Student sues over IM-related suspension

[Jeff]

News.com reports that a student in New York has sued the school district -- and lost -- over a suspension he received for using a threatening AIM buddy icon.

The icon showed a gun pointing to a head, a bullet leaving the gun, and blood splattering from the head. It included the words "Kill Mr. VanderMolen," the name of Aaron's English teacher at Weedsport Middle School.

The boy used the buddy icon for a period of about three weeks. Other students considered is a joke, but apparently Mr. VanderMolen was not so amused. In fact, the story reports that he "was scared, concerned and felt sick to his stomach upon reading the message. He asked to be removed from teaching the English class because he was concerned for his safety and that of his 6-month-old child. The school principal claimed that VanderMolen appeared anxious and fearful."

The student's attorney argued that his buddy icon was an expression of free speech. The court ruled in favor of the school district.

The student may very well have meant it as a joke, as appears to be the case, but in a world where school shootings can and do happen, did his buddy icon cross the line? Are there some things that just shouldn't be said, even as a joke, or does anything go?

[PolarBearNPR]

Yikes! Yeah - that crossed the line. It's scary enough being a teacher. Kids bigger than you, and certainly more aggressive. Parents standing up for their lazy-butt, lying, cheating, stealing, threatening child under cover of free speech and threatening legal action at the least and bodily harm at the most. I've been in situations where I've felt anxious/nervous about getting into my car after handing out earned failing grades; not knowing if *something* was done to cause malfunction. But I won't be bullied into giving grades that aren't earned; or rewarding cheaters with credit. When they get in the real world, it won't be an F they're getting it will be fired and maybe worse.

Ya know, with Bill & Melinda Gates' Foundation (recently in the news) - one of the areas they are heavily involved in is ensuring that our kids graduate high school and continue on to college. Well, we've got to help teachers help these kids get there, not just pass them along and accept bad behavior, etc. And this will take more than money thrown at graduates. It will take support of teachers and schools, and mandated behavior, study habits, good citizenship, etc. for this vision to materialize.

I think the foundation can go a long way towards that goal, but it will take us all, not just the kids, not just the schools, not just the teachers, not just the parents, but all of us working together. And I also think if we leave a few folks out (politicians) we would all be that much closer to those goals.

[Oreo]

I have to agree, that icon crossed the line. Having taught high school, and experiencing a school lock down because of a bomb scare and having a kid make a "gun" sign at me...yeah...that kid crossed the line. I really agree that everyone has to work together and everyone has to change the way they approach education AND SUCCESS AND FAILURE.
Parents cover their kids' butts because their kids CANNOT fail...well here's a wake up call...failure can be a DAMN good motivator! I was far from a straight A student in school...but I had my share and worked my ass off for those I got. But I also have Ds and Cs in my past, those were BIG motivators! It sucked BIG TIME at the time, but it made me approach things differently.
My parents were supportive, yes, but I was on my own. If I screwed up, then I had to fix it, and I HATED them at the time, but I'm glad they did it. One cannot go through life gliding through, having Mommy and Daddy clean up their messes, and when all else fails "I'll just pretend to kill the person who is pissing me off." And in some cases that DOES indeed happen. If people (yes KIDS ARE PEOPLE!) learn to deal with problems and accept responsiblity for them, they cope better with life and the world is a much better place.

[Tea Granny]

Of course an icon like that crosses the line!

Who wouldn't be frightened to see their name on an icon like that?

I wonder what that kid would have said if the icon was about him and was being passed around by other kids that didn't like him?

He got a well deserved suspension in my opinion.

[Jeff]

I for one am glad that the court decided in favor of the school district in this case. It seems that every year, the boundaries are stretched and "anything goes" becomes more common. The result is a lack of discipline. A lack of awareness that there are boundaries that should not be crossed.