[PLUG-TALK] Web site case in paper today...

[Michael C. Robinson]

On Mon, 2003-09-08 at 09:36, Russ Johnson wrote:

> I disagree. He didn't like some of his teachers and some of the students 
> at his school. He wrote about it. This is grounds for counseling? I 
> don't like some of my co-workers... I've told other people this. Do I 
> need counseling too? We're not required to like every other human being 
> we come in contact with.
> 
> $20,000 is a small settlement considering the kid has been out of public 
> schools for two years.
> 

What about tact?  The student shouldn't have 
been expelled, however, high school is an 
impressionable time when hopefully people  
learn that a little bit of tact can go a 
long ways.  

I think there's a culture that says expulsion can 
change people, I disagree and say it's total 
failure.  I've seen zero tolerance policies used 
as a way to try and instill certain things in people, 
however, it's the parent's responsibility to instill 
values.  Maybe the school's out of control behavior 
is a reaction to poor parenting practices in some 
cases and a culture that demands less and less of 
people as individuals.

My one comment is that everything is NOT a right.
To say the student could use some counseling is
not meant as a punishment.  I merely think those
telling him his rights have been violated may
be missing an important lesson he needs to learn
where the comments coming from the student don't 
seem to offer anything that could be used to 
overturn the expulsion.  Arrogance here makes 
it more dangerous for the next student a 
Beaverton area principal considers expelling.  
Nobody wants hardened officials.

Lack of respect for other people is arguably 
a massive problem in our modern culture.  As 
much as this person deserves sympathy, just 
how hard can we come down on the schools?
I will say the plastic gun-like button 
incident is ridiculous, then again, 
professional assassins use plastic weaponry 
because it is mostly invisible to common 
detection methods.

     --  Michael