Common Sense. Where did it go? I was listening to a story on the radio tonight that pissed me off. A first grader was expelled from school for bringing his boy scout multi tool to class. and this wasnt a pocket knife. this was a combo fork, butter knife, spoon. The kid who by all accounts is a good student, proud of his accomplishment in the boy scouts, is now forced to go to the local alternative school. With the kids who have emotional problems and lash out. kids who actually bring weapons to school.
So the way to deal with a good kid who just didn't know any better is to throw him into a situation that will likely ruin his life and make him a bad kid. No offense to anyone who went to alternative school. I have friends who went there and ended up in college. I have more friends who went there and ended up being drug addicts that I don't talk to anymore.
Are you really telling me that you can't make a judgment call and say the boy who brings a utensil to class is different than the boy who brings a handgun? It's insanity. There was a follow up story about a girl who was expelled from the second grade because her mom sent a cake to class for her birthday, and included a knife. The teacher used the knife to cut the cake for the students, then informed the principal who said the girl could no longer attend the school. It wasn't even her knife.
Nothing about that makes any sense and it really just serves to create more little criminals. The world isn't black and white and we really shouldn't treat it that way. Use judgment. Sometimes there's a little grey.
Two more lives ruined by zero tolerance...
The Singing Detective
Starring Michael Gambon
Some of you know that during the summer I usually run a boat in the Alaskan fishing industry. It's hard work when it's busy, but when it's not I have lots of downtime. In that time I watch movies, and occasionally find a gem or two that I wouldn't have otherwise known about. This six episode British miniseries is one of those gems.
Michael Gambon stars as mystery writer Phillip Marlow (if you enjoy noir fiction, you'll recognize the name) who is in the hospital dying slowly of a debilitating disease. Sounds depressing, and it is, but the real fun comes when he begins to live out his mysteries in his dreams and hallucinations. In his dreams he is he's a detective. solving a mystery. And the line between reality and fantasy become blurred. Something about living out his dreams and past memories gives him the key to defeating his disease. That is all I will say. wish I could give a better review, but I'm rewatching it right now and don't want to miss anything. Ok, that was a shitty review and I'll add a better one when I'm done watching it again but I really wanted to share how good it is right now. Trust me. Netflix it. It's worth a watch. That's all for now.
~Quantum
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A follow up to this blog. The same thing happened to me when I was in middle school. My uncle gave me a lighter that said Vietnam. I think he got it in Vietnam, but not during the war.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I took it to school, used it to light a cigarette, and someone told on me. They escorted me to the office and asked me about it. I decided if i lied, they would check my stuff and call my parents. So I began formulating an elaborate story in my head. I tried my hardest to fake crying while I made up this story.
- My uncle was in Vietnam. He was on his second tour, and he and his men were trapped, surrounded by the enemy. They fought for hours, and eventually, they thought they had won. His best friend stood up, pulled out his lighter, to light a cigarette, and was gunned down by the final man who was hiding in the trees. My uncle watched his friend fall while the rest of the men fired on the man. In his final act he handed his lighter to my uncle, and told him to tell his family he loved them. On my 13th birthday, my uncle gave that lighter to me because he had no children of his own. To remember what it meant, and tell that story when I give it to my own son.-
the prinicipal almost cried. I had to help the lunch ladies for one day. Another kid who got the same infraction that week ended up suspended for two weeks.