Fort Worth student serves suspension for saying ‘homosexuality is wrong’

[chaya]

FT. WORTH, Texas A 14-year-old high school student in Fort Worth was suspended after remarking to a classmate in his German language class that he believes homosexuality is wrong.

Comments

[sesmo]

I want to hear the other side of the story. If it's true that he just made this random comment to the guy behind him (I'm going to go with, um, no) then he shouldn't have been suspended. He should have been told to stop talking to his friends in class and pay attention.

Also, story => bullshit meter on high.

[gargoylekitty]

then he shouldn't have been suspended

Even if that was the case, I don't see why not. Folks are saying it's not bullying, and it might not seem that way to some degree, but I can sure as anything bet than if there was a single gay student in that classroom who heard it they certainly felt it as a blow.

[thecityofdis]

Because it's a gross overreaction. The guy who beat the shit out of me didn't get suspended - I'm not saying that's ideal and the system we need to uphold, but there needs to be SOME kind of middle ground; and if the story's true as stated, this ain't it.

[gargoylekitty]

But the person who beat you should have been suspended and possibly expelled. Just because they weren't doesn't mean someone who's done less shouldn't be punished.

Though yeah, I'll grant maybe suspension was a bit much though I've known plenty suspended for less. Also, looking back, it doesn't state if this was out-of-school or in-school suspension. I can't see in-school suspension being overkill here, depending on what options the school has for punishment, the one I went to that was lowest level.

I mean, just because it was supposedly private conversation doesn't mean it couldn't contribute to a hostile environment for other students and shouldn't be punished, especially if the school has a policy on hate speech.

[romp]

The guy who beat the shit out of me didn't get suspended

You see the problem with this, right?

I think people are tired of kids killing themselves. Stating "[what you are] is wrong" is a dangerous mindset and should be taken seriously. This is an extreme reaction but I like the idea of removing students making statements of intolerance so the class can return to being a safe place.

[redstar826]

I'd rather see the school try to teach him why what he said was wrong and inappropriate rather than just making him stay home for day. Have the teacher talk with him after school. Make him write an essay about how homophobic bullying hurts gay students. I don't know, just suspending him seems like the wrong move here.

[gargoylekitty]

Did he stay home for the day? If so, yeah, that's not really punishment. Idk, at my school suspension as typically in-school and, in some cases or if all your teachers didn't send your work to the classroom it's held at, you had to fill out a form about what you did wrong.

[redstar826]

interesting question. I always thought suspension=you don't go to school that day. That's how it was at my school (the hilarious part was that if you got caught skipping a class, you would get suspended for a day LOL). If it was in school suspension, and they made some effort to teach him why what he did was wrong, I'd be cool with that.

[roseofjuly]

At my school there were two types of suspension - in-school (ISS) and out-of-school. ISS was a real punishment. It was boring and tedious. It didn't teach you why what you did was wrong, but it was bad enough that you never wanted to do it again. (I got ISS once for wearing shorts that were too short. Mind you, they weren't actually too short - they just weren't finger-tip length, which at the awkward age of 14 was about the tops of my knees. Combine that with an asshole administrator and you get me in ISS.)

OSS was...well, it was a day home. *shrug* That all depended on your parents. Some parents who cared made the day hell for you so you never wanted to do it again, but if the parent disagreed with the punishment, it was just a day home.