School Administration Stupidity Strikes Again

Here is yet another case of school administration STUPIDITY from Penn Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The level of control -- absolute control -- that school administrators seek over students is in direct contradiction of the whole concept of individual liberty that was the basis for the founding of the Republic.

Appeals to fear and zealotry for safety is no excuse for what becomes repressive and punitive control.

Watch the television news reports at the link to get the full impact of just how silly and anal some school administrators can be.

We have seen similar lapses in common sense here in Colorado -- as long as this insane 'zero tolerance' regimen continues to exist, drop-out rates, declining actual learning, and cynicism towards public education will increase.

Penn Hills Student With Eyebrow Trimmer Suspended | KDKA-TV

A Penn Hills Middle School student has been suspended for bringing an eyebrow trimmer to school.

Under the Safe School Act, the district says the instrument is a razor and is considered dangerous.

They suspended 15-year-old Taylor Ray-Jetter.

The instrument was taken from Taylor's purse at school by security guards. She told them it was harmless but they called it a weapon.

Taylor was immediately suspended and was expelled Wednesday.

The punishment has her worried about her future.

"I want to be an anesthesiologist –a nurse anesthetist and I feel like it's going to be on my record so it's going to dampen a lot of things I wanted to do for myself and I'm very upset," she said. "I did not come up there to hurt anybody."

Taylor is a member of the basketball team, 9-year Girl Scout, a youth usher, a member of the choir and leadership team, among other activities.

The superintendent says the tool is a weapon and Taylor's punishment is all apart of a very strict zero tolerance policy.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Comments

[Ted Wahler]

Although it is school policy, and a needed and good one, to keep weapons that could distract, disrupt, or endanger students out of the schools the litany of butterknife and eyebrow trimmer stories always makes me shake my head and recall a story from a few years ago.

I had traveled from Denver through Washington DC to Roanoke VA with one of those, maybe two inch long, stainless steel folding scissors in my shaving kit. I had bought those scissors long before they were readily available in the mass market at a specialty store a decade before. I had gone through airport security in Denver and in DC without any question on the trip out but on the trip back the scissors were detected by the small town airport security scanner.

The security person laughed with me at the absurdity of the situation but was insistent on the adherence to the letter of the law. The scissors could not travel with me on my carry-on - no way, no how. I didn't have any checked luggage so that was not an option. Humanizing the situation while still meeting the security mandate the security person offered me options based on common sense.

It was explained to me that this comes up quite often as country gentlemen habitually put a pen knife in their pocket when getting dressed. I was directed to the gift shop where they had a supply of small padded envelopes and stamps for this very situation. For less than two dollars my little $20-plus-sentimental-value scissors were traveling in the postage section instead of the overhead compartment, I was happy, the rules were adhered to, a security agent made a friend, and I have another story to tell over and over again.

I think that butterknives, eyebrow trimmers, and whatever else is not compliant with the zero tolerance policy of the schools would be safe in the principal's drawer awaiting a parent and a reminder of the rules, except for the risk aversion that is pervasive in the public school system to use some common sense and solve some problems logically. Hmmmmm, explains a lot when you think about it.

Be well.

[jbphillips]

I agree with the posting that dreams of an administrator using common sense and stuffing the butter knife in a drawer and handing it over to parents later. HOWEVER, word seems to somehow get out, and pretty soon parents are calling me and asking "Why aren't you doing your job? Why aren't you dealing with that rotten kid who brought the knife to school," meaning I should adhere to zero tolerance policies that the school board puts in place. So if you think the administrator is stupid, Dave, you ought to get to know your board members and accountability parents. They're the ones who provide input and vote to approve that nonsense. Oh wait. You were one of them.