Girl expelled for journal entry

A 14-year-old student disciplined for writing a fictional account of a student who falls asleep in class and dreams of killing a teacher is moving to another school, her father told CNN Thursday.

www.cnn.com...

This is truly a sad incident.

Schools these days are really getting oppressive against students. A while ago in the news, a kid got suspended for pointing a laser pointer at someone's back, on charges of assault. Alot of school policies aren't enforced uniformly, or their definitions are too broad. The dress code at my school is an example. Some teachers have their own dress code (which they aren't suuspoed to do) and they pick on students and send them to the office whenevery they feel like it. My school even banned a certian shoe from being worn (Nike Cortex shoes)!

A while back, a friend of mine got expelled because some of his friends decided it would be fun to play a prank on him by hiding a BB gun in his backpack. He obviously didn't know it was in there, and when he went to class, he dropped his backpack and it went off. The school district has a zero-tolerence policy on weapons and their look alikes, so he got kicked out.

Not again

Note worthy excerpts

The girl wrote the story in her personal journal and was showing it to a classmate. Her art teacher noticed, confiscated it, read it and turned it over to school officials the next day. Rachel said the writing was strictly a work of fiction and not intended as a threat.

"[She was removed] from her second-period biology class -- with an armed officer," Boim said. "They had the option of calling us, of asking us to come in with Rachel to talk about the situation, but instead they had an armed guard take her out of class."

I swear zero tolernce in North American schools is ridiculous! I remember a year and a half ago here in Texas a boy was suspended from school for having tylenol. Another guy suspended from high school for having an exacto knife left in his book bag from an afterschool project.

Reference: www.americanpopularculture.com...

[Edited on 30-10-2003 by MrRadicalEd]

They have to realize that exceptions have to be made at times, and if it is quesitonable if a student should be suspended/expelled, then the administration have to talk it over with the parents. I mean, you're talking about the kid's permenent record here. Anything that goes wrong can haunt them for the rest of their life, and they might not have done anything wrong. The zero-tolerence policy is flawed, because they have to confrom the policy to the scenario, instead of vice-versa.

I'm going to go hide my own journal from all the republicans if they start doing things like this.

[Edited on 30-10-2003 by Pherophile]

It can only get worse, schools are ridiculous

Sad to hear but look at it form the view of the school better to be safe than sorry. I mean why did she bring her "personal" journal into schoool to show ppl. Im in hs and i knwo first hand that anything u take into school is public domain when it is at school especially when your friends see it. Alos the schools dont want to make a exception policy a zero tolerance is safe for them. They are scared of kids parents yelling discrimination if there child is expelled and another child is not. This wont change in schools until society changes from this whiny im goin to sue you mode

Better safe than sorry is true, and not just in the case of the school. any school official who knew of the journal and failed to take action would be almost certainly disciplined. Another example of self-preservation over common sense...

my friend got suspended coz the school securities checked the cars out on the parking lot, and he had a crowbar type thing in the back for his tires or something like that... and on top of that he was like a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA haha. the schools are #ed up.

i hate schools, i used to attend a british one....
proper formal uniform, christian faith and all the other #!!!
brainwashed christian believers punched me in the face for not conforming properly with their beliefs(all 5 of them)
it was all downhill from there, they "asked me to leave" for beating the # outta 4 guys' in my class during break
when all else fails....violence is the best medication available.
if being subjected to threat? punch first, ask questions l8er

because...I drew a picture of Garfield flipping the birdie. Girl next to me started laughing...and the teacher asked what the ruckus was all about...I refused to show her...she threatened with expulsion...I showed her and still got one week in detention. It wasn't directed towards the teacher...just a humorous picture of Garfield with his middle finger up...big deal. If teachers and parents found out what most teenagers fantasies were...most of them would end up in asylums or on Ridilin. I live next to Columbine and honestly I think most of kids were shot by cops. The cops here are "shooting to kill" more and more...don't want to have to deal with courts and having a witness who might me handicapped due to a defensive shot instead of a killing shot. Hrmm...maybe I should start my own thread on cop killings...you think?

Were all very quick to point the finger and yell at the school systems. Look at it from the administrations point of view, they don't know the true nature of the students intent. With all that has happened in the school systems as of late, I can't say as I blame them for being a little over cautious. Zero tolerence means ZERO TOLERENCE.

However, it is the school systems and administrations obligation and responsiblity to define zero tolerence. They should spell it out in black and white with no grey areas. That would solve alot of this nonsense.

Zero Tolerance is the problem...

Every such situation is different, and needs to be adjucated separately... In this case, they went too far...she should be punished for class disruption perhaps, but not for the content of her own journal... What kid hasn't fantacized about killing a teacher? Jeez...a little too PC don't ya think?

Originally posted by Gazrok
Zero Tolerance is the problem...

Every such situation is different, and needs to be adjucated separately... In this case, they went too far...she should be punished for class disruption perhaps, but not for the content of her own journal... What kid hasn't fantacized about killing a teacher? Jeez...a little too PC don't ya think?

No. Nobody knew her intentions. They may not be serious, but they may be. Who knows? Better safe than sorry...

