This week a parent found that the ever-increasing intrusiveness of the government can extend to her children even when the children are not in school. Her son and some others were bantering back and forth with another child through text messages and cell-phone calls. The children were jibing one another about whom each happened to be, even though the cell phone displayed the caller's identity.
To get the last “a-ha,” one of the children took his cell-phone to school, showed one of the teachers and said that the others were imitating her.
Even though the teens came forward, admitted their role in the texts and ensuing phone conversations and apologized to the teacher, the teacher was upset by her name being used even in jest.
The teacher demanded that some but not all of the children be punished. Unfortunately, rather than calling parents of the students involved and allowing parents to handle the situation, the school (government entity), showing its disdain for parents, chose to usurp the roll of the parent and administer punishment for the activities of the children which occurred on a Friday night far from school grounds.
One of the parents contacted an attorney who agreed that the school had violated due process rights by not informing the parent about the appellate process or her rights to have the action reviewed by a higher commission within the school system.
The attorney noted that schools operated in a gray area called IN LOCO PARENTIS (in place of a parent) rights. The idea behind this power was interpreted by Sir William Blackstone of England in the 1700's to define the student-teacher relationship in a day and age when schools were boarding schools and parents were unavailable for immediate disciplinary input. This power, established through common law in Britain, was carried over to the United States upon formation.
Although not expressly written into US or state law, this power has been tested through case law and has gone both ways regarding governmental intrusiveness depending on the judiciary interpretation of the time when rendered.
IN LOCO PARENTIS is not a well-defined legal formula since it stipulates different treatments for different people at different times.
The mother, upon hearing this explanation, was shocked to find that the school could possibly administer stigmatizing punishments so easily for off-campus offenses with the only actionable response being expensive litigation.
Far from a school administration executing punishment in place of a parent who is hours away (by horseback or foot, I might add) to maintain good order, the school executed the over-reactive punishment even though the parent was less than 2 minutes away by automobile.
Even though the children apologized up front and were not disruptive towards the class, the teacher, the school nor the school system, their honesty and good order was met not only with verbal reprimand but by bullish interrogation by the resource officer as well as threats of further citation.
Rather than the most minimal punitive actions as a reward for their honesty, the school embarked upon escalated punishments for these students.
As a community, do we not wish to teach our children that the government is to be limited, if not completely non-existent, during people's private lives?
By not voicing opposition to governmental intrusiveness during offenses that should be handled by the parents or the judiciary, do we not teach our children that governmental entities are the end-all/be-all of people's private lives?
If you spank your children at home, today, does that school deserve to spank your children again for the same offense tomorrow?
This instance would be comparative to the federal government sending a US marshal to indict someone for jay-walking after a beat cop already wrote a ticket and the city court gathered the fine.
It is either through voluminous community outcry or expensive litigation by one individual that governmental intrusiveness can be limited. In this instance, one parent did not transfer her responsibility to discipline her child for a joke done in poor taste; the government (school) chose to exceed and/or ignore her punishment and institute a stigmatizing punishment in front of her child's peer group based on the discomfort of the teacher.
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User Comments
What a farce! If we had responsive types of school administrators, this would not happen. They seem to make up the rules as they go along! What is next? The school dictating the time of day when kids use the john and being penalized for when they use the john outside of the time deemed necessary by the teacher? Get real!
Another paper had an opinion about liquor by the drink and who to go to...in it the commentator called Sevier County a "family-oriented" atmosphere. I guess we only support the "family" when it is convenient for our beliefs; otherwise, screw the family!
The children were obviously friends, if not how did they get each other's cell phone numbers. Last I checked cell phones were not published anywhere. So the kids had to be extremely familiar with one another.
Did these kids get paddled? Since it is allowed, why not? If the school can get away with trampling the parents rights, why not students? Schools have FAR TOO MUCH control, time for the parents to step up and take the schools on and tell them no more! A parent of 2 sons I raised without ever hitting, teaching proper consequences and making them accountable for their actions
I am not as much bothered by a paddling so much as I am a school punishing a child for something that should fall squarely in the lap of the parent.
Schools say that parents won't do anything to correct their children, yet this story shows that a family was in control of the discipline but the teacher wanted more... more... MORE!!! I guarantee you that if I had a problem with a teacher's actions, I would have to MEET with a teacher and numerous other supervisors. Yet you let a teacher have a problem with a child, and the PARENT IS THE LAST PERSON TALKED TO.
you let a teacher be as abrasive as can be to kids, call them demeaning names, and just bully them around. Confront the school about it and the teacher will not be spanked, given an in-school suspension, or sent to ALC, but you let a child be abrasive to a teacher, all H will break loose. And the parent will only be called when punishment has been pre-approved... The teachers can't have it both ways... demanding that parents do more then tell parents to butt out. Which is it? Are we "partners" in education or NOT?
