Student suspended for using term 'illegal alien' in English class
by Brianna Kraemer
The Carolina Journal
April 15, 2024
https://www.carolinajournal.com/student-suspended-for-using-term-illegal-alien-in-english-class/

A boy was given a vocabularly assignment, including the word "alien". He
asked about space aliens or "illegal aliens without green cards". He
had heard the terms on the news and wanted to understand what was being
asked of him. He wasn't directing it at Hispanics but anyone from
another country.

A Hispanic boy threatened to fight him, so the teacher called the
assistant principal who solved the problem by deeming the question
"offensive and disrespectful to classmates who are Hispanic".

The boy who asked the question was suspended for three days and has a
black mark on his permanent record which could interfere with getting a
college scholarship. The other boy who took offense and made the threat
was not disciplined at all.

Gee. The teacher could have made this a teachable moment on use of
vocabulary (I could have sworn that was the assignment) and seeing
things from the perspective of another to not give offense and holding
one's temper to not take offense. But there's always an assistant
principal to make things worse.

Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> Student suspended for using term 'illegal alien' in English class
> by Brianna Kraemer
> The Carolina Journal
> April 15, 2024
> https://www.carolinajournal.com/student-suspended-for-using-term-illegal-alien-in-english-class/
>
> A boy was given a vocabularly assignment, including the word "alien". He
> asked about space aliens or "illegal aliens without green cards". He
> had heard the terms on the news and wanted to understand what was being
> asked of him. He wasn't directing it at Hispanics but anyone from
> another country.
>
> A Hispanic boy threatened to fight him, so the teacher called the
> assistant principal who solved the problem by deeming the question
> "offensive and disrespectful to classmates who are Hispanic".
>
> The boy who asked the question was suspended for three days and has a
> black mark on his permanent record which could interfere with getting a
> college scholarship. The other boy who took offense and made the threat
> was not disciplined at all.
>
> Gee. The teacher could have made this a teachable moment on use of
> vocabulary (I could have sworn that was the assignment) and seeing
> things from the perspective of another to not give offense and holding
> one's temper to not take offense. But there's always an assistant
> principal to make things worse.
>

Let’s point out that these aren’t little kids. These aren’t second graders.
These are 16-year-olds. These are young men, halfway through high school,
old enough to drive.

People in the school administration need to lose their jobs over this.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On 4/24/2024 9:42 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
> Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>> Student suspended for using term 'illegal alien' in English class
>> by Brianna Kraemer
>> The Carolina Journal
>> April 15, 2024
>> https://www.carolinajournal.com/student-suspended-for-using-term-illegal-alien-in-english-class/
>>
>> A boy was given a vocabularly assignment, including the word "alien". He
>> asked about space aliens or "illegal aliens without green cards". He
>> had heard the terms on the news and wanted to understand what was being
>> asked of him. He wasn't directing it at Hispanics but anyone from
>> another country.
>>
>> A Hispanic boy threatened to fight him, so the teacher called the
>> assistant principal who solved the problem by deeming the question
>> "offensive and disrespectful to classmates who are Hispanic".
>>
>> The boy who asked the question was suspended for three days and has a
>> black mark on his permanent record which could interfere with getting a
>> college scholarship. The other boy who took offense and made the threat
>> was not disciplined at all.
>>
>> Gee. The teacher could have made this a teachable moment on use of
>> vocabulary (I could have sworn that was the assignment) and seeing
>> things from the perspective of another to not give offense and holding
>> one's temper to not take offense. But there's always an assistant
>> principal to make things worse.
>>
>
> Let’s point out that these aren’t little kids. These aren’t second graders.
> These are 16-year-olds. These are young men, halfway through high school,
> old enough to drive.
>
> People in the school administration need to lose their jobs over this.

Might've had to be in the classroom. Maybe even in the class. For days.

In article <v0afbg$27a2q$1@dont-email.me>,
"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

> Student suspended for using term 'illegal alien' in English class
> by Brianna Kraemer
> The Carolina Journal
> April 15, 2024
> https://www.carolinajournal.com/student-suspended-for-using-term-illegal-alien
> -in-english-class/
>
> A boy was given a vocabularly assignment, including the word "alien". He
> asked about space aliens or "illegal aliens without green cards". He
> had heard the terms on the news and wanted to understand what was being
> asked of him. He wasn't directing it at Hispanics but anyone from
> another country.
>
> A Hispanic boy threatened to fight him, so the teacher called the
> assistant principal who solved the problem by deeming the question
> "offensive and disrespectful to classmates who are Hispanic".
>
> The boy who asked the question was suspended for three days and has a
> black mark on his permanent record which could interfere with getting a
> college scholarship. The other boy who took offense and made the threat
> was not disciplined at all.

Before the ACLU became a quasi-communist political action committee,
this is the kind of case they would have instantly jumped on. Now
citizens are left to fund their own lawsuits if they want to hold the
government accountable for violating the 1st Amendment.
>
> Gee. The teacher could have made this a teachable moment on use of
> vocabulary (I could have sworn that was the assignment) and seeing
> things from the perspective of another to not give offense and holding
> one's temper to not take offense. But there's always an assistant
> principal to make things worse.

On Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:20:00 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>Gee. The teacher could have made this a teachable moment on use of
>vocabulary (I could have sworn that was the assignment) and seeing
>things from the perspective of another to not give offense and holding
>one's temper to not take offense. But there's always an assistant
>principal to make things worse.

Absolutely - I just got through watching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LtJMWilTMc
about "the strictest schoolmaster in England" where she emphasized
they had an extremely ethnically diverse campus. Her point was to
emphasize that their approach was to emphasize team-building and that
team-building was about people putting aside their personal ambitions
for the good of the whole - and emphasizes that kids are part of their
class and their teams within a class and that her system only works
when everybody pulls together despite their differences. And of course
pointed to their UK academic awards to prove their success.

On the other hand in 12th grade I remember being pulled out of class
by our vice principal to tutor a student who had just moved into our
area from halfway across the country. (It was math and I had finished
top 10 in a national math contest) My only objection was that the vice
principal hadn't pull me out of class 10 minutes earlier as I had just
changed into my gym gear and had to do senior algebra in my t-shirt
and shorts.... (this vice principal later became principal at the
school my late mother taught at - his daughter later became mayor)

On Wed, 24 Apr 2024 06:42:54 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>Let’s point out that these aren’t little kids. These aren’t second graders.
>These are 16-year-olds. These are young men, halfway through high school,
>old enough to drive.
>
>People in the school administration need to lose their jobs over this.

I agree - and if anything the other kid should have been the one
suspended - he after all was the one who had threatened to fight which
is quite a bit more than simply calling him a name.

And THIS sort of 'conflict resolution' is precisely the sort of thing
any teacher and CERTAINLY any vice principal should know without
needing special instruction.

(I trained to become a teacher and gave it up after one year of
teaching and we were certainly taught that in teacher's college)