument, and excessive punishment undermines *all* respect. Even if you respect someone, it's hard to maintain that respect when they ask (or worse, demand) that you do unreasonable things.

-smirk- I am the last person to ever, ever argue "that's not fair." I hate 'fair', but that's another story all together. Though, I must confess I'm a bit distressed that you might equate a picture of a gun and a picture of bodily dismemberment; much as it disturbs me that the same would be compared to pornography on kids' shirts. I'm pretty sure you'd agree there's a difference between an image of an inert weapon and a depiction of bodily violence, just as pornography is patently more indecent than the same inert gun. A gun, in itself, inert, is not offensive.*

(*To the reasonable person, since I'm SURE you can find someone who's offended by just about anything these days...)

[photoholic62.livejournal.com]

But you see, there is no way to draw those lines. You can't draw a line saying "this t-shirt pic is ok, but this one isn't." What offends me may not offend you. Offensive is, in itself, a relative term. So, you have to go with "no pics on shirts." At our school, they have even had to take it further. You can't have a bandanna hanging out of your pocket, or slung across your shoulder. It is because of gang colors. They can't just say "no RED or BLUE bandannas" they have to say "no bandannas."

It wasn't ME who was comparing the two, but your average kid who figures the longer he debates about his shirt, the less time I'll have to teach him about the 8 main taxonomic ranks. Because he doesn't care a bit about that!

One thing I want to say about our school, and perhaps schools in general as I doubt that our school is coming up with any ground breaking ideas ... we have begun to recognize that some kids will never do well in school. It doesn't mean they are failures, it just means they can't cut it there, and never will. We now have a couple programs in place that allows these students to go to work instead of coming to school. They are still getting their school credits, and they will graduate, but not in the academic environment that some of them struggle against. Most of them are now excelling at their jobs and their lives. So, we are teaching them to succeed rather than fail and fail and fail.

We need more of that and less of the other side of the coin, which is the ones who don't finish school because they go to jail instead.

You agree with my corrected statement because the way I wrote it the first time was wrong. Breaking the rules is about disagreeing with them. Following the rules is a different story.

And, you touched on a point I meant to make earlier as well. Many TEACHERS need these rules even worse than some students!!

As far as your original example, again, we do not know if this is this student's first and only offense. I doubt he would have been suspended if this is the first trouble he ever got into. These offenses do compile, with a more severe punishment the more record there is.

Wow, my reply is all over the place this time. Sorry...

[nif.livejournal.com]

OMG. I love the vocational options your school gives! I wish more schools let kids work in the real world and learn what it's like to succeed for a change. I have SUCH a huge problem with the mentality (which is heavily promoted at my school) that ALL kids should go to college, when in reality most of these kids aren't college material. I don't mean that in a "they're worthless and not smart enough" way. I mean that they aren't academics. It used to be, back in the day, that people who were suited for the purely impractical world of academia went to college and got stuffy degrees and, in turn, taught college and nothing else. Nowadays you have to have a degree to Be Somebody which is a total crock. Let kids learn practical trades instead of going to high school! If they don't want to learn esoteric math, then FINE. If all they want to learn is esoteric math, then FINE. Our graduation rates would shoot through the roof if we just stopped adhering to NCLB standards of ridiculousness. And you know what? Intead of being told they are WRONG and FAILURES and LACKING for years and years, these kids would walk out with a sense of accomplishment, ability, and self-worth. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Sorry.
End rant.

[photoholic62.livejournal.com]

I am in Content Mastery ... Special Education. The teachers sometimes ask us what we do. I just say "we show the students what they CAN do, we don't harp about their disabilities."

We scaffold, we build them up, we help them out. Whatever it takes. Some don't appreciate it and never will, but the ones who grow makes it all worth it.