“Gang outifts,” according to the principal
Is it too much for this clown to calmly ask why they are dressed alike? Is it too much to check with the parents first? Unless there’s more to this than in the story, something is wrong with this guy. Hopefully the school board will investigate.
School Suspended Us For Dressing Alike
A school recently suspended four eighth-grade girls because they wore identical outfits on the same day, some of the girls and their parents said.
Two of the girls, Dacia Small and Mindy Ellis, said McCulloch Middle School officials incorrectly branded them as gang members because of the outfits. The four received a five-day suspension after Principal Michael Shaffer saw their clothes, Small and Ellis said.
“One of the girls asked him what was the matter with it. Then he started yelling at all everybody and took us to the office and suspended us,” Small told Indianapolis TV station WRTV.
Shaffer said the girls were suspended because they violated school rules, but he declined to say which rules they broke.
“I can’t really address specifically a student discipline issue in regard to a particular student,” Shaffer said. “I will tell you that we have a code of conduct here at McCulloch Middle School that we expect all of our students to measure up to. We’re talking about a violation of that code of conduct.”
The girls, whose suspensions end Tuesday, are in an after-school dance group together, but not a gang, Small said.
“We dressed alike because we are just friends,” Small said.
Small’s mother, Regina Barnett, said she isn’t happy with Shaffer’s decision. She said she thought the suspension had to do with the girls being black. Shaffer is white.
“I told him I think it’s a racial thing,” Barnett said. “He said he didn’t appreciate me saying that because he has black friends and this and that,” Barnett said.
Barnett said she is worried that the gang allegation would be on her daughter’s school record.
“I don’t want it on her record that she got kicked out for a gang,” Barnett said. “She’s not in a gang. I’m not going to let that get stuck on her record.”
Barnett said she hoped to talk to the school district’s superintendent about the issue.
Rember, the school board probably hired him. The don’t seem any smarter than he is.
Then you wonder why students are coming into school and blowing everyone away.
The more stories like this I read, the more convinced I am that many principals (I won’t say all, or even most, but very many) are closet tinpot dictators.
He also put them on Double secret probation!
The obvious simpleton response is this.
#4
Time to shoot Niedermeyer’s horse in the principal’s office… 😉
I’d say they committed a “Crime of Fashion” Seriously tho, I think this is a good reason for brining in school uniforms. You can foster a sense of school identity, reduce the perceived differences in incomes and hopefully eliminate misunderstandings found here in this story.
#7 I’m all for school uniforms, even in public school. It would solve a lot of problems and make back to school shopping a snap.
Regina Barnett, mother of Dacia, said the girls had gotten into trouble the previous week for intimidation, which earned two of them in-school suspension and the other two three days out of the school building.
“Tuesday, everyone was friends again, and nothing was going on,” Barnett said. “They get to school at eight o’clock and (Shaffer) tells them to take their clothes off. He tells them they are being kicked out of school.”
Barnett said Principal Shaffer told her that two students could dress alike but not four.
Two may dress like that, but not four?
However, apparently there had been an incident the previous week.
Regina Barnett, mother of Dacia, said the girls had gotten into trouble the previous week for intimidation, which earned two of them in-school suspension and the other two three days out of the school building.
“Tuesday, everyone was friends again, and nothing was going on,” Barnett said …
Therese Howe, assistant superintendent of human relations, … said she backed Shaffer’s judgment completely… “I am supportive of the administration at McCulloch,” she said. “I think the school acted appropriately. It did not just involve dress. There had been a bullying incident.”
nnaaa, I think someone is finding excuses for their actions.
The local rag http://tinyurl.com/j9892
I agree with #7 and #8. We need to teach these kids early in life that they are not special, they are not unique. They need to learn to be good little nameless, faceless cogs in the machine. Treat them like cattle. Brand them with their schools’s emblem for easy identification. Treat any naysayers like what they are: rabble-rousers, outcasts, dissidents.
Trying hard to keep an open mind here….something some of us aren’t doing, based on what may only be part of the story. Being a not to long ago high school graduate, I can tell you that I would bet the farm that when he confronted them he got more than an innocent…*what did we do……*…especially from high school girls from the inner city.
And from the added bits posted here by Mr. Fusion, instead of helping make his case of innocence, I think is quite telling for a case against the girls. They may be friends after school, and dance together, but apparently they also bully other students as a group….that can lead school administrators to think of them as a gang.
So maybe before we condemn another Principel, we should see what else comes out.
Chuck, think about this:
We need to put the kids on a level playing field. IF everyone is dressed the same we won’t even have to worry about kids in schools beating up each other to take/steal/mug each other to take the trendy clothes, brand named tennis shoes and expensive “bling-bling” that the kids are wearing these days. You won’t have rich kids showing off their wealth to the poorer kids creating resentment and you will help de-emphasize gang affiliation.
We got kids in this country who get shot at just for wearing the wrong “colors” walking in the wrong neighborhood in our cities. And it’s not just an urban problem anymore, it’s showing up in our small towns as well.
You want kids to start acting being unique and special? How about emphasizing critical thinking in the schools? Thinking outside the box for a change?
Ironically the girls featured in this story are too busy conforming to their clique then being unique and special individuals.unto themselves. If everyone is dressing up in the latest hiphop fashions or dressing up like their favorite pop star what kind of message is being sent out? It’s not about being unique, it becomes about “fitting in” and being slaves to the latest marketing fashions. We can teach our kids to do better then that.
I reserve judgment until I find out how obnoxious both the students and the principal are.
#8, Seriously tho, I think this is a good reason for brining in school uniforms.
#12 You want kids to start acting being unique and special? How about emphasizing critical thinking in the schools? Thinking outside the box for a change?
