Honor student punished for buying Skittles
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- March
- 12
Michael Sheridan, an eighth-grader in Connecticut, bought a bag of Skittles in the hallway of his middle school. Because this is against school rules, he’s been suspended from school, will miss an honors student dinner and will have to give up his title as class vice president. You can read all about it in the New Haven Register.
My initial reaction was: “Wow, is the school nuts? This seems pretty extreme over candy, a food all of us as adults enjoyed in childhood without anyone turning it into a federal case.” Then, I started thinking about federal cases, in particular the one that’s unfolding here in New York. There are some interesting parallels going on. Eliot Spitzer broke some laws and he’s going to lose his office over it. But, the question must be asked: Are the school’s rules regarding candy as reasonable as our nation’s laws regarding money transfers and prostitution? In other words: Should a student be punished as severely as Sheridan is being punished for breaking rules that weren’t even rules a few short years ago? (Plus, it’s candy! Moms buy their kids candy! It’s harmless — unless you happen to eat it in large quantities, but that’s another issue. I wonder if this school that’s so keen to prevent children from ingesting one stray sugar molecule also has fully funded its gym programs?)
(I want to add: I don’t think the child should receive no punishment. After all, he did break a rule. But the punishment meted out seems in excess of the crime. Missing a dinner to honor his academic achievements seems counterproductive and stripping him of his class title seems overzealous. The analogy with Spitzer would be, I think, if he had been caught speeding. Sure, he would have been embarassed and met with censure for breaking the law. But would he have had to resign as governor? I don’t think so. The punishment should fit the crime.)
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pm by Julie Moran Alterio.
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WE used to get punished for candy as well, in Parochial school. However, loosing a position over it?
nah we would have to wear it on our nose or something. or write a report. But kicked out ? never.
i cant stand people ..
This is a perfect example of the death of common sense in our society.
Even if having candy is against school rules, it’s certainly not an offense serious enough to warrant the measures the school originally took. What were they thinking?
Probably a trade mark violation. The school is only supposed to supply Reeses pieces. :-0
Its all PC now. I cant stand society anymore. Resistance will soon be futile. We or the BORG.
I cannot believe this. And I agree with David V. that this is the death of common sense.
The child’s past academic achievements are rendered null and void because he bought CANDY? Sure, punish him for violating the rules, but having him miss the honor roll dinner and stripping him of his vice presidency seems really silly.
I think school leaders and parents really have to think before administering punishment. I find myself thinking twice or three times about how to punish my children when they’ve done something wrong. I want them to understand the seriousness of the situation, but I don’t want to completely crush their spirit, if that’s not warranted.
I think there’s nothing wrong with punishing kids when they do something wrong, but the punishment has to fit the crime.
Just as we don’t sentence somebody to a year in prison because their parking meter ran out before they got back to their car, it makes no sense to strip away academic achievements from a child for eating candy. It’s so absurd that it’s laughable. And I’m a person who generally believes in strict school discipline.
But to hurt a child academically for such a trivial offense goes against everything the school should be trying to do. This is especially true considering that this school district (New Haven) is one that should be doing all in its power to improve its academic standing.
I could well understand harsh measures if the student did something to endanger the safety or undermine the learning environment of other students or school staff, but eating candy just doesn’t rise to that level. Or even close.
This is stupid. An honors kid who is a leader is forced to give up a leadership position and not get honored for doing well in school by the school?!
School is supposed to be about academic achievement. It is also supposed to be about nurturing leadership.
Let me also not ask the question of who allowed candy in the hallway of the school which is supposed to be illegal.