Kid Suspended for Refusing to Answer Exam Question

This still doesn't make sense. So the kid's afraid to let his principal know he thinks she's a witch. Why? He's afraid of getting in trouble, or of her becoming angry. But by not doing the assignment, he causes her to become angry (which he should have seen coming--sounds like multiple people were talking to him) and gets in major trouble.

Why the heck couldn't he have written something NOT about her being a witch? Sure that's the first thing that popped into his head, but think again!

Now, I'm not on the principal's side. At face value, I'm totally on the kid's side. But my problem is that this story doesn't make SENSE to me.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

yah, it does sound kinda like the kid has no social skills....
I mean, it's great that he knew he shouldn't write that his teacher was a witch, but was he really so one-track minded that he couldn't just think of something else?
but you know...kids....they have low processing power

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Yeah, it's all bullshit. One test question isn't the end of the world, let alone the school. It's also not the end of his life.

What I especially hate is the pressure on the kid. This is elementary school here. This was one of my worst and best times in my life, moreso the later years than the early years. I remember when I was in grade 1 and there was this kindergarten kid that was afraid of me. So what does he do? He tells on the teacher that I beat him up and the teacher (being the bitch that she is) comes over to me and asks me if I beat him up. I said no at least three times, but she kept repeating the question as if accusing me. The pressure pretty much made me cry. Thinking back to that, it pisses me off.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This is a result of sheltered parenting. His mother needs to let him go scrape his knee every once in a while and let him play with other kids and have a sense of humor. He’s never going to be able to enjoy himself in life if she keeps covering his eyes and ears. His story probably would have made everyone laugh and got him a good result. He’s literally going to be a 40-year-old virgin with all the ‘respect’ he shows. What a tease to all the hot emo chicks that start catching onto him in middle school and high school.

How ya doing, buddy?

It's obvious who the villian is here if I hadn't have seen this I would have thought something like was part of a crappy film or cartoon, the principal is who should have been expelled here the kid didn't know any better >.>

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Leveless

This is a result of sheltered parenting. His mother needs to let him go scrape his knee every once in a while and let him play with other kids and have a sense of humor. He’s never going to be able to enjoy himself in life if she keeps covering his eyes and ears. His story probably would have made everyone laugh and got him a good result. He’s literally going to be a 40-year-old virgin with all the ‘respect’ he shows. What a tease to all the hot emo chicks that start catching onto him in middle school and high school.

Many children that exhibit such qualities of "respect" in their earlier years go on to rebel against the practice.
Plus, it is unfair to blame all of that on this sort of customary sheltered parenting--it doesn't really become sheltering until the child is a teen, and, even then, it's still debatable as to what should be categorized under that term.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Quote:

Tyler, who's 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and weighs 70 pounds (32 kilograms), hasn't been the same since, his mother says.

Clearly a dramatization. I don't think size and weight has any bearing on what would have been his score.

Quote:

"He liked the principal before this,'' she says. ``He cried. He didn't understand why she'd done this to him.''

But then again, kids his age, size and weight have a tendency to cry when they're embarrassed, confused, upset or hungry. Another dramatization. Though I admit, insisting that an entire school's rating was on his shoulders was a bit much. That would've made me hungry enough to cry any day.

Quote:

Now, Tyler blows up at the drop of a hat, his mother says. ``They created a monster. He'll never take that test again, even if I have to take him to another state,'' she says.

No. He blows up because he's embarrassed. He's embarrassed because now he can't be a normal kid because his mom's a psycho bitch who thinks she's going to get rich by suing an already deprived Board of Education. He won't take the test no matter what state he's in? Good thing the state of National Security isn't riding on this.

Quote:

Tyler's attitude about school changed. He became shyer. He's afraid of all tests and doesn't do as well in classes anymore, his mother says.

So does every kid's attitude toward school, eventually. He's just an early bloomer. Shyer? He shouldn't be talking to girls yet anyway. Afraid of all tests? Yes, because he's afraid that Global Warming and Arctic Drafts will somehow ensue if he leaves a creative question unanswered. That much I don't blame anyone for. Doesn't do well in classes anymore? Because now he doesn't think he should have to do anything because his mother won't stop making out with his boo boo.

I think it's just too dramatic of a scene to be taken seriously. Mothers against WASL? How about 'Board of Education Against Intellectually Deficient Children'? It's not like they're being shipped off to sweat shops if they fail.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Eesh, poor kid.

I noted that some of you asked why he didn't put another answer down. He was nine years old...that's why. His mind was not mature enough to be able to understand that (or come up with some alternative thoughts). Some children might be, but he was not, and that is not of his own fault.,

I already forsee this leading to the woman trying to get rich from the BoE. However, it's not the BoE's fault...it's the NCLB policy coupled by the prin at that school. The NCLB is idiotic. When I was in HS, they were just starting to implement that. We were the first class to take it, but the results didn't count. I did fine in Math but horrible in history. Why? Simply because the class I had consisted of students from a variety of nations and the teacher rather had EVERYONE learn the material than 30% of the class. Hence, we didn't get too far, too fast.