So which do you want? Uniformity or creativity? Do you want orderly little robots marching in step to class or children being taught that they have brains and to use their creativity? You will never get children to “think out of the box” by putting them into one.
If the teacher isn’t willing to justify his actions with a reason he can go pound sand.
As can anyone that agrees with him.
Zero tolerance is for idiots that don’t need to be in positions of leadership.
#11, They had already been punished for the bullying incident. The local rag is ambiguous if the bullying was with other students or among themselves; that part is confusing. That they were given a five day suspension for something that happened AFTER they had already served their punishment is what bothers me. It sounded like they are being punished twice for the same incident.
The other thing is does the punishment fit the crime. How can bullying be worth a three day suspension while wearing similar clothing is a five day suspension? The girls also claim, and there is no record of the Principal denying, that the girls were not allowed to defend themselves before the decision was made.
So many times I have said this. Somewhere a smart lawyer will offer his services (for 35% of any award) and sue the school. They will have a decent chance of winning a discrimination suit. Even if the school wins, the lawyer fees will end up coming out of a classroom.
#14. Get those kids thinking critically, and they might realize that imposing uniforms is a cheap panacea promulgated because actually tackling the problems that plague are schools would require more than we are ready to ask of our school administrators, teachers, taxpayers, kids and particularly … parents.
We don’t want them realizing that.
That principal needs to sit on the bench for a couple of hours..What a dope.
#17, good point.
One thing the Principal and Assistant Superintendent overlook, is someone who has gone through their school system will be tending them when they are doddering old fools stuck in a nursing home.
#17 Getting those kids to think critically might actually mean that they would be forced to think about someone or something other than themselves. Thinking about their own parents for instance. Alot of parents can’t afford to have their kids keep up with the latest trends or fashions or don’t have the time, energy or money to constantly wash clothes after several changes per day. Getting children to think critically might actually make them realise that fashion and image isn’t always everything.
Children wearing uniforms is not about turning kids into robots but about saving parents money and preventing other kids from feeling bad because they can’t afford to keep up with the latest ‘in’ brand names. If kids want to express themselves through their clothes and their parents can afford it, then they can “express” themselves in this manner outside of school and on the weekends.
Everyone wants their kids to start out life on a level playing field. Uniforms would help decrease the pressure on children to conform to their peers and place the focus where it should be…..on their studies.
After reading the additonal article added by Mr. ConFusion I think I’m inclined to agree with Joshua. It sounds like these kids are up to more then their bad fashion sense.
I remember listening to one of the Columbine jocks who was a target in 1998 describing Harris and Klebold as kids who dressed in black trenchcoats and didn’t try to “fit in” with the rest of the school body. Well it’s those kinds of artificial divisions that amplify the highschool cliques. Forcing kids to dress the same is not the same as forcing them to think the same. You need to give the kids and the schools more credit than that. Just because most of us on this site live in America, eat American fast food and read DU doesn’t mean that we’re all flaming liberals (or right wing conservatives for that matter)
And the first rule of fight club is….
The playing field is not even and never will be. Some people are smarter than others. Some people have more social skills. Some people have better memories.
It is about creating robots, and in doing so you will create MORE conflict beneathe the surface even if there’s less on top.
V is right. The playing field will never be level. However, we as adults have a responsibility to do what we can to attempt to make it as level as possible. If we as adults aren’t going to do that, how can we possibly expect our kids to try at school. Or should we just allow them to give up because we have.
Further more, school uniforms are safer for kids. It would enable ‘outsiders’ to be immediately identified, make it harder for those with ulterior motives to infiltrate the school, blend in, and kill students in classrooms.
The photo and the story just brought me back to this classic literature:
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle!
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel!
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.’
J/P=?
Feed ’em all spinach, sort em out in the morning.
I hate to break it to the “school uniform” nay sayers but over the pond in the UK it is the norm to have school uniforms and last time I checked we ain’t a bunch of robots. In fact it has been said in many studys that school uniforms are very good thing, as was said before promoting school identity.
I would also completly agree with previous comments relating to ensuring kids are not left out when they can’t afford the latest thing or feel presured into wearing the latest thing just because everyone else is.
In fact it has been said in many studys that school uniforms are very good thing, as was said before promoting school identity.
So would you care to link to a study? You used the plural “studys”, though I think you meant studies.
I know, that “study” you linked was actually a survey and itself was only summarized The link that page provided to the survey didn’t go to the survey. So I guess that rules that one out as bogus.
#22 and #23. This is a major cause of conflict in our day and age. DO NOT believe that the playing field is unlevel. THAT is what those with power WANT you to believe. By believing that we are unequal you grant power to those who have you believing in a power hierarchy. YOU GIVE YOUR POWER AWAY. Plain and simple, YOU ARE A SUCKER. You are just as valuable as the highest paid athlete. Just different functions. Take a look at Tiger Woods. Seriously, look at what he is doing for a living. He is trying to get a ball into a hole! Yes, he has great skill, but so do you in your own field. He may be making millions of dollars but making money is not a sign of Goodness. It is just a creation of capitalists who make you believe in stars. That in and of itself is not bad, but by elevating someone else in stature YOU DIMINISH YOURSELF. No man is an island. Every man depends on another man. When you treat someone with high regard, by Natural Law someone else is going to treat someone with low regard. Treat everyone equal, then there is no confict.
27. School uniforms is a good compromise. There is still some individuality that can go into a uniformed group. For instance, when I was in grade school we had to wear a uniformed clip-on tie. I replaced it with a real tie that had to be knotted. And I wore real leather shoes. Little expressions like that are still available to kids. One just has to get a little creative. And believe me, creativity is sorely lacking in America.