(Not actual student who got suspended)
They’ll probably throw HER out next for carrying a lookalike.
And wipe that smirk off your face, young lady.
==UPDATE==
Gum Company Awards Scholarship to Suspended Student
A New Jersey gum maker has come up with a snappy response to the sticky issue of a sixth grader suspended for having its caffeinated product in school.
GumRunners LLC of Hackensack, N.J., which makes Jolt gum, created a scholarship program and awarded the first one to Courtney Rupert, a 12-year-old who was suspended for three days last month.
Zero Tolerance and the War on Drugs in Lockstep:
Girl Suspended for Sharing Chewing Gum
A middle school student was suspended for three days for sharing chewing gum because it contained caffeine, school officials said.
The girl, whose name and age were not released, gave another Huston Middle School student Jolt gum. The gum is “a stimulant that has no other redeeming quality,” said Amy Palermo, schools superintendent.
Products acting as a stimulant are prohibited and possessing them is grounds for disciplinary action, and the suspension was mainly based on the girl’s decision to share the gum, she said.
“What if the gum had been given to a student with a heart condition?” Palermo said Thursday.
So I guess by this logic, sharing a Snickers bar would be grounds for suspension, since somebody might be allergic to peanuts.
[Ed note: Normally we like to run pics of the offending administrators so we can see what such people actually look like. In this case it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Any reader help is welcome. :) ]
I wonder if this means theyre gonna remove the coffee maker in the teachers lounge
That is horrible.
I just ordered some Foosh Mints and Jolt Gum from thinkgeek.com. I’m taking the SAT soon..need some energy for the damn 4 hour+ test.
Anyway..
Public Schools have been taking the wrong direction for along time. Time for homeschool.
no, a Snicker’s bar is grounds for suspention becuase it contains a little bit of Theobromine, from the chocolate, which is a stimulate. The peanuts would giver reason for expulsion…. What is the world coming to
Yes it is just ridiculous the absurdity of some of these actions being taken in the schools. I wish we could go back to the old days when we didn’t have all of these ludicrous laws and regulatiuons.
Where the teacher could disicipline a child without fear of being fired or sued. Where teachers were not fearful of getting close to a child rather then the arms length approach we have today, in which these crazy laws and regulations create more problems then they solve.
Where children actually learned something rather then teachers who teach (or rather make children memorize material) to a natinal test that only gives the impression they are learning.
Where teachers are paid better in order to attract more qualified teachers. Many teachers themselves could not past the national test.
Many are nothing more then glorified babysitters. I don’t blame the teachers, since much of this problem stems from the poor school system.
Where children are kept behind if they have a failing grade. Of course they are usually given a passing grade even though they actually failed, since to be politically correct, it is wrong to hold back a child because it might traumatize them. So it is better to push them ahead and end up with an illiterate, ignorant individual who will end up on the lowest wage scale or worse.
The government’s priorities are all wrong. We should be spending tax money on our children’s education. The government only gives the impression they are helping, but the fact is our children are doing worse then ever.
WARNING: Teacher’s lounge may contain nuts.
“The gum is ‘a stimulant that has no other redeeming quality,’said Amy Palermo, schools superintendent.”
We can’t have our students using stimulants to pay attention in class, now can we?
There’s no room for exceptions. I know from experience if you let rules slide once, the next time you really need to apply it some parent will be raising bloody Hell for just picking on his child. In the US schools by nature are reactive to the community because local school boards are elected. Any administrator that gets several board members PO’ed at him, best be looking another position. They may not fire you, but you’ll find yourself transfered to the worst position in the district. It’s far safer just to follow the book to the letter.
Voice your opinions directly to Amy Palermo. Here’s her email address:
apalermo@wiu.k12.pa.us
See also http://www.thisistrue.com/zt.html for some other outrageous applications of zero-tolerance rules.
What about all those vending machines full of caffeinated beverages? I know there was talk recently about removing them but if you read the details of the deals that were worked out, it amounts to nothing being done just more PR for the soft drink companies.
Lets talk about those machines in the caffetteria…
Selling pepsi for $1…EACH..
And then you cant BRING your own from home…
I thought schools were there to TEACH, not Begger..
At least teach a proper diet. NOt to try and make us MORE POOR.
AND, I would love if the TEACHERS would teach, and NOT listen to the diatribe of HOW to teach…Each student has a way to learn, FIND it and DO it..
Hmm … RTaylor (8) has a point – the teachers probably are afraid of the Snickers bar killing someone with a peanut allergy (or something along those lines) Thus, to save their own butts (and for the children, it’s always for the good of the children) they crack down hard on anal things like this so that no one dares flaunt their all-mighty will when it actually is serious … I expressed that a bit cynically, but, in my experience at least, it is the general mindset of most teachers.
Exactly why didn’t they just take the gum away? .what is the point of the suspension? This is just sick. These are reprehensible people.
