Say Anything Blog

It is difficult to judge this situation when you don’t have all the facts.  On the surface, this seems cut and dried, but it may not be so easy.  For example, the article states that she “suffers from behavioral problems” and is enrolled in a special class.  It could be that the girl has previously had incidences where similar things have happened.  It is also possible that the parents had to sign a special “contract” because of the girl’s behavior to allow her to be in that class.  Kicking the teacher may have violated the terms of the contract and that is what triggered the police being called in.  Just because the mother says she doesn’t understand what happened doesn’t mean that it’s true.

For example, here we recently had a problem with a kindergarten student who had been removed from a regular classroom for behavioral issues and placed in an alternative classroom.  The child’s parents went to the media claiming that their child had been discriminated against because he hadn’t been allowed to go to the zoo with his fellow kindergarteners.  They made all kinds of accusations and threatened lawsuits over the issue.  In their interviews, they left out a few details about the issue such as the 2 hour meeting they had with at least two different administrators who explained the district’s policies on the matter and how those policies impacted their child.  They explained why the child was allowed to go on certain field trips and not the one to the zoo.  While the district had been 100% consistent and straight down the line according to policy in the matter, the parents didn’t “like” the answer and decided to go to the media and make a big stink.  Most likely, they knew the school was right but couldn’t face telling their child that they had been wrong.

I think it is dangerous to comdemn the actions of any organization while only hearing one side of a story.  You aren’t condeming the Marines over Murtha’s remarks without allowing the military to conduct an investigation, but you are willing to do it here.

SteveL,

After considering carefully both your admonition to not jump to conclusions without all the facts, and your local area experience, let me offer a modest suggestion.

See if you can offer me a set of circumstances which include the facts reported in this article, that could conceivably warrant the arrest of this six year old.  Remember please, that her arrest was ordered only after supposedly thoughtful consideration by the teacher, the teacher’s aid who was actually kicked, and at least two administrator types.  Also bear in mind that this was not a random, unexpected act by the child, as we are told that she has learning disabilties and is a special needs student, which means, presumably, that the education bureaucrats involved here have some modest training and experience dealing with such students.

So… given all that, please explain to me what circumstances not yet reported would justify ordering the arrest of this 6 year old for assault.

And when you’ve finished with that, try explaining what the pathological idiots hoped to accomplish by doing this.  What purpose is served, what lesson is to be learned, and by whom?

That was my point, BatOne.  There aren’t enough facts to condemn the school for its actions or to justify them either.  I was merely pointing out that people who go to the media have agendas and...*gasp*...sometimes they misrepresent the truth for whatever reason.  This is doubly bad for schools because they tend to not comment on these types of matters out of respect for the privacy of those involved.  Too bad that parents don’t feel the same way.

It is entirely possible that this was an over-reaction by the school.  It is also possible that this is a parent who didn’t get her way (whatever that may be) and is throwing an adult temper tantrum.  For all we know, the school contacted the mother and asked her to come pick up the student.  The mother may well have refused, and the school advised her that they would have to get the police involved.  It is also possible that this is the 23rd time that this girl has kicked a teacher and the mother was warned about the behavior.  It is also possible that the girl didn’t do much of anything and the teacher exaggerated the claim.

Again, that is the point.  We don’t even marginally know all the facts, yet we are quick to condemn the school.  In your mind, there is no possible way that the school was justified.  I have seen kindergarten kids in school behaving in ways that endanger those around them and doing so on a regular basis.  I have seen kids that would fly into tantrums that would scare a Marine, complete with kicking feet and flailing arms.  Teachers were in fear of injury because of these kids.  I say all this to point out that, just because you can’t imagine a set of circumstances where something like this could happen, I can.  Just like the Marines in Hadditha, if the school is wrong then I will condem them, but I won’t do it until the facts are all in.  That news article didn’t have nearly enough facts to be able to draw any conclusions.

I would hope that we could agree that arresting a mildly disturbed six year old isn’t probably the best way to handle the situation.

Maybe I’m biased.  My mom claims that I kicked an old lady at Griffiths Department Store because I was bored and wanted to go home.

If true I think it was an excellent strategy.

Had I done this to my first grade teacher, behavioral problem or not, I would have been sent to Mr. Johnson’s office.  He would have pulled out his board of education and “learned me” not to kick a teacher.  Then I would have gone home with a pink slip (which had to be signed by my parents and returned) explaining the incident and what punishment I had received from the school.  My parents would have read it, signed it, then punished me themselves and called to apologize to the teacher.

Of course, that was in 1978.  I imagine that in 2006, Mr. Johnson would be fired from his job, my parents would sue the school district for millions, and I would get to go on local TV to talk about my trauma.

I’m not a big believer in the “things were better back in the day” argument, but there are some things....

"Just like the Marines in Hadditha...” There is no equivalence between an action in battle in a deadly war with terrorists who hide among the civilian population and little kids in kindergarten.  What a stupid statement!

Charging a six year old with a felony is evidence of the adults being unable to control themselves.

At six years old you’d like the kids to feel that the cops were their friends.

“Just like the Marines in Hadditha...” There is no equivalence between an action in battle in a deadly war with terrorists who hide among the civilian population and little kids in kindergarten. What a stupid statement!

The point was the rush to judgment of some without all the facts, not some equivalence between the two events.

Actually if a private citizen (like us) were to make a judgement that’s their business.  I have a problem when a US Congressman does the same thing.  With the power comes responsibility.

However, under what circumstances are you saying that it’s ok for a school to have a 6 year old arrested on felony charges for kicking a teachers aid?

SteveL,

Arresting a 6 year old and charging her with assault for kicking a teacher’s aide (one who is presumably trained and experienced in handling learning disabled and special needs children) is totally unwarranted regardless of what we do not know about the incident or what the prior history might have been.  That was the point of my comment above.

Apparently you are unable to conjure a set of circumstances that would justify the action of the school officials responsible, as I asked you to do.  Good.  There is yet hope for your cognitive capacity.  Having a 6 year old arrested for assault accomplishes nothing beyond relieving shcool officials of the burden of dealing with a situation that is supposed to be within their professional purview to begin with.  Too petty, too arrogant, and too lazy to actually look for a viable solution to the problem, they pass their mess over to law enforcement, and congratulate themselves as they head off to deposit their respective paychecks.

As for the siutation of the Marines in Haditha to which you referred, perhaps you should re-read my comments there as well.  My quarrel with Murtha is not over his right to express his opinion, or yours for that matter.  In fact I expressly stipulated to that right.

However, by expressing his opinion as he has done, rather than waiting to the proper authorities to complete their investigation, and for those involved to then be charges and tried by a court martial, Murtha has effective surrendered any claim to be a US Marine.  His actioons are tantamount to leaving a fellow Marine wounded on the field of battle, and for that there is no excuse whatsoever, no matter what his “constitutional rights” might be.  My criticism of Murtha is once again of his judgement and his motivation, not his “right” to say what he has.  There is no equivalence between the two sets of circumstances, however much the comparison might appeal to you.

I hate public education.

When they make me king, I’m shutting it all down.

Let the Catholics do it.

Or home school.

This is so stupid.

I hate public education.

When they make me king, I’m shutting it all down.

Let the Catholics do it.

Or home school.

This is so stupid.