Xy got punched in the stomach today by a third-grader. She confiscated a basketball from him; he was playing instead of getting in line for the bus. She’s fine. He’s expelled. Same kid that took a crap in the stairwell last month.
Oh yeah. The schools are in great shape.
Yes, New Orleans schools are wonderful. Katrina or no, where else can a kid get a free pass for taking a sh*t in the stairwell?
“Y’know, we were fine with you defecating in public, but NOW you’ve crossed the line.”
Although I do have to hand it to ’em for pulling off a same-day expulsion. When I taught in CA, the amount of “due process” afforded even the most dangerous hoodlums was enough to ensure that almost no one was ever actually expelled. We had signs up everywhere that touted “zero tolerance” for drugs, violence, etc., yet the signs and policies meant nothing.
When I was a teacher in New Orleans, there was an understanding that if a kid hit you, it was “game on.” You were entitled to knock the living shit out of them. Granted, I was teaching high school, so it was a slightly different dynamic. Then again, it’s possible a third grade kid could be as big or bigger than Xy.
Remember that Anti-Youth Rally, with the slogan, “In the pen until they’re ten”? Maybe he belongs there.
Even though corporal punishment is technically illegal in China, it still happens pretty often. In a high school where my friend taught, this kid mouthed off to his teacher. He decked the student, who had to say, “Thank you, teacher,” before he was allowed to stand up again.