06 May 2011

Discrimination????

Read the following link about a boy in Pennsylvania and a teacher in Washington and then respond to the questions:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110504/tr_ac/8415563_pennsylvania_school_pans_students_patriotic_face_paint

Do you think what the boy did was a distraction to the learning process, how about the teacher who shaved his beard? Did the principals at the two schools act accordingly towards the boy, the teacher? Was the student discriminated against? Was the student being discriminatory, was the teacher?

Thoughts...

17 comments:

rpac said...

I think that what the boy did was a little distracting and what the teacher did was definately distracting. It was unfair how the boy got punished but the teacher got praised, the definition of disrtaction to school needs to be put into hand books so that teachers can't deem everything a student does to express them selves as distracting and to send them home. The school can use inturupting a school day on almost anything and get away with it, what about the boy's 1st amendment rights? He didn't do anything mean or extravigant he just wanted to show some pride in his country. The boy was discriminated against, but I think the principal sent him home because he didn't know how other kids and parents would respond to the situation.

Demetri Savvidis said...

I think that what the boy did was a distraction to the learning process, but only because of the date he had written on his face. I feel as though if the date was not written on him that the school would have had no problem in letting him keep the paint on. But the teacher with the beard must have provided an even bigger distraction. He hasnt' shaved in 3,454 days... Kids that young must have been distracted all day because they have never seen their teacher without a beard. If anything, both created an equal distrubance to the learning enviroment. The principal was wrong to send the boy home though, he should have just had him wash the date off. But the recognition of the teacher shaving wasn't bad, it showed his patriotism. But I dont feel that there was any discriminaqtion.

MGio15 said...

The boy having face paint on was not a distraction in my opinion. All he was doing was showing his patriotism and his pride for our United States military. For a person that young to exhibit such patriotism is rare and should be recognized, rather than getting sent home I think he should have been aloud to wear the paint. The teacher growing his beard out is a bigger distraction than a simple face paint that barely covers a young boy's cheek, the article says that he took jokes and ridicule for this beard clearly showing the distraction in the learning enviroment. People obviously would notice the kid's paint but after a while nobody would care, would the conciquences be the same for him if he was to just wear an american flag t-shirt? both of which serve the same purpose in supporting the people who are risking their lives every day twenty four hours a day for us.

Anonymous said...

I do not think that what the boy or the teacher did was a distraction to the learning process. The boy was just expressing his opinions in a patriotic way, and should not have been punished for what he had done. It is not a distraction to show up at school with face paint on showing the american flag and a date. Had something else been drawn on his face that may not be school appropriate, then it could be considered a distraction. It is not often that patriotic acts are seen in young people so punishing them when they do it, only discourages them from doing it again. I do think that the teacher was also not a distraction just for shaving his beard. It would have been more of a distraction to have the long beard. I do think that the principal at that school did not need to make a speech to all of the students honoring and praising the teacher, that only just brings attention to the issue, and that is what causes the distraction, not the teacher actually shaving his beard. The student was discriminated against because he was sent home for the day, just because he had face paint on. I do not think that either the teacher or student were being discriminatory, they were just expressing there opinions, and were acting in a patriotic way.

SexaySamxoYT said...

I think that what the boy did was distracting only because he put the date of Osama's death on his face. If he didn't then maybe he wouldn't have gotten in trouble. The school probably told him to scrub off the paint because it drew attention to what had just happened in our country and it was posing a distraction on him and the rest of the students. While the school didn't want the students to focus on the event but their schoolwork. The teacher's beard shaving was not as much of a distraction because it was subtler than having face paint on your face with the death of Osama's death on your forehead. Although I feel the school was not fair to the boy because he's a student and a child. The teacher is an adult and so the school handled the situation differently maybe because he was older, and it was a more subtle celebration.

LaurenZenzie said...

I believe that the boy with his face painted was a distraction to the learning process for a few reasons. Firstoff, I agree with Demetri when he stated that the only reason why it was a distraction was because of the date on his face. If the date were not on his face, I feel that the administrators wouldn't have had as big of a problem allowing him in school. I believe that the teacher shaving was more of a distraction than the boy with face paint because of the fact that the kids had never seen him without a beard before. He shaved becuase Osama was dead, and the kids had been so used to him with his beard. I believe that the boy was discriminated against, because he had pride in his country, and got in trouble for it. I believe the principal didn't want to cause further problems in the school, and offend other kids and teachers, so she had to send him home.

aannlockery said...

I don't think that the kid's face paint was distracting, because it's not like the kids were staring at him all during class. If anything it would be distracting to the eachother. But it is just face paint. If anything I think the beard would have been more distracting because it was longer than just a day

Unknown said...

After reading the article, I believe that both the student and the teacher were disrupting the learning environments at their schools. Having said this, I do not think that the Principal at the boys school acted accordingly, and I also do not believe that the principal at the teacher's school acted accordingly. In my opinion, this is a younger kid showing his patriotism in a quiet but bold manner. I'm not saying he should be commended for this, but he certainly should not be ridiculed for it. Even if this boy did not paint his face or do anything, the whole school would be talking about the death of Bin Laden anyways, so why should the boy be discriminated against for simply pointing out the obvious? He was not being discriminatory in any way. The teacher who shaved his beard should get a silent applause. The principal commended him, which I believe was wrong. Clearly it is a noticeable way to show his patriotism and people would also be talking about Osama at his school. The beard just shows this. He was not being discriminatory, nor was he being discriminated against.

