Drizzt
March 7, 2003, 10:08 AM
Schools punish for self defense
By Aimee Staten, Assistant Editor
The old-fashioned concept of ridding oneself of antagonizers with a show of force -- whether verbal or physical -- no longer flies in most local school districts these days.
In fact, the days when parents could advise their child, who may have complained of threats and harassment while on school property, to punch the other kid in the nose in the name of self defense, are over. If not, that student could find himself, whether wrongly or rightly, in the same boat with the antagonizer.
In the case of Safford High and Middle School, that would be suspension for five days for a first offense, and nine days for a second offense. Thatcher schools exact similar consequences for fighting; The first offense means parents are contacted, the second offense is a short suspension. Thatcher's policy handbook differentiates between fighting and physical assault. With physical assault, the first offense is punished with a short suspension and the second minimum consequence is a long suspension or expulsion.
Dr. Mark Tregaskes, Safford schools superintendent, said that policy was set in place to protect students from being seriously injured. "Our objective is to keep kids from fighting," he said. "If there is any way a student can go for help, that's what we expect them to do." The principals of the individual schools make the determination after hearing both sides of the stories from the students involved in the fight, then bring in witnesses if it is deemed necessary.
Tom and Brenda Blake, parents of 9th grader Elias, feel their son was unjustly punished for defending himself against a person they called a school bully, which resulted in both boys being suspended for five days before and over the Christmas holidays. They also feel his right to due process was violated because he was not allowed to bring in his own witnesses. ". . . It is common practice under the so-called zero tolerance practice arbitrarily administered without justice and supposedly without bias in the Safford school system," they wrote in a letter to the editor two weeks ago.
Both parents attested that their son was not one to pick or engage in a fight for the sake of fighting. "I don't think he's a hot head," Brenda said. "I don't think he's ever been in a fight, that I know of."
To make sure their memories were serving them, they talked to the principal and checked his school records at Triumphant Learning Center, where he attended from the 5th to 8th grade before he was enrolled with the Safford School District. There were no records of fights, according to both parents.
Tom said his son was in the Safford High School Library during lunch Dec. 16 when another junior student approached him and started harassing him. He said witnesses say the librarian asked the boy to leave, but he returned and pushed Elias.
"Elias asked him what his problem was and the boy pushed him into the couch," Tom said. He said his son was walking away from the boy when he was punched in the back of the head by the other boy's fist.
When a senior who was in the library at the time of the fight moved to separate the boys, they were both on the couch wrestling and throwing punches. The only notable injury was to the couch, which was broken during the boys' wrestling match.
"Since he didn't suffer an injury or any permanent damage, they said he wasn't a victim," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "So now if anybody picks on him from now until graduation, he'll be suspended for nine days."
Elias also missed three weeks of basketball practice and seven games during his suspension, during which he was not allowed on the school property for any reason.
According to Tregaskes, the school district does not have a zero tolerance policy, but has a policy that rates the infractions according the degree of seriousness and punishes accordingly. He said the nine-day suspension would not depend on whether the boy was picked on during the remainder of his time in Safford schools, but how he chose to respond to being picked on.
"Things are different these days," he said. "It's a tough call for parents. We have our kids come home and say, so and so keeps bothering me. Then we say, I guess you should just sock him in the nose and be done with it."
That was the way things were done years ago, he said. "But now, with the culture we live in, if one kid hits the student and he hits back, then another pulls out a knife.
"What would have been a bloody nose and a black eye back then could turn out to be so much more than that," Tregaskes said.
The Blakes said they were proud of their son for sticking up for himself. As they wrote in their letter to the editor, they feel their son epitomizes this country's strength and refusal to back down from bullies or "terrorists."
"Terrorists (bullies) we're sure are delighted to hear that our schools are teaching the rising generation to give in to those who seek to take away their rights," they wrote.
Elias said, "As it stands now, they are teaching us to lie down to bullies/terrorists, instead of sticking up for ourselves. In the world outside school self-defense is not a crime."
While the Blakes declined to comment on further action they plan to take on the matter, they said they have not let it drop and would like to encourage other parents to bring their complaints on the discipline policy to Tregaskes and write a letter to the editor.
Tregaskes encouraged parents to call the principals of the schools their children attend to find out when all policies will be reviewed for the next school year. "The principals hold a meeting every year to renew policies and find out if there are concerns with current policies," he said. That is when policies can be amended to better reflect the desires of concerned parents.
http://eacourier.com/display/inn_news/news01.txt
By Aimee Staten, Assistant Editor
The old-fashioned concept of ridding oneself of antagonizers with a show of force -- whether verbal or physical -- no longer flies in most local school districts these days.
