[jeffman]

I almost remembered the Cinco de Mayo thing. Right there on the tip of my tongue. Thanks for the reminder.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,309 Status: Offline]

OT: (sorry if this inappropriate)  I was watching a discussion forum on television this morning where they talking about rules and regulations in schools.  One example was given where a teacher of fifteen year old children was stabbed by a student.  The judge deemed that "it is to be expected and part of the career of a teacher".

I thought that ruling was ridiculous.  Surely the role of a teacher is to educate and set a role-model, not to accept that is part of their career that should be "expected"?

[DianaM Posts: 1,189 Status: Offline Writer, rhymer, runner, punner. WWW]

When I was in high school, I got in trouble for writing and drawing on my sneakers.

Hypothetically...

How about, for having shoes untied? Aglet missing?

Or for saying "bomb"?

Or for wearing a hat backwards?

Or, remember when there was something on the news about how they outlawed those snappy, rubber bracelets because they were too distracting?

[Pons Posts: 3,477 Status: Offline]

A have a friend whose oldest son is deathly allergic to bee stings. He carries an epie pen with him at all times. His elementary and middle schools made an exception for him to do this. (Yea for them!) The high school, on the other hand, absolutely refused to let any student have any kind of medication in his possession at any time. Absolutely Zero Tolerance. (Don't even get me started on that.) This obviously put his life at risk. His parents tried everything, but the bottom line was that all medication had to be kept under lock and key in the office. The school gave them the assurance that it wouldn't take any longer than 20 minutes for them to get the pen to their son if he needed it. They said that their son would be dead in 5 minutes after a bee sting, and the admins just told them that's the rule and there was nothing they could do about it.

I simply do not understand such incredible obtuseness and callous disregard for human life.

My friends finally acted like they had relented and left a pen with the office staff, but they also sent one to school with their son who kept it secret.

Laurel  :

[jeffman]

Pons, that's appalling. I'm no expert, but I should think a letter to the school board or even the district's legal counsel would clear that up fast.

Hard to believe a thing so common would throw them so much. Could be most kids with such an issue have already learned to keep quiet about their epi pens. I know of kids with asthma inhalers who never tell any administrators about them at all.

[Car Posts: 965 Status: Offline WWW]

I got a call from the vice-principal one day because my child said freakin' in front of a teacher. Not the real F word - just freakin' . I had to bite my tongue from saying, "What's the freakin' problem? Relax!" But I assured him I'd handle it and then had a laugh.

And to follow up on Laurel's post, I have secretly allowed my son to carry his inhaler rather than lock it up in the office. I figure if he ever needed it, being in violation of school policy was the least of our problems.  

[jeffman]

"Freakin'" ? What age was this? I can see some concern if the kid was 9 . . . maybe. I suppose they have a similar policy regarding "shoot," "gosh darn," and "jeepers"? <grin>

[Michelle DP Posts: 253 Status: Offline WWW]

A kid at one of the local schools constructed a life size replica of a medieval suit of armor to go with his report on the middle ages. He got in trouble because the administration decided his cardboard-and-foil sword violated the no weapons law.

[Pons Posts: 3,477 Status: Offline]

I figure if he ever needed it, being in violation of school policy was the least of our problems. 

Exactly.

[Pons Posts: 3,477 Status: Offline]

I got a call from the vice-principal one day because my child said freakin' in front of a teacher.

I've never really known where freakin' fits on the bad word scale. I just thought it was like darn or heck. Is it really considered taboo?

[Fiona L]

In my school when we wore uniforms there's policy about how short a skirt can be etc. I think people even their skirts measured. (Not uncommon?)

Anyway, there was never anything specific about the length of socks. But some kids rocked up with those ankle socks? The really short ones?
We had a school shop on our property, the kids were forced to buy new socks or be sent home.

I can't of anything too devious right now.

[jeffman]

I've never really known where freakin' fits on the bad word scale. I just thought it was like darn or heck. Is it really considered taboo?

I suspect there's a timescale for these things. We take words like jeepers for granted because they're so old. freakin' probably seems closer to the "original" because it seems newer. OTOH, I can document its use in dialogue in a VERY popular novel in 1971 (The Exorcist) so it's not really that new. OTOOH it seems to me that it's popularity jumped a lot in the last 20+ years, so maybe there's something to that.