Jackie Dubois & Jessica Goldman said...

Wow, these stories sound absolutly ridiculous. The mother of the boy seems like she is crazy. Why would any mother that has the right mindset want to paint her child's face patriotically and send her to school? That poor boy must have been made fun of by other students because it is a very strange act to do. Its not like the young boy knew what he was doing, it was the mothers decision. The man with the beard was a better decision to express his pride in the United States, however i also feel like it was over exaggerated. There is no need to go to durastic measures like these two people did in order to express your feelings on the terrorist attacks of 911. The principal told the boy to take the face paint off and did not want that in the school. However, the principal at the school with the man with the beard supported the teachers decision to show his pride. I do not feel like the boy was discriminated against. Because there was already a set rule on no face paint, it was her job to tell the boy to take it off. Also, I can see how it could be a distraction to other students. I do feel that the mother was discriminating against the teacher because she intentionally broke the rules.

mollyyyyy! said...

I think the boy may have distracted the learning process but I don't think he should have gotten in trouble for it. The teacher who shaved his beard was almost praised for what he did while the kid got in trouble for it. But I also think that him getting in trouble for it was against his first amendment writes. It wasn't anything offensive, it was showing pride in this country and our efforts in the war. I think it was fair though that he got sent home because anyone who came into school isn't aloud to have face paint so this punishment was fair. I do also think though that the man who shaved his beard was a distraction to the school as well. So I don't think one should be praised and one should be punished for what they've done. I don't think he was discriminated against I think it was just the rules the principal was trying to follow.

Anita said...

I think that the boy should be given the right to wear face paint on this day. He is just showing what he believes in and his patriotism in his family. The students should have taken time in class with their teachers and also take time to show that they are greaftufl that now their country is safe from terrorists like Bin Laden. What the teacher did was very surprising becuase he must have known that Bin Laden will get killed one day becuase he couldnt keep on growing his beard forever. Also he shows that he is patriotic to his country.

DOMINIC said...

In my opinion i think that the little boy was in the wrong and the school was justified for there actions. The boy was causing a detraction. The face paint would have caused other kids to point and generate conversations that have a time and a place. I think the teacher was also detracting the learning process, he should have been suspended. His beard shaving would have also brought about conversations that have a place and time. The student was not discriminated against at all. I also believe that the principle did not have to make such a big deal out of what the teacher did. If the teacher would have kept quiet about it and just went about his business.

SeaBassFortuna said...

I believe what this boy did was not a distraction to the learning environment because he has done school face paint before for other occasions, why should this be different? If you're proud of what America did you should show it. For the teacher who had to shave his beard, I think that is ridiculous. A beard is a facial feature and should be allowed. In many cultures a beard represents wisdom and intelligence. Wouldn't that be a good symbol for a teacher? I think both these principals should observe the learning environment before pursuing action. Both these victims were being discriminated against, one victim was being discriminated against for having more American pride than everyone else and the other was being discriminated against for having an awesome beard.

Nicholas said...

I believe that the student was a distraction to the student body becuase kids usually dont have their faces painted during school. this could cause the students to pay more attention to the face paint then the work. also the teacher who shaved his beard was more of a distraction then the student because he was seen for ten years with a beard. by him shaving it could cause the students to be more into his new facial looks then their school work. i dont believe that the kid with the face paint wasn't discriminated againt but the principal of the school just tried to follow rules since that is his job, to enforce the rules in school. no one was discriminated against but they were different situations, the situation with the face paint could have been handled differently but the principal did nothing wrong, but just do his job

Nicholas said...

I believe that the face paint on the student was distraction to the rest of the class. this is because the face paint is different and this could cause other students to go off track and pay more attention to that then their work. i also believe that when the teacher shaved his beard he caused a distraction to his students. this is because the students were use to seeing him with a big beard and when he comes in one day with it all shaved off it could cause the students to pay more attention to his new facial appearence then their work. i dont believe that the litte boy was discriminated against, the prinicpal was just trying to do his job and enforce the rules. the situation could have been handled differently but what the prinicple did was not discriminating.

chongo said...

I think the school prabably had a rule that would not let the student wear face paint to school. It is distracting to the learning process. A good teacher would explain to the student why facepaint is not allowed and try to figure out if the student had any understanding why he had it on. My guess is that his mother made him wear it and that he really had no clue. the teacher should explain what was happening in the world and how people might have different opinions on the issue. Some might think it is a great day. Others might think it is kind of weird to celebrate the murder of someone else, even though he might be a bad dude. This is an opportunity for the teacher to have a good discussion with her students.
As far a sthe teacher goes, he doesn't have a dress code. He should be able to do what he wants. He should also explain what was going on to his students

Jordan Dagata said...

In my opinion, i don't think the boy's face paint would be said as a distraction because he was just showing his spirit and pride for the nation. I don't think it matters that other students and teachers were looking at him weird. Just because his face looked different that day doesn't mean other kids can't still concentrate and learn. The teacher's action of shaving his beard also wasn't a distraction because that is normal for people to do and he did it because of the nation. Just because he doesn't have facial hair anymore, people shouldn't think of him differently or get distracted because of the reason he did it. I don't think the principals should have sent the boy home or told him to wash it off. It is wrong for them to do that when he is just showing his pride. It is the country they are living in too, so it should be okay. I don't think the student or teacher was being discriminatory because they were both just showing their pride for the US and against Bin Laden because of what he did to us.