Now, trust me, I have nothing against the school systems in this country. I myself was an educator for over twelve years, and my wife retired from teaching after thirty-six years. In spite of the fact that the Republicans are trying to dismantle public education with their “No Child Left Behind” lunacy, I think the system, in general, is a good one.
My problems lie not with the education system, but with some of the morons (and I use that term as objectively as possible) who are running it!
This past week here in Connecticut, there was a major “school issue” story on the local newscasts. The details were as follows:
An eighth grader in New Haven by the name of Michael Sheridan bought a package of contraband from another student in the hallways of his middle school. He was caught red-handed as this drug deal was going down, and the principal took swift and immediate action. She suspended the culprit for three days, stripped him of his title of Vice-President of his class, and banned him from attending a honors award dinner. (Michael is an honors student.)
Well, Michael’s parents thought that the punishment was way too harsh. They were in the principal’s office the next day, pleading for leniency for their son. The principal, after hearing their arguments, recanted slightly, and reduced the suspension from three days to one. However, the stripping of the boy’s class office and his banishment from the awards dinner was kept in place.
I’m sure that some of you are thinking that the Michael’s parents should have stayed out of the entire affair, and that the principal should not have backed down and lessened the boy’s punishment. After all, he was caught violating school policy and participated in purchasing contraband on school property. Right?
Would you change your mind if it were revealed to you that the drug involved in this event was not marijuana or cocaine or heroin? In fact, the contraband in question was sugar. Sugar in the form of a package of Skittles.
Michael bought a package of Skittles from a friend in the school hallway. The school has a “no sweets” rule in the building to promote healthy eating habits. Michael got suspended, stripped of his office, and banned from the awards dinner…for Skittles. (I guess everybody in the sugar-drug culture knows that the use of Skittles often leads the use of hard candy.)
There is a ban on candy and soft drinks in the school to promote healthier eating habits. (First of all, is that the school’s responsibility? I mean, I can understand teaching good eating habits in health class, but isn’t that crossing some kind of line when the school makes eating sugar a crime? Also, if you ask me, the reprimanding of children for bad eating habits is up to the parents’ discretion, not the school’s. Big Brother is definitely watching!) What do you want to bet that bottled water, with all of those petroleum bi-products leeching into it from the plastic containers, and fruit juices that are teeming with fructose, (When it was discovered that I was diabetic, the FIRST thing Dr. Kristin removed from my diet was fruit and fruit juice!) are being sold in the cafeteria?

Exactly what do school officials who impose such harsh punishments for such minute infractions think that they are accomplishing? Do they think that they are teaching the students fairness?
In keeping with my new anger at politcal correctness running amok in schools, I present you with the following true story.

Do they think that they are teaching students to respect the rules of the school, and, by extension, the laws of society?
I contend that they are doing the just the opposite. They are teaching kids to buck the system, and they are causing kids to adopt an “Us-Against-Them” attitude when it comes to authority and rules.
After an onslaught of public scorn and outrage due to media attention, the principal took away the Michael’s suspension altogether, and she reinstated him as vice-president of his class. He did, however miss his Honors Award dinner.
The principal defended herself by stating that Michael broke a rule. She also said that fact that kids were selling candy in the hallways was a safety concern, because they could get robbed.
My suggestion then? Let’s legalize sugar, and not just for medicinal purposes, either.! That way, we be making fewer criminals, put the pushers out of business, and lower the crime rate in our corridors!