[Michelle DP Posts: 253 Status: Offline WWW]

I've thought of another one. Both the middle school and high school require students to have their ID on them at all times. The high school will not allow a student to go to class without the ID, but they won't send the kid home either. They keep the child under guard in detention until a parent shows up with an ID.  I don't know if that qualifies as dumb, but the dumb things that could happen to a character's ID card are endless.

[Liz Straw Posts: 1,084 Status: Offline That was a yummy book!]

Wasn't there a HS in California that banned their cheerleaders from wearing their cheerleading uniforms to school. If I remember right, the principle felt the skirts didn't meet the school's dress code.

Yep, that has happened in a couple of places.  The cheerleaders have had to wear sweatpants over their uniforms in school but could cheer in the same uniform.  - If it is too short to wear to school, isn't it too short to cheer in?

[Liz Straw Posts: 1,084 Status: Offline That was a yummy book!]

I recently read where a student had to either turn his shirt inside out or put on another shirt because he was wearing a Super Mario Brothers' Shirt that stated something like "I love mushrooms."  The shirt showed one of the Mario Brothers hugging a mushroom.

The reasoning of the principal, it was drug related.  The poor sixth grader had never even heard of smoking mushrooms before, he just loved the game and loved the shirt.  However he and his parents were told that no student could wear a shirt related to the subject of drugs, alcohol, violence, etc as stated in the student handbook. 

Now I admit I have heard of smoking mushrooms, after all I am not that innocent.  But I couldn't help but shake my head at the poor kid that wore the shirt.  He was given an education, far bigger than his DARE education (and it may have even been a DARE officer that pointed out the t-shirt, it has been  a couple of days since I read the story) but I am not sure they talk about smoking 'rooms. 

I wonder if they go after girls wearing t-shirts with fairies sitting on mushrooms?

[jeffman]

Really?  You SMOKE them?  I never knew that. 

News to me too.

[MysteryRobin Posts: 810 Status: Offline]

I remember a story not too long ago where kids were led away in handcuffs for putting gum on their desk.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,309 Status: Offline]

I remember a story not too long ago where kids were led away in handcuffs for putting gum on their desk.

I suppose the thought could be that they couldn't afford a fine and needed to "be taught a lesson".  Littering is an offence after all and some places take it more seriously than others

[AuntyBooks Posts: 622 Status: Offline AKA Kersten Hamilton WWW]

But teacher do have to contend with a lot, and sometimes I'm sure they don't know what to do.  There was a dress code in my elementary school -- girls were supposed to wear dresses. I didn't because I didn't have one. I wore my older brother's hand me down jeans. One pair.  When I was sent to the office, I told them that and they never said another word. This is probably because the year before, someone had given me a dress. A lavender Easter type dress with a cape. I thought it was a super hero outfit and wore it every day. (Yes, the Lavender Easter Avenger was on the job, fighting playground crime!) Okay, not everyday. I occasionally came to school in my pajamas. (I got myself ready in the mornings, and I just forgot to get dressed) I also had a huge, one-eyed tom cat I'd met in an alley somewhere and we adored each other. He'd follow me to school some days and sit outside the window yowling until the teacher told me to take him home. When I did, I wouldn't come back. He gave me ringworm on my chin. After that, we looked like twins. And everyone was afraid to touch us. (Eww!) 

I'm sure that when teachers saw my name on their class list the shuddered. Possibly wept.

We should start another thread to talk about the strangest things teachers have had to put up with....

  eab

[Michelle DP Posts: 253 Status: Offline WWW]

My husband's football team got suspended for wearing dresses to school to protest the dress code. His school had no air conditioning, but the dress code still required boys to wear long pants when it was hot, while the girls got to wear short dresses.

[Liz Straw Posts: 1,084 Status: Offline That was a yummy book!]

Really?  You SMOKE them?  I never knew that. 

