Student expelled for this?

[RichTheDude]

Often I complain about "health and safety" ruining society, making it devoid of common sense in addition to wrapping the population up in cotton wool. The following recent news story just sums up everything I think about such mentalities, and to be quite honest, it really roils me.

https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/02/florida-science-experiment-charges

https://blogs.scientificamerican.co...s-support-for-kiera-wilmot-solidarity4wilmot/

I am all for doing things in a safe manner, but I am also fully capable of assessing risks and determining if something is an acceptable risk. I would hope schools would starting granting such freedom at 16 - my school definitely did! Making a few mistakes is essential in life, you learn not to do them again!

They are going out of their way to limit this girls chances of success in life, for something which I class as utterly trivial. A criminal record for this is just absurd, in my opinion this should be a minor SCHOOL misdemeanor at best.

The complete lack of common sense from all involved beggars belief. I thought such attitudes was limited to the UK and EU, but they seem to have infested in the US now. How on earth can you get charged if no one got hurt, and no damages have been made?

Any comments or thoughts?

 

[Sangoma]

Freedom? Liberty? Justice???

Do the school staff have such low self esteem that they can not handle something like this?

Maybe they think they will get brownie points by making a big fuss, and destroying the kids future.

 

[jpanhalt]

Yes, there are people in the United States, and perhaps in other Western countries too, who are all too willing to give up freedom for a promise of safety from terrorism.

Unbeknownst to many, we have apparently now given up the freedom to be a child. There are many of these outrageous excesses by school authorities in our news. One child was punished for pointing a croissant at another child. Another child, who happened to be deaf, was punished for making the ASL sign for his name, which happened to be "Hunter."

Let's hope the craziness ends before we all have criminal records.

John

 

[killivolt]

I thought such attitudes was limited to the UK and EU, but they seem to have infested in the US now. How on earth can you get charged if no one got hurt, and no damages have been made?

Any comments or thoughts?

It's about media hype and profit. They don't care what the public thinks, although you would think the public would be outraged? all this hype seems to capitulate on the News Wire, it adds fuel to the fire.

That somehow the public needs protection from itself. The Educators are afraid of it's Students, just as a Prison Guard is afraid of it's inmates. The truth is children need an Education not a Nanny.

They would never publicize anyone who cares about their rights or the loss of them, it's counter productive to the Media Hype Machine.

 

[Sangoma]

Yes, there are people in the United States, and perhaps in other Western countries too, who are all too willing to give up freedom for a promise of safety from terrorism.



John

On paper, that looks kind of reasonable.

But here it is used as an excuse for the teachers daft behaviour.

Also, if they can not distinguish between a child's (naughty) activities, and terrorist action, how can they possibly offer any safety from real terrorism?

Yes, similarly stupid things happen in the UK to. Child protection for example, has gone to extremes, simply because they are not able to address the real problems, so that attack anything.

 

[tcmtech]

What makes the news now just saddens me. If any kid did what I did back in school just 20 - 25 years ago today they would be shot with tranquilizer guns straight jacketed and hauled off by a swat team to jail never to return unless drugged out of their head on ritalin or other similar drugs.

 

[killivolt]

What makes the news now just saddens me. If any kid did what I did back in school just 20 - 25 years ago today they would be shot with tranquilizer guns straight jacketed and hauled off by a swat team to jail never to return unless drugged out of their head on ritalin or other similar drugs.

You crack me up

 

[Pommie]

I'm amazed that my friends and I ever reached adulthood, we made and set off so many "bombs" just for the fun of it. I think we started with sodium bicarbonate and vinegar and ended with TNP (Trinitro picrite). Maybe I was born in a golden age where experimenting was considered normal. However, compared to this kid we were amateurs, imagine if someone did that today.

On the subject of terrorists, armed with the right knowledge, explosives can be made from very common household items.

Mike.

 

[tcmtech]

You crack me up

Seriously I grew up in rural ND where it was common to have high school kids bring high powered hunting rifles and shotguns to school during hunting seasons and leave them in their vehicles or the schools office for the day or walk down the hallway with them going to hunter's safety class.

I can even recall one time a buddy of mine brought his dads sawed off shotgun to school to show what a real illegal shotgun looks like. If I recall the legal limit was something like 20 inches and this one was 18.

I saw compound bows, crossbows and assorted firearms every year of my life at school and never once did anyone think twice about them being there.

I think one of our teachers even brought an antique black powder musket once that was well over 100 years old and word was after school he and a couple of other teachers plus the principle along with a bunch of kids went to the baseball field and fired it off a few times. No one even raised an eyebrow about it in the whole town.

Yep today we would be on national news with black helicopters circling the town for such blatant disregard for public safety for such things and the whole school would be in jail! .

 

[BeerBelly]

Although these can be pretty serious chemicals, I don't see from these articles that the girl had an understanding of primary and secondary explosives. I don't therefore believe she was trying to hurt anyone.

She should experiment in the garage. School these days is not the place to learn anyway.

 

[dougy83]

You could always sign the petition at https://www.change.org/petitions/state-attorney-jerry-hill-drop-charges-against-kiera-wilmot