I am a hairdresser and I always hear teachers in the beauty shop griping and moaning at the top of their lungs about the "kids." I have thought many times to myself, "if you do not like kids, why do you teach?" I think some are in it anymore for an easy ride. I hear them moan about many things when they really do not have it so bad. They work only so many months per year, have all summers off (I do not!) and other perks.
I cannot believe what I am reading here. If this happened off of school grounds, why does the school really care and why are they involved?
"usurp the roll"?!
USURP = Take by force... Nothing is more forceful than saying, "OH! You DON'T like our way of doing things? FINE! Take your kids out of "OUR" school! OH! You can't afford private education? Buses from other school districts DON'T run by your house? You CAN'T afford a homeschooling program? I guess you will do it our way and like it! After all, WE ARE YOUR GOVERNMENT!!! And we will do to your children whatever we doggone-well please!"
I agree with most of above, I do know first hand teachers are so glad to get all inservice and holidays and their personal days. Reason being tired of the kid's well hello its your job as a teacher to teach our children no matter how burnt out you are. Kid's look up to you as a teacher and if you all are not in it to teach you need to find another job. I do not care who you are anyone can get a degree in teaching "so".It's what you do and how you use it. It takes a special gift to become a great teacher yes there are some I do admire and some who is totally in the wrong field.
We do have some great teachers, but why the need to be prison matron of Cell Block D?
This opinion is interesting in that it shows that Sevier County schools are willing to attack children for after hours obnoxiousness but these same schools remain stone silent in the face of student or even teacher bullying DURING school time. This example smacks of control not discipline. I mean, neither teachers nor administrators go out into the hallways between classes and stop the harassment in the hallways but they want to monitor and punish cell-phone usage on Friday nights? Get real people!
If this child felt so threatened, why didn't he/she go to the parents and cry mommy make it stop?!
Hey #9, thanks for the definition. I wasn't commenting on the word usurp. I know good and well what it means. I was referring to "roll". What kind of roll was taken; buttered, homemade? I just found it funny that someone writing about education didn't know how to spell ROLE! Sorry that went over your head.
You are right... flew right by me. And... Verrrrrrrrrry Funny. Sometimes when I get agitated, some of the simplest nuances fly right by me.
I liked the op-ed. We crave less government in our personal lives yet we have government-mandated intrusion in our children's lives and as an extension, our own lives.
Perhaps it is the ideas that "it's just our children not ourselves" or "it's over in 13 years (or less based on what grade a child is in when they have problems)" that keep us from being actively engaged in education properly. Maybe if we step up as a community, teachers can teach and administrators can leave our children alone.
There are many teachers that harass and bully kids into submission during school time hours. That is not professional and grossly violates the anti-bullying policy on file in the Sevier county school system. Is that policy just written and used selectively and ostensibly, for show?
As for what one engages in after school hours which is not school affiliated, that is not for schools to be involved in at all, regardless what a resource officer or teacher thinks.
Should all who are involved in the public school setting line up and simultaneously rant "Hile Hitler"? Is the school system a version of the SS? These are not only questions to ponder but to talk about aloud. Silence always helps the oppressor, never the oppressed!
I remember Linda Russel as one of those teachers. She finally got caught dressed as Hitler and was put away. She was crazier than a ****house rat.
Reading the article about the one on one with the local commissioner shows that educational problems contribute to voter downheartedness. These children were punished by a school for something that happened at home... The parents and children are shown the futility of argue so everyone is whipped into community submissiveness, now as adults the entire community is completely submissive to the whim of the government system. Now no one opposes anything because it is ingrained from childhood not to buck it.
Thank you Sevier County School System for making the weakest-minded comformists that you could!
Remember citizens....vote but never confront.
It is hard to believe that in this day in age something like this could happen.. These are the kind of things that make it so hard for us to teach our children to respect their elders and authority figures. Everytime we turn around the very proffessionals we were taught to pass on respect for are voilating our children.... Where does it stop?? They wonder why the kids don't respect them??? They bring it on themselves. Reap what they Sow....
It's no wonder we have so many people on welfare around here. We prefer our schools to teach government reliance by allowing these intrusions. We refuse to teach self-reliance. It looks like we also allow teachers to become absolute snobs by telling them, "No! You don't have to involve parents! Cry to the police, little, defenseless teacher!"
It's no wonder children around here want to blow up schools and shoot people. Some of these teachers are absolutely gutless and contemptible.
# 18 Amen! Bullying is a common characteristic in all realms of school violence. It matters not where the bullying comes from, either from other kids or from teachers. Sad thing is there is a well defined policy on file in Sevier county schools about bullying and intimidation. It lays out of consequences, but it seems that the kids are the only ones penalized, as no one wants to hurt a teachers feelings by calling them on the carpet for infractions administrators KNOW to be wrong! This lack of action will result in a festering type of pustule that is bound to ultimately explode!
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