Now, granted, I would say that it would be best if they had split that class into two classes. Those who needed more time could have it, and those who didn't could go faster or go through history with more detail.

Nevertheless, the way it is now, teachers in HS in the US CAN'T spend that extra time with students because they have to cover so much material. I saw several teachers literally retired or just out-right quit because they hated this new policy. It's not because they were 'quitters' but rather it went against their mode of teaching (The mode of having everyone or mostly everyone understand the topic VS going through everything you have planned and if no one gets it, just shrug and say 'That's life').

I'm not saying that those schools that have really low scores should get extra aid...because that money should be given to those who NEED AND DESERVE it (a combination of both, not one or the either). How this can be done is beyond me at this point.

Back to the kid. There is no reason he should have been suspended for refusing to answer a question. A blank answer is wrong. A unclear answer is wrong. Two answers for a one-answer question is wrong. A wrong answer is wrong. If you get a wrong answer, you lose a point or don't get a point depending on the type of test. That's all that should happen given the circumstances. The prin should be fired, no questions about it. The parents though should relax. There IS a point where you need to comfort the child, but at some point you gotta "jolt" them back into their normal selves.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Even though I highly disagree with the principal's actions and how he handled the blank answer, I also think that it wasn't that hard to solve, either. Yes, I disagree with everything that happened after the kid didn't answer the question. But, seriously, he could have just wrote down ANOTHER answer.

Yes, mortis, he's 9. However, I can easily see someone like 6 come up with an alternative answer to a question, in which there original answer wasn't good in there opinion. I seriously don't think that it was that hard, even for his age, to come up with an alternative answer to put. That way, the problem would have never happened, and there would be no trouble on his, his parents, and the schools fault.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I agree with Hitman. As someone who works with kids, I can safely say that any 9-year-old kid functioning at an A-B honor roll level could easily come up with alternative answers to a question such as this.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

You know what... I can't stand EITHER!

The Kid: WTF man, you stupid or something... if he's that afraid to write about his principle, then he'll probably take drugs just so others won't beat him up. He obviously hasn't been taught by teachers/parents how to be independent, strong and willfull.
Another thing, IF he's an A or B student and I agree with Blue and Hitman, it should have been no problem to write another answer...

The Principal: OMG, what a dick (I'd rather not use the female form of it)... but I hate these kind of people...

And god talk about cheese, "he cried" - omg I got scolded... what a wimp he's 9! That's OLD k! And the age/weight like that sooo should effect his personalities... obviously they are trying to make you feel for the kid "omg he's sooo small and shy, poor thing"

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Tsunade

He obviously hasn't been taught by teachers/parents how to be independent, strong and willfull

On the other hand, a 9-year old child who can steadfastly refuse to do something that multiple adult authority figures told him to do probably doesn't need to be taught how to be "independent, strong and willfull".

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

^Arg, and you are right about that... I guess then he's just bipolar... what else? I mean it looks like there's an alternative for almost every argument on this thread here... or just bratty... *not the nicest person here- I hate kids*

FELIPE NO

OK, that was just frakkin' weird. Off topic much? Someone ban that foo'.

What the kid coulda/shoulda done is really of little value here, since the point of the thread (IMO) is the injustice in getting suspended for not answering a question. It's an exam, folks. I've SKIPPED exams before, and you know what happened? I LOST POINTS. You don't suspend a kid for making you look bad, and that's the real point here, isn't it?

But since we're talking about the kid and he'll probably never see this thread... All through school, I never could bring myself to bullshit through an exam, which is why in high school I never broke 80% on anything english/lit-related. My parents brought me up to be honest to a fault (yeah, that's possible), so I found it hard to write things I knew to be bullshit. So maybe this kid's got the same deal. I mean, his parents look to be as smothering and melodramatic as mine were, so maybe that's it.

Also, once your mind gets on track, it can be pretty hard to shift gears and rethink the whole thing. The kid had an awesome story in mind, and couldn't use it, but it was so good he couldn't think of anything else in time. Sounds plausible, right? It seems pretty clear that this bitch (I said it for you, Tsunade :P) is overly concerned with her image as percieved by herself and others, so IMO it was probably a good judgement call on the kid's part to not write that story.

When I was nine, I had to write a story about a school field trip to the zoo. The animals escaped, and I came to the rescue with big guns and futuristic ammunition, Rambo/Schwarzenegger-style. My english teacher had a brief cameo, when I mistook her for a tiger (hey, it was foggy) and pumped her full of lead... and whatever else was in those bullets. She called it "unrealistic". I called it "fiction". I got a B.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Cool. I wrote outta this world stuff like this when I was in Primary School. One of them even when on to become a model essay~ Yeah! Its really important to allow writers, especially young ones express their creativity. The things you can get from them are sometimes simply astounding (in a good way).

Originally Posted by Phoenix X

When I was nine, I had to write a story about a school field trip to the zoo. The animals escaped, and I came to the rescue with big guns and futuristic ammunition, Rambo/Schwarzenegger-style. My english teacher had a brief cameo, when I mistook her for a tiger (hey, it was foggy) and pumped her full of lead... and whatever else was in those bullets. She called it "unrealistic". I called it "fiction". I got a B.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wow...
Well, I'm of the opinion that school is the worst days of one's life and Further Education is the best.
This only serves to remind me as to why.

