B.W.

This is the big headline of the day. I guess this means there'll be a German position open at Mariemont High soon. Were it Hamilton, I'd have been fired already.

Parents Sue Over Students' Punishment For Drinking

LAST UPDATE: 4/26/2004 6:52:09 PM

A federal judge heard arguments Monday from parents upset the Mariemont School District disciplined their children for drinking beer while taking part in a student exchange program in Germany.
Nineteen students flew to Munich in March, where they spent twelve days in the school sponsored program. While the drinking age for beer in Germany is sixteen, Mariemont High School code does not allow students to consume any alcohol during school functions.
Seventeen of the students ended up being disciplined over the drinking incident. Some of the parents said the school was out of line.
Local 12 reporter Jeff Hirsh was at federal court when the hearing was held, where U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott was asked to decide whether the school or parents had ultimate control of the students overseas.
The lawsuit by two of the parents said they verbally gave their children permission to take part in German culture, which includes beer. The school argued the student code of conduct clearly states that behavior is not permitted, and there was no waiver or violation of parental rights.
According to the suit, the school board suspended seventeen of the students from three to five days. However, after an appeal, the punishment was reduced to five consecutive Saturdays of community service.
"I think all the kids and parents feel, as one mother put it, a slap in the face about doing what they did," said Richard Ward, a stepfather of one of the students. "They have permission to do what they did, and should not have to hang their heads and feel like they did something wrong. We want to vindicate their rights. Parents have rights, too."
Ward said the student conduct code is for school events only. He said Mariemont should have what some other districts have, a specific form for parents to sign concerning alcohol overseas.
Student reaction varied over the punishment. "I think there's a lot of mixed feelings," said senior Emily Lapointe. "A lot of people think they should take responsibility, but there's also a lot of anger at the administration for giving them the suspensions."
"I think community service is good," said senior Allison Brum. "Suspension may be too much, but community service is good between suspension and nothing."
No decision was made by Judge Susan Dlott. She scheduled another hearing for May 3 where other parents whose children were punished may testify. The Saturday community service was put on hold at least until after that session.

today i had one of those days that teachers pray will never happen to them. those people who think we are a part of this profession for the money, or because we can't do anything else have it so incredibly wrong. i teach because i love it. i love my students, all of them, even the ones who drive me crazy, are horrible discipline issues and even the ones who hate me and think i'm the biggest bitch in the world. the primary reason why i get up too early every morning (and hype myself up on coffee) is so that i can be there for my kids. i know that i could have done a million different things with my life, but i'm doing all that i ever wanted. that's teach.

as a teacher, the one thing we fear happened to me today. i found out that one of my former students (2003 graduate) was in a horrible car accident last night. he and a friend of his (who i also knew, but not very well) had been drinking heavily. they decided to get into a car and drive 100 miles an hour down eaton ave. in Hamilton, Ohio. at 2:20am on friday, march 19, their car hit a parked car, bounced, hit a telephone pole and was ripped in half, hit another parked car and ended up on the porch of a house. joshua poncy was pronounced dead at the scene. his friend, tim sparks was rushed to Ft. Hamilton hospital, where it was determined that nothing could be done for him there, so he was airlifted to University Hospital in Cincinnati. I found out this afternoon that Tim is now officially brain dead and is on life support. neither boy was wearing a seat belt.

Tim was in one of my English classes as a Junior. It was my first year of teaching. We butted heads a few times in class, as Tim, who was an extremely intelligent student in Math and Science, was not such a great student in English. We worked out our differences. He was a great kid, a very good critical thinker and one of my babies. A member of my very first group of students. It kills me to know that someone I know could've been extremely successful is now dead. One of MY kids. I hate the "bubble of invincibility" that I see my kids walk around in. They aren't.

I don't think that kids realize that while teachers may strive to have an impact on their lives, that at the same time, they have a huge impact on ours. I wasn't prepared to lose one of my kids so soon.

There are huge number of rewards that teachers reap every day. Today I'm having a hard time trying to find the reward from this event. The only thing I seem to be reaping right now is a tremendous amount of hurt and pain.