Mushrooms apparently contain Psilocybin.  I do not understand what mushrooms - although some claim there are "magic mushrooms" that will give you trips like LSD.  From what I could find out on the net, it was more than confusing.  Apparently magic mushrooms will not give you a trip, but certain other mushrooms will - which ones they do not say (hmmm, I wonder why?).  Mostly the heat applied to mushrooms will negate the Psilocybin and thus render it useless.  So you will not get high eating mushroom that you eat, etc. as long as they are not poisonous.

Sounds way too complicated for most middle schoolers and high schoolers to understand unless someone introduces it to them.  Not saying that there aren't parents that will do that.

And yes I have heard of this, but would not have thought a Super Mario Brothers' Shirt had anything to do with smoking mushrooms.  I think this is a small counter culture. 

[AuntyBooks Posts: 622 Status: Offline AKA Kersten Hamilton WWW]

Mushrooms apparently contain Psilocybin.  I do not understand what mushrooms - although some claim there are "magic mushrooms" that will give you trips like LSD.  From what I could find out on the net, it was more than confusing.  Apparently magic mushrooms will not give you a trip, but certain other mushrooms will - which ones they do not say (hmmm, I wonder why?).  Mostly the heat applied to mushrooms will negate the Psilocybin and thus render it useless.  So you will not get high eating mushroom that you eat, etc. as long as they are not poisonous.

Sounds way too complicated for most middle schoolers and high schoolers to understand unless someone introduces it to them.  Not saying that there aren't parents that will do that.

And yes I have heard of this, but would not have thought a Super Mario Brothers' Shirt had anything to do with smoking mushrooms.  I think this is a small counter culture. 

ummm...you don't smoke magic mushrooms. But I won't get into *how* you prepare them. They are bad stuff.

eab

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,309 Status: Offline]

My husband's football team got suspended for wearing dresses to school to protest the dress code. His school had no air conditioning, but the dress code still required boys to wear long pants when it was hot, while the girls got to wear short dresses.

A bit of difference then to the old tradition of catholicism that boys couldn't wear long trousers until their confirmation day, then?
Did anyone have dress code for shoes in school?  We could only wear brownor black and heaven help you if you didn't wear flats!

[ChristinefromCorona Posts: 828 Status: Offline]

I think the dress code was one of the biggest school nitpicks back then.  Now there's paranoia about lawsuits and legal action, so they go overboard with the drug and weapon policies (like making a big deal out of breath mints and fingernail clippers).  They've also gotten stricter about food-sharing, because so many kids have allergies these days.  And parents have been making a lot of fuss about books they deem questionable (even the dictionary).

[Pons Posts: 3,477 Status: Offline]

How can the dictionary be objectionable? Are the parents afraid the kids are going to look up questionable words?  That is a time honored tradition among kids.

[ChristinefromCorona Posts: 828 Status: Offline]

There was some CA school recently where parents wanted to replace the current classroom dictionary with some other one.  They claimed it had "dirty" words and slang phrases in it, and kids would be looking them up.   :run4hills 

[Liz Straw Posts: 1,084 Status: Offline That was a yummy book!]

There was some CA school recently where parents wanted to replace the current classroom dictionary with some other one.  They claimed it had "dirty" words and slang phrases in it, and kids would be looking them up.   :run4hills 

How else were we supposed to learn the correct way to use these words? 

[Wonky Posts: 404 Status: Offline]

Really?  You SMOKE them?  I never knew that. 

Sounds to me like this teacher had no idea what he was talking about.

[Liz Straw Posts: 1,084 Status: Offline That was a yummy book!]

They just had a news short where they used a sharpie on a boys head to "correct" a haircut.  One of those where a wide part was shaved into a black student's hair.  Apparently the problem is that this could be a sign of gang affiliation, blah, blah, blah.  They never called the parents to notify them of the haircut infraction. 

[angela Posts: 543 Status: Offline WWW]

It's been years since I saw the video but I remember a ktgn boy getting taken out of school by police in handcuffs because he threw a tempertantrum.

I learned about this when one of the students I worked with (second grader) was freaked out after seeing it. He told me, "I have to do what the teachers tell me or the police will come." He told me he saw it on the computer. I googled it that night and found it. This was back in 2006 or so.

I did find this article from 2008 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/01/25/2008-01-25_5yearold_boy_handcuffed_in_school_taken_.html