Who cares? The one kid who was unjustly punished because he wanted no part of the walkout either way.
You're never going to convince me that what they did to this kid was justified. The school created this situation or allowed it to happen and then they get their panties in a twist when one of them goes against the grain.
This kid chose to express his opinion on the matter in his own way but it was INCONVENIENT for the school staff and so they punished him for it. Can you say "Double standard"?
Again, was it unjust? You don't have the information to make that call.
Double standards? Again, you don't have the information to make that call.
I have the same information you have so, until we get more info on the events leading up to the suspension, if you can assume it was justified, I can assume it wasn't.
Going strictly by the information we have, it sounds like the students organized the protest, that it would be political in nature as opposed to a memorial for the kids killed in Florida, and that the teachers either endorsed it or just went along. If that is the case, this means the school allowed the
students to dictate the course of events and put the administration in a position where they then had to give the other kids the two choices as to joining the walkout or going to study hall.
Jacob Shoemaker was not comfortable with these choices because he felt that to do either one would be viewed as taking a stand on the issue and he didn't feel that was right. Plus, he got lots of kudos from other students but he also said a lot of them said nasty things about him such as that he was an awful person and a gun nut who cared nothing for the kids that were killed. This in spite of the fact that he chose to stay in the classroom rather than study hall.
Here is a video of an interview with him by Fox News.
Oh, he was uncomfortable with the choices. Many kids are uncomfortable with the choices that are made for them at school. Some go and get themselves suspended, others do what they're told.
Most of the choices made for the students are not political in nature so yes, he was uncomfortable with the choices and he was justified in feeling that way. And there's a difference between not wanting to take a test, where the only undesirable aspect is that one will have to do some work and study for it, and being placed in a position of having to choose a side on a political issue that may draw ire and antipathy from half the student body. That was his main concern and as it turns out, he was right. In spite of the fact that he chose to remain neutral and remain in the classroom, they
still accused him of not caring for the students that were killed and called him all sorts of vile names.
Maybe those in charge of the school actually agree with the nature of the political protest. However there's nothing wrong with student input into school decisions.
If what some are saying is true, the school made no decisions other than to go along with the students' wishes. In other words, there was no "input" from the students, they and they alone decided what was to transpire.
Students should not be treated as merely drones.
Does that include those who do not wish to follow the crowd and bring politics to school?
Having students actively engage in politics, especially when they're going to be voters in 2,3 or 4 years time would appear to be the right thing to do.
It is the school's responsibility to
educate the students on politics, that's it. There's nothing wrong with encouraging them to get involved, just encourage them to get involved in the community, not at school.
The video, this kid said "I didn't like that there was choice."
So, he made a choice, because he didn't like having to make a choice. What?
So he wanted to be told what to do, when told what to do, he refused to do it.
The he said "students should be able to make a choice and not be forced into a situation by the officials in their school"
Again, this kid is advocating NO CHOICE and CHOICE.
It's not that they made him make a choice, it's that they made him make a choice on a political issue that he felt had no business on school grounds. There's a difference.
There are distinctions here that you and most of those arguing on behalf of the school are overlooking. You make it look like it was just some punk kid being rebellious when you know that is not the case.
I'm not attacking this kid. He's a kid, he's been thrown on FOX and they're trying to make something out of this. He clearly hasn't thought about this properly and potentially he's hiding something. Still no blame for him. I'd do the same thing.
No one "threw him" on Fox, he had the choice to decline the interview. And your disagreeing with him is no indication that he hadn't thought about it properly. Also, it could be that "Potentially he's hiding something" but by the same token, he's potentially
not hiding something.
The school responded by saying "we do not leave students unattended in classrooms"
So the school had no choice.
The school had the choice of stopping the walkout and allowing it to take place after school hours.
So it wasn't forcing him to make a political choice. If you're not participating in this thing, the default mode is "study hall", he decided this was a political thing when it wasn't.
Given that some of the ones who joined the walkout criticized him and called him "gun nut", I would say that
they are the ones who made it a political thing. It was precisely this sort of thing he was trying to avoid when he chose to stay in class but, given the attitude of the pro-gun control crowd and a lot of other liberal minded people, no matter what else he may have done in regards to the walkout, as long as he didn't join the walkout, he's an uncaring,vile gun nut.