That's why I say it is up to the administration to spell it out in black and white, no grey areas. They have to let the student body know what is acceptable and what isn't. I understand that it is impossible to cover all the basis, but it has start somewhere. They have to make an example out of someone. Unfortunatly for her, it was her.

i dont buy into the better safe than sorry BS.

its a journal, not a handgun and i think suspending or expelling students for words they say or write is simply over reactive.

while i do think that some people who write such "fiction" have some problems they need to work out sometimes its just writing, sometimes its not but ZERO TOLERANCE doesnt work. kids kicked out of school for tylenol? an exacto knife? christ WTF is wrong with these people? are they going to ban pencils? they CAN be used to hurt or even kill people but i dont see them rushing to suspend every student with a pencil. (dont give me that its needed BS, it can be used as a weapon as can a desk a book or anything else that isnt nailed or bolted to the floors or walls)

zero tolerance takes the ability to use discretion out of the hands of teachers and school faculty and forces them to suspend or expell students they probably wouldnt have suspended or expelled otherwise BEFORE these over reactive zero tolerance policies popped up all over the country.

violence is a part of our civilization and there is no getting rid of it. no matter how much we try there will always be someone out there wanting to hurt or kill others for whatever reason, these zero tolerance policies obviously arent stopping the shooting, the drugs, the fights but they are making victims out of students who dont deserve to be punished. SHOULD someone be suspended or expelled because his friends thought it would be funny if they put a BB gun in his bag? of course not but thats the problem with ZERO tolerance, it doesn't give school administrators the ability to make the call themselves and this student becomes another victim of over reactive school boards and parents. even ONE student who gets punished because of this and didnt deserve it is grounds to get rid of these zero toelrance policies. schools have become almost like prisons now. hell less things get into a school than most prisons! thats a really messed up thought isnt it? easier to get a weapon or drug into a prison than a school.

maybe we should apply this zero tolerance policy in the places that truly need it, not schools.

Were all very quick to point the finger and yell at the school systems. Look at it from the administrations point of view, they don't know the true nature of the students intent. With all that has happened in the school systems as of late, I can't say as I blame them for being a little over cautious. Zero tolerence means ZERO TOLERENCE.

well they also dont know if she had any intent to do anything either. of course there are cases where students flipped out and shot up their school without so much as a warning so what can be done to stop them? put each student in a bullet proof cage at school? have all students wear bullet proof vests? hire psychics to find the potential trouble makers and suspend before they can cause trouble? (yes just like the movie monority report, punish em before they even commit the crime, how stupid!)

how about zero tolerance for those who actually do something instead of writing or saying something? because one says or writes something doesnt mean its going to happen. if they felt this was a big enough problem they should have talked to her parents and her and kept an eye on her at school and at home (to make sure her parents are keeping tabs on what she's doing) not over reacting and having an armed gaurd remove her. did he pull his gun out and hadher lay on the floor and handcuff her too? after all since what she wrote seemed like such a threat if she had a writing utensil she's probably be charged with carrying a deadly weapon.

for infringing upon the rights of free speech even if i think its disturbing reading.

I'm in my 30's and attended schools taught by Jesuits and the Brotherhood .....

That, my friends, is zero tolerance with a side order of discipline with 'extreme prejudice' !!

This is exactly why they should bring back corporal punishment.It may not stop all things but it sure as hell makes normal kids stop and think twice before they do it.A good wack on the ass from a pine wood paddle sure can give an attitude adjustment to a smartass brat.

Well said, ThePrankMonkey

Zero tolerance works, but from the large net you cast you'll always catch those unwanted fish, so to speak.

The 7 y/o child with the keychain resembling a gun, the width of a rubber eraser, could have just had a word with the princable and never to bring that keychain to school again. What happened instead? Suspended.

What happened when a boy gave another student lemon drops, a brand of candy that wasn't recognized by the teacher who saw this? The school called an ambulance and suspended the boy for the rest of the day. The mother was told that a child who that brings candy to school is comparable to a teen who takes a gun to school. What is the connectiong of bringing candy to school and bringing a gun to school?

I think it's gone to far most of the time.

Coming from a European perspective, I find it amazing that you Americans are so amazed at such heavy-handedness.

It's not uncommon for your inner-city schools to need metal detectors and security guards, neither of which you'll see in schools in my part of the world. That in itself is a pretty amazing and unreal concept when viewed from a Euro perspective. Metal detectors and security guards are for airports, not schools.

Add to the mix incidents such as Colombine, and surely it's only natural to understand WHY your school authorites go overboard with discipline and regulations in many cases.

Obviously, being charged with assault for pointing a laser pen at someones back IS a tad extreme. Each incident should be dealt with upon it's own merits, but overall, I think it's pretty plain to see why such 'heavy manner's are needed in today's American school system.

Well that just shows how different we all are. Its not always gunshots and lolipops at every school, but zero tolerance is always there when security guards and metal detectors aren't.

Also did you know its against the law to shine a laser dot on a police officer in America?

Originally posted by SabbyJ

Add to the mix incidents such as Colombine, and surely it's only natural to understand WHY your school authorites go overboard with discipline and regulations in many cases.

That's exactly the point I think most people are missing. Most school administrator's walk on egg shells any way. To have a student write about killing a teacher just adds fuel to the fire. You have to remember the society we live in has become increasingly violent over the last few years, and that in conjuction with the writing in the journal (in some administrator's mind) justified expelling the student. It may seem excessive, but where do you draw the line?