That bitch should be screamed at until emotionally unstable and see how she is at the end of it.
Might learn two things called "humility" and "Empathy" whilst she's at it.

Though that said, the whole "kid could think of something else..." angle well, maybes aye, maybes no. Think it this way, your under the pressure of time and what not, maybe the image of the principal as a witch (as to describe the only fathomable reason why she's there in the first place) is all that's showing up...

Originally Posted by Phoenix X

When I was nine, I had to write a story about a school field trip to the zoo. The animals escaped, and I came to the rescue with big guns and futuristic ammunition, Rambo/Schwarzenegger-style. My english teacher had a brief cameo, when I mistook her for a tiger (hey, it was foggy) and pumped her full of lead... and whatever else was in those bullets. She called it "unrealistic". I called it "fiction". I got a B.

That's halerious....I wish my school career was like that.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I knew someone who wrote something amusing and even slightly insulting about a teacher during middle school for a creative writing assignment similar to that test question, but no one really cared too much.

I probably would have tried to come up with a different story to avoid any trouble.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Quote:

And I believe the word Tsunade wanted to use was "cunt".

I believe you're absolutely right! How very unperceptive of me!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Man, I feel sorry for the kid. They really are assholes for doing that. I think the right course of action to take was said earlier...

Originally Posted by Leknaat

Yes it does. Just in the opposite direction. The woman should have told the boy it didn't matter what he wrote on the test--she wouldn't be mad at him.

But instead, she lied to him, and made him scared of school....

Idiot

What the fuck is happening to this world? Personally, if I had that kind of conviction of not answering a question on a test, I wouldn't answer it. What's it to the administration if I don't want to answer it? So much as to get a high pass rate as to completely blow off a student? That's complete bullshit.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

I'm actually curious, what's so bad about public schools?

Well, I suppose it's subjective, really. I like public schools in that there's a LOT of social interaction with many diverse types of people, but most of the public school systems (high school, anyway) that I've seen or been in have had a few nasty flaws.
One is that the classes are too large for the teacher. 30+ kids in the same classroom with one teacher is, unfortunately, probably NOT going to help them all learn at the same speed. It's been shown that some children learn faster or slower than others, and placing them in a class with 30 other kids isn't going to change that, especially when the blocks of time that have been allocated for each class are too short for the teacher to give personal attention to each child. Now, I know what most people would bring up here in reference to my last post, and yes, I agree, if public schools received more funding, they could probably build more classrooms and hire more teachers. That makes sense.
But the second flaw is that the teachers are usually NOT proficient in what they're trying to teach. To put it simply, 80% of all math and science teachers at my senior high school were first and foremost SPORTS COACHES. They also taught Driver's Education classes. They would teach classes out of the textbooks. They would answer questions from the back of the book. And sometimes when the back of the book was wrong due to a typo or something of the sort, I would have to correct them. A student correcting a teacher shouldn't happen THAT OFTEN. Now, once again, yes if they had more funding, they could probably hire BETTER teachers.
But here a problem still remains, the third and biggest one that my school had, which was the administration. Every GOOD teacher we had (and I'm not talking just "fun" teachers, I'm talking teachers that made you want to learn and inspired you, which is what teachers are supposed to do) was FIRED, or was refused a pay raise while one of the ubiquitous sports coaches got his salary practically doubled.

My father taught junior and senior high for about 13 years, and finally ended up quitting due to the politics and shenanigans of the school administration board. He swore if he ever got into teaching again, he would get certain things in writing from the board, before even beginning the job. That's how bad it was in his eyes.

I had it fairly good, in my opinion. I was homeschooled, excelled in math (completing Geometry by the time I was 9, and Algebra by the time I was 12 - learned a bit of pre-cal and trig in between those years as well) and english, though my grammar, punctuation and capitalization all speak contrary to that, I'm sure. When I was 13 I decided I wanted to go to high school, as a 10th-grader. So I did. I fit right in socially, which, in retrospect, was odd - I was always a shy kid, but I felt more at home with people 3-5 years older than me. Then again, it's always been that I felt more at home with friends that were older. Everyone thought of me as "the smart kid" as well, and I had quite a few girls asking me to help them with their homework, which I never took them up on because I was too shy the first two years of school.

I do blame the shyness partially on homeschooling, though. I had very little social interaction, though the interaction I did have has garnered me lifelong friends that I still regularly communicate with to this day. Besides which, a lot of people who go to public schools are very shy anyway, so it's not all the fault of isolation per se.

So overall, public schools are OKAY, but I feel it should be an alternative, rather than the norm. Homeschooling, being taught one-on-one with a parent or guardian, has consistently shown (at least around here) more rapid education. Some would argue that it is also far more biased, but I doubt that, considering how biased teachers can be despite the rules, and besides, kids are going to be influenced by their parents anyway. At least this way you know your mom and dad are actually smart.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?