Posted on 11/26/2009 9:19:16 PM PST by LibWhacker
NAPLES — Ten North Naples Middle School students were suspended last week after district officials said they participated in “kick a Jew day.”
District Spokesman Joe Landon said a student told the dean of students at dismissal on Thursday that she was kicked because it was “kick a Jew day.”
The following morning Principal Margaret Jackson addressed the entire student body on the morning news regarding the incident, reviewing the code of student conduct, explaining why what happened was wrong, the need to respect one another and possible consequences, Landon said.
Jackson asked that anyone with information on the incident come to the office and speak with her or the assistant principal as they investigated the incident.
As a result, the district determined that 10 students should be punished. The students received a one day, in-school suspension, which was served today. The parents of the 10 students were also called and conferences with the parents followed the phone calls, according to Landon.
Parents of the students who were kicked were also notified of what happened, Landon said.
Landon said until further notice, the school will focus the first 20 minutes of each day on character traits, beginning with respect and kindness. Homeroom teachers will speak with the students about these traits and will focus on bullying prevention, he said. Videos on the topic will be sought out and used as part of the training, he said.
Landon said the first 20 minutes of the school day is normally used for reading time and tutoring time if students need help.
David Barkey, south area council for the Florida Anti-Definmation League, said the organization had been made aware of the incident.
“You are talking about an incident that has anti-Jewish bias if not anti-Semitism. You have Jewish students being singled out, harassed and assaulted,” he said. “If the allegations are true, it is possible these students violated Florida’s new anti-bullying law. And, if students were physically assaulted, it could rise to the level of criminal conduct.”
Rabbi James Perman, of