I ran an in house suspension room in a Queens NY JHS. (NYC does not allow for home suspension.) A five day suspension was and is no big deal. You can get a five day for cutting a class,listening to an iPod in class or many other not so serious acts. I would not paint Martin as a possible thug because of a five day suspension.Yyears ago when NYC had home suspension I got three kids suspended in one period for behavior in the cafe when I ran the cafe.What'd they do? Refused to clean their tables. Hardly criminal activity.
Don’t you think that a five day suspension for refusing to clean their tables is a bit extreme? Kids like that don’t mind being suspended. On the other hand a week of school detentions would be much more effective. It’s too bad that the teachers and administrators don’t want to stay for the hour after school to administer the detentions.
This was Florida, though, the school system might or might not be different.