Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Victim...Says Who?

I have been following this court case since it began; and I'm outraged. As a future educator, I like to think I have a fairly accurate idea of the importance of safe schools. With all of the new cases of students committing suicides because of bullying, I would think that teachers, administrators, and school boards would take this very seriously. So why, then, did the principal feel the need to ask what kind of underwear the female student was wearing?! Are you kidding me? His reasoning is something along the lines of getting a good idea of what was "exposed", to "determine the severity of the matter". Who cares?! Does the fact that this young man pulled down two students pants in gym class not sound like a good enough reason to take disciplinary action? Any action at all? It doesn't matter what was exposed, the fact is that every student has the right to keep their "private parts" private. That's just general knowledge. Even if that female student was wearing underwear that covered that entire section of her body, that does not lesson the embarrassment of the situation, nor does it make her feel more safe at school. This mother, in my opinion, had every right to talk to the principal in this manner, because he simply wasn't listening and was asking questions that were in no way appropriate. I don't think it's appropriate in any case, not even this one, for an adult male to ask what kind of underwear a young female student was wearing. All he should have to know is that another student violated her right to privacy, and that should be enough. Why is this mother having to take all of this action to protect the rights that the school should have taken more seriously? It seems like the "bully" in this case should be the one having to address officials, not the mother of this violated middle-schooler. It's about time that everyone in schools, including teachers, parents, administrators, and other faculty, start taking initiative to make schools a safer place for our students. Statistics show that students learn better and retain more information when they feel safe...isn't this one of the obvious answers to the education crisis? Safer Schools = Better Learners.

1 comment:

  1. Sarrah, This is the first time for me hearing about this case and after reading your blog, I immediately had to google it! I think its great that the mother is sticking up for her daughter and pushing for her personal rights. Although this matter could be pushed to the side easily, its nice to see it becoming a national case and having more awareness to how serious this matter is! I am appalled by the principals comment but I get this slight notion that the comment may have not originated from him. Maybe some form of higher up power in the school district chain gave the idea of that question being justifiable. Regardless, this needs to be looked at more seriously and private privacy is our right as Americans.

    ReplyDelete