In fact, the days when parents could advise their child, who may have complained of threats and harassment while on school property, to punch the other kid in the nose in the name of self defense, are over. If not, that student could find himself, whether wrongly or rightly, in the same boat with the antagonizer.
In the case of Safford High and Middle School, that would be suspension for five days for a first offense, and nine days for a second offense. Thatcher schools exact similar consequences for fighting; The first offense means parents are contacted, the second offense is a short suspension. Thatcher's policy handbook differentiates between fighting and physical assault. With physical assault, the first offense is punished with a short suspension and the second minimum consequence is a long suspension or expulsion.
Dr. Mark Tregaskes, Safford schools superintendent, said that policy was set in place to protect students from being seriously injured. "Our objective is to keep kids from fighting," he said. "If there is any way a student can go for help, that's what we expect them to do." The principals of the individual schools make the determination after hearing both sides of the stories from the students involved in the fight, then bring in witnesses if it is deemed necessary.
Tom and Brenda Blake, parents of 9th grader Elias, feel their son was unjustly punished for defending himself against a person they called a school bully, which resulted in both boys being suspended for five days before and over the Christmas holidays. They also feel his right to due process was violated because he was not allowed to bring in his own witnesses. ". . . It is common practice under the so-called zero tolerance practice arbitrarily administered without justice and supposedly without bias in the Safford school system," they wrote in a letter to the editor two weeks ago.
Both parents attested that their son was not one to pick or engage in a fight for the sake of fighting. "I don't think he's a hot head," Brenda said. "I don't think he's ever been in a fight, that I know of."
To make sure their memories were serving them, they talked to the principal and checked his school records at Triumphant Learning Center, where he attended from the 5th to 8th grade before he was enrolled with the Safford School District. There were no records of fights, according to both parents.
Tom said his son was in the Safford High School Library during lunch Dec. 16 when another junior student approached him and started harassing him. He said witnesses say the librarian asked the boy to leave, but he returned and pushed Elias.
"Elias asked him what his problem was and the boy pushed him into the couch," Tom said. He said his son was walking away from the boy when he was punched in the back of the head by the other boy's fist.
When a senior who was in the library at the time of the fight moved to separate the boys, they were both on the couch wrestling and throwing punches. The only notable injury was to the couch, which was broken during the boys' wrestling match.
"Since he didn't suffer an injury or any permanent damage, they said he wasn't a victim," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "So now if anybody picks on him from now until graduation, he'll be suspended for nine days."
Elias also missed three weeks of basketball practice and seven games during his suspension, during which he was not allowed on the school property for any reason.
According to Tregaskes, the school district does not have a zero tolerance policy, but has a policy that rates the infractions according the degree of seriousness and punishes accordingly. He said the nine-day suspension would not depend on whether the boy was picked on during the remainder of his time in Safford schools, but how he chose to respond to being picked on.
"Things are different these days," he said. "It's a tough call for parents. We have our kids come home and say, so and so keeps bothering me. Then we say, I guess you should just sock him in the nose and be done with it."
That was the way things were done years ago, he said. "But now, with the culture we live in, if one kid hits the student and he hits back, then another pulls out a knife.
"What would have been a bloody nose and a black eye back then could turn out to be so much more than that," Tregaskes said.
The Blakes said they were proud of their son for sticking up for himself. As they wrote in their letter to the editor, they feel their son epitomizes this country's strength and refusal to back down from bullies or "terrorists."
"Terrorists (bullies) we're sure are delighted to hear that our schools are teaching the rising generation to give in to those who seek to take away their rights," they wrote.
Elias said, "As it stands now, they are teaching us to lie down to bullies/terrorists, instead of sticking up for ourselves. In the world outside school self-defense is not a crime."
While the Blakes declined to comment on further action they plan to take on the matter, they said they have not let it drop and would like to encourage other parents to bring their complaints on the discipline policy to Tregaskes and write a letter to the editor.
Tregaskes encouraged parents to call the principals of the schools their children attend to find out when all policies will be reviewed for the next school year. "The principals hold a meeting every year to renew policies and find out if there are concerns with current policies," he said. That is when policies can be amended to better reflect the desires of concerned parents.
http://eacourier.com/display/inn_news/news01.txt