The Write Stuff

Principal: Now Stevie, do you know why I called you down to my office?

Stephen: Yes, Mr. Blake.

Principal: Why is that, Stevie?

Stephen: Mrs. Hallfa didn't like my essay.

Principal: It's not a matter of liking, young man. Your essay was very twisted. Sick. Disturbed. We can't have that in our school. Not on my watch.

Stephen: It was just a story!

Principal: Pig's blood? Dirty pillows? Killing people at prom? What kind of sick joke are you trying to play Mr. King? I can't have our youth plotting to ruin a high school institution like prom night. Anarchy, that's what you're preaching.

Stephen: It's fiction. It's about the supernatural. You don't really believe a teenage girl could make knives fly, do you?

Principal: I think you need some time off to think about the gravity of what you've done. You've made a mockery of this school and all we stand for here.

Stephen: Homogenized mediocrity?

Principal: Are you saying there are homosexuals attending this school? How dare you make such implications. We're a God-fearing community, you best learn that now. You're expelled for three days, young man. I suggest you return with an improved attitude.

Stephen: Or a three-book contract.

Read about the student who turned in a violent essay during a 'free write' session at school and ended up charged by the police.
Dig into the archives to see excerpts of the essay, and watch the whole sordid story unfold.

What should a school do if a student turns in a disturbing essay? First, does the student have a history of disturbing actions? Or a 4.2 grade point average? A laundry list of disciplinary problems? That's yet to be proven. Have his parents failed to show for requested conferences? Has he shown physically violent or aggressive behavior towards his peers or superiors? No? Then why would calling the police be the first line of action?

It's a safety issue, school officials say. Police filed two disorderly conduct charges against Allen Lee, after being called by school officials. Sorry, but knee-jerk overreaction does not a safer school make.

Why not bring the student and his parents in for a conference with a psychologist present? Give the student a chance to explain his intentions.

Explain why his comments aren't 'funny' and won't be treated as such. Make it clear that in today's climate such an essay is inappropriate and harmful. Make counseling sessions with a psychologist mandatory before he can return to class. Involve the parents in his treatment and insist on family counseling as well.

Give him a zero on the assignment, and ask that he write another. Not so much for credit, but as a 'teachable moment'. After all, we are supposed to be teaching our youth. Oh, wait, arresting them is so much easier.

Oh, and don't you just love the Marine Corps rejecting him? Like they don't need warm bodies. Especially ones with a propensity for violence. What a joke. Every day our military 'bends the rules' to get recruits, frequently making 'records' like a few disorderly conduct convictions disappear.

Hope Lee gets the last laugh and turns this whole thing into a movie of the week for big bucks. It certainly looks as if the State's Attorney's case is falling apart.