As a short followup to yesterday's story, the East Rockaway, New York, students who were banned from their prom and graduation ceremonies due to their participation in a water balloon fight are still banned.
School district officials heard what the participants, and their parents, had to say about the ban, but they ultimately decided that since warnings were sent out in writing about the consequences of engaging in this activity, they kept the ban in place.
Each of the participants' situations were looked at on an individual basis, and the ban was kept intact. It is not known how many of the 50 students who participated in this fight are part of the ban.
As I wrote yesterday, one of my sources said that some of the balloons were not only filled with water, but might have been filled with urine and Nair. Nair uses various chemical compounds to aid hair removal, including calcium hydroxide, also known as lime. This can be an irritant if it gets in someone's eyes or mouth.
This is completely unsubstantiated, but if it is true, it adds to the mess.
Kids had to dodge the balloons on a traffic-filled street, and administrators and a crossing guard were also pelted.
Bravo to the school administration on this one. They did their due diligence--they reviewed each case individually--and they stood their ground.
It is not as if the kids didn't know not to participate in this action. Notices were sent out on two occasions, and parents and kids should have realized that the ramifications to this action were great.
I love how the parents are protecting their wonderful children on this one. Obviously, they didn't do a real good job, because they lost their case.
Now, the parents have a chance to explain to their kids that because of their stupid actions, they robbed them of the feeling of accomplishment that goes with going to a graduation and seeing your child receive their diploma.
I had that feeling last year when my daughter graduated college. It is a good feeling, one that these parents, because of their own stupidity and the stupidity of their children, might never experience.
The prom is one thing--not everyone goes to the prom--but to miss out on graduation, well that is a shame.
I also heard from my source that this is a school district that will back its students to the highest degree, but when the district gets backed into a corner, like they did in this incident, they understandably have zero tolerance.
No, these kids aren't angels by any stretch of the imagination, and yes, they deserve their punishment.
The saddest part of this is that the school is teaching these kids what is right and what is wrong, instead of their parents.
Yes, that is the saddest thing about this incident, not that the kids lost their graduation, but that the schools have become the parents, because the parents have failed.
How sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment