Thursday, September 29, 2011

Kid Wins One Against His Principal

Everyone likes a good stupid teacher or stupid administrator story, and you've got to cheer that the underdog won in this case:
The high school principal who pushed to suspend a 14-year-old autistic boy for running onto the field during halftime of a football game while wearing a banana man costume has resigned.

Karen Spillman lasted less than two months at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, Va. The superintendent wouldn't say why Spillman is officially out.

Bryan Thompson became an Internet folk hero after he ended up in handcuffs in the back of a police car following his Sept. 16 stunt.
The full story, and the comments afterward, do not paint a flattering picture of the principal. At all. No matter how you try to spin it.

3 comments:

mrelliott said...

You mean she wasn't promoted to her "highest level of inadequacy?" My last district would've stuck her somewhere in central administration.

Glad education is minus one less bafoon!

Steve USMA '85 said...

Can you clear this one up for me Darren? A kid disrupts a school function. He is taken away from the venue so he can't cause further disruption. He's suspended for the disruption.

The principal is the bad person? What am I missing here?

People didn't think the punishment fit the crime? That is what the appeals process is for. Really don't understand why the principal needs to lose her job over this. Nor do I understand why I should feel sorry for the student.

Darren said...

The punishment doesn't fit the crime, and there's plenty of word out there that the principal is a bully; these lines from the article indicate that:
"The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) got involved after the school attempted to keep students from wearing T-shirts supporting the 'Banana Man.' A few students were punished with Saturday detention for their wardrobe decision. That suspension has since been retracted.".

I'm not supporting a student's breaking the rules, I'm supporting the removal of what seems to be a martinet.