Hmm… the AP story may be in error. They say the school superintendent’s name is AMY PALERMO. A web search shows the school superintendent for the Burrell School District in Pennsylvania is ANNA MARY PALERMO. Here is a link to her bio with picture.
http://tinyurl.com/onhac
Could be her nickname..it would make sense.
I see she’s yet another Herr Doktor running things. She should be more concerned about her own rosacea seems to me.
#14. Did you bring enough speed gum for everyone?
Yes, when did innocuous contraband become a suspendable offense? I mean back in the day when my school banned all sorts of ridiculous things (cinnamon toothpicks were one such item, IIRC) you really had to be a persistent offender to get in any actual trouble.
My brother nearly got suspended on a zero tolerance issue. He was jumped in the parking lot by some thugs, and since he was involved in a “fight” they wanted to suspend him. The principal called my father and made him leave work early to come pick up my brother for fighting. When he got there and found out what actually happened he chewed them out until they decided not to suspend my brother. Zero tolerance has even gone so far as to start punishing victims. They don’t even try to rationalize their policies anymore, it’s just broadly defined x happens, apply “solution” y.
#12: Could you imagine if it turned out the kid bought the gum in the school cafeteria? You’d be suspending a student for participating in a school-sanctioned “activity” for which the school was benefitting monitarily. A true catch-22.
From her bio:
“One can see that Dr. Palermo has a ‘nurturing’ spirit about her.”
I’m sure the suspended girl feels real nurtured by this experience.
This has to be the stupidest thing I’ve heard all weekend. And she comes with a “nurturing spirit” too.
While most responses here think this is a pretty stupid idea, this is why we have the court system. To curb the excess of governments. I hope her parents sue her stupid fat ass off.
19,
YA, I can see that…
Its totally stupid…anyway.
OK, you OLD folks…
what did we do in School, and high school that would TODAY get us Kicked out..
Mumbly peg, chicken, Bottle rockets, durty mags, Home Ec….
They want to DUMB us down, they dont want us to Be smart and experiment… I REALLy bet Sci class REALLY sucks, NOW…
“Your child lacks focus and is disruptive in the classroom. Why, just this morning I caught her chewing caffeine gum! Clearly, she has ADD and needs Ritalin.”
I don’t understand. One looks at an article like this — actually someone sent me this article — as an example of how ordinary Americans have “lost their grip;” they’re just a gaggle of mindless flag-wavers following their corrupt “leaders” down the sinkhole of history…
…YET every comment on this post has been rational and properly pissed-off. I’m sure most of the school officials — people like Palermo not withstanding — are not different than any of us.
Over 23 comments — as of this writing — and all of them condemining what has been done to this girl. It’s unanimous. We HATE what’s being done to us. Imagine how readers in that girl’s school district, especially her parents, must feel. Why are we allowing this — and a whole lot worse — to happen? Why don’t we act? The polls always show a “divided” citizenry. I see no divisions here. It’s unanimous: we want our country back.
ASE
I read all of the comments and they pretty much cover all of the reactions that any reasonable person would have. It is so ludicrous, really. Even her justification is so devoid of logic on so many levels.
So….
Can’t we get this lady fired? Do we really want people who are capable of making these types of decisions in charge of our children?
Does she have children? Please tell me she has not reproduced. Can anything be done to prevent her from having any other children in the future?
Right now, in support of this child that was supsended, I am drinking Jolt Cola, chewing Jolt gum and looking for folks with heart conditions to share them with. Just doing my part!
I just saw the update, my day was made
“The district superintendent did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.”
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting. 🙂
24. Why don’t we act? The polls always show a “divided” citizenry. I see no divisions here. It’s unanimous: we want our country back.
Americans live in a society pervaded by fear. And it doesn’t just come from the big things – Columbine, 9/11, but it is the daily drumbeat of the “if it bleeds, it leads” fearmongering media.
Fear breeds support for arbitrary authority. Caffeine gum is a gateway drug, nail clippers are a hijacking risk. And so on. Let us tap your phones, let us record your web browsing. Only terrorists and perverts should object.
The other day, I was at the store when I noticed an item at the checkout counter. It was an electronic proximity alarm for one’s child. If he or she got too far away, an alarm would sound. It made me think about how my mom used to just shoo us out the door every day when we were kids to roam the neighborhood as we saw fit, secure in the knowledge that we would be back for lunch. And sure enough, we always were.
Hopefully, the pendulum will swing back the other way someday, but I am not counting on it.
28: the book “The Culture of Fear” established the modality of the U.S. a few years ago. Fear sells and sells big, in the news business and the protection business. And even tho some of you will scream at this, a movie was made exploring the theme of that book, called “Bowling for Coumbine”, by one Michael Moore. The movie explores how fear has come to be a product sold to an ever more controllable culture.
Congratulations on the scholarship. I only hope Ms. Palermo is realizing just how ridiculous she is.
She may have gotten a scholarship, but this gum incident is still going on her “permanent record.” She’ll find it damn hard to get a job because most employers take a hard line on DRUG PUSHERS like her. Even as cute as she is, she’s a sickening reminder of the constant liberal coddling of our delinquent youth with still more free education.