Crossing the Atlantic dept.: “In what educationalists have derided as ‘a problematic American reflex’, parents are jumping to the defence of misbehaving or underperforming pupils by calling in lawyers,” reports London’s Daily Telegraph. “Teachers who summon pupils for a disciplinary hearing over even minor incidents often find themselves facing not only the youngster and his mother and father, but also a fully-robed advocate. …French teachers are taking out insurance against legal charges.” (Kim Willsher, “Pupils turn to the law over bad reports”, Jan. 22).
Posts Tagged ‘schools’
L.A. to rename school after Johnnie Cochran, Jr.
The former Mt. Vernon Middle School will be renamed after its most famous alum, the late attorney best known for employing racial demagoguery to spring client O.J. Simpson. Glad we won’t have to be there for the “character education” classes. (AP/Reuters). A small sampling of our Cochran coverage: Aug. 13-14, 2001, Nov. 8-10, 2002, Aug. 29, 2003, Dec. 6, 2004, Mar. 30, 2005.
Unrelatedly, here’s one more logo designed by the prolific and talented David Thomasson (earlier)(about logo series).
Teacher always liked girls better
Assisted by his lawyer dad, 17-year-old Doug Anglin, a senior at Milton High School in suburban Boston, has filed a federal civil rights complaint against his school system for, he says, systematically favoring girls and their ways:
Among Anglin’s allegations: Girls face fewer restrictions from teachers, like being able to wander the hallways without passes, and girls are rewarded for abiding by the rules, while boys’ more rebellious ways are punished.
Grading on homework, which sometimes includes points for decorating a notebook, also favor girls, according to Anglin’s complaint, filed last month with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
”The system is designed to the disadvantage of males,” Anglin said. ”From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you’ll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this.”
(Tracy Jan, “Schoolboy’s bias suit”, Boston Globe, Jan. 26). Although critics such as Christina Hoff Sommers have raised interesting questions about boys’ underperformance in the schools, young Anglin’s lawsuit gets very poor grades from Mike Sierra (Jan. 26):
[The complaint says] boys “naturally rebel.” Could this naturally rebellious behavior have something to do with boys’ special need for supervision in school hallways? Just a thought.
As a way to bolster male achievement (at least on paper), the Anglins recommend that we give out academic credit for playing sports and grade students on a pass/fail basis, measures that are unlikely to improve the education of any student. As far as I can tell, their only legitimate complaint concerns one teacher who gives extra points to students who decorate their writing assignments, a practice that is certainly suspect and academically insubstantial, but hardly worth clogging the courts.
Unrelatedly, here’s a suggested Overlawyered logo (more) devised by the anonymous coordinator of “Blawg Review”, who sets it alongside some very kind words about our linking habits. All very jagged and Barbara Kruger-esque.
“Seasons of Anxiety”
Common Good has prepared a Flash calendar illustrating how fears of being sued influence people month by month over the course of the year — sports, schools, holidays, etc. What, no falling leaves?
“Court decision may frighten fund-raisers”
More on deep-pocket liability for crime, this time from Pennsylvania:
Reversing a lower court, the state Supreme Court ruled 4-2 Wednesday that the parents of a 10-year-old girl assaulted while selling candy for the Punxsutawney Area School District can sue the companies involved in the fund-raiser.
Lawyers on both sides of the case said the decision was likely to have a chilling effect on the wide range of for-profit businesses that help schools and other organizations raise money by sending children door to door.
A lawsuit against the school district was previously dismissed in federal court.
Attorney David Long, who represents the plaintiffs, said school districts “are begging for a lawsuit” if they continue to use such methods to raise funds….
In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Ralph Cappy wrote that he believes the girl’s side ultimately won’t prevail. He said that the fund-raising entities did not need to warn that there “exist in the world evil people who could possibly cause intentional harm to minor students.”
(Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 30).
“N.Y. Judge Refuses to Reverse Wrestling Referee’s Call”
Law.com: “New York Judge Thomas J. Spargo refused to second-guess the referee of a high school championship wrestling match last week, declining to ‘establish a precedent of reviewing and potentially reversing a referee’s judgment call from the distant ivory tower of a judge’s chambers.’ Several judges from the top of the state judicial system to the trial courts have expressed sentiments ranging from disappointment to disgust when competitors turn to the courts to resolve athletic disputes.” (John Caher, New York Law Journal, Dec. 13).
Compiling a list of annoying people
That was apparently all it took to get an eighth-grader thrown out of East Central Junior High in Stronghurst, Ill. Naturally, it’s a zero-tolerance case: “In the post–Columbine massacre environment, [superintendent Ralph] Grimm said it is appropriate to err on the side of caution in these circumstances.” The student also faces possible criminal charges of disorderly conduct. (Craig T. Neises, “Student faces discipline over ‘list”, Burlington (Ia.) Hawk Eye, Nov. 30)(via Taranto)(more zero tolerance).
“Peru eyes lawsuit against Yale over relics”
“Peru is preparing a lawsuit against Yale University to retrieve artifacts taken nearly a century ago from the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, a Peruvian cultural official said Wednesday.” Explorer Hiram Bingham dug up the artifacts during three expeditions to the site in in 1911, 1912 and 1914. (AP/CNN, Nov. 30)(via Dave Zincavage). For a critique of the movement to prescribe “repatriation” of cultural treasures to the countries on whose territory they were originally found, see the article linked here Apr. 28.
Rear Window
An amorous pair of University of Pennsylvania students coupled publicly in front of (and against) a dorm window facing another high-rise dorm; several students with views took photographs, and photographs, as even blurry photographs with three-pixel-long depictions of naughty parts of indeterminate gender do, got passed around by e-mail and ended up on various websites. The University Office of Student Conduct has since charged one of the photographers with sexual harassment, which would go on his permanent record. The next question is what the university will do to the Daily Pennsylvanian, which publishes one of the photos in its article. (Jason Schwartz, “Racy photo lands student in trouble”, Nov. 30 (via Fark); Regina Medina, “Sex-act pix shake Penn”, Philadelphia Daily News, Dec. 1 (via Throwing Things)) .
Update: A commenter informs us that AP reports that Penn has dropped the charges.
Second Update: Dropping charges doesn’t end matters, of course.
[Attorney] Jordan Koko issued a statement on [the photographed student’s] behalf.
“My client is emotionally shattered from this extremely disturbing ordeal. The intense focus on this matter into my client’s identity and image has imposed exceptional emotional and psychological harm,” the statement read.
Koko added that his client’s privacy was invaded in violation of state law and her constitutional rights. He said she “will pursue all her legal options.”
Constitutional rights? Someone is unclear on the concept. (Jason Schwartz, “Photographer escapes charges”, Daily Pennsylvanian, Dec. 2). The FIRE blog is similarly unimpressed with Koko’s reasoning.
Apology for redundant questions
Katie Newmark notes the following apology on her University of Chicago grad-school application:
Due to circumstances beyond our control, some race and ethnicity questions on this application are redundant. Most of this information is used to provide ad hoc reports on applicant diversity to government agencies. We apologize for the incovenience.