Easily suspended, can destroy their lives.

Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , in Minneapolis, MN, Race Card

Jill Shortreed
Maplewood, MN

My nephew is half Native American. He was kicked out of school for carrying a box cutter in his pocket that he used at work. There is a zero tolerance policy, so even though he had only a few months left before graduation, he wasn’t just suspended, he was kicked out. His life hasn’t been the same since.

I thought of my nephew when I heard that Trayvon Martin had been suspended from school. Why is it so easy to show them the door for mistakes that used to be part of learning? Would things have turned out differently if they had still been in school? I wonder…

Tagged with → • • • • • • • • • • •  
  • http://www.indiebusinessnetwork.com Donna Maria Coles Johnson

    This is an interesting issue. There are many lessons here, and one is that there are consequences to breaking school safety rules. The other is that one bad mistake does not have to ruin your life.

    If the rule is no box cutters at school, and the school did an adequate job of giving notice of the rule, the young man had alternatives. For example, he could have asked his employer if he could store the box cutter at work. This would have avoided the school problem entirely, and he would have always been prepared for work. Shouldn’t we teach our children that school safety rules must be followed, or adverse consequences of an unwelcome sort will follow?

    I’m sorry he has not been the same since. Of course, it’s never too late to get help, right? Are there people around him now who can encourage him to forgive himself and push forward toward his goals? Everyone makes mistakes. I hope it’s not too late for people to remind him that the joy of life does not have to end because you made a serious mistake at a young age.

    Being kicked out is being shown the door, but it need not be a death sentence.

    I didn’t know Trayvon Martin had been suspended from school. Still, it’s not the suspension that destroyed him, is it? I mean, he wasn’t shot during school hours, right? It seems to me that the person who shot him is what destroyed his life and robbed him of any chance to go back to school and do better the next time around.

    I do hope your nephew gets the help and encouragement he needs to pick himself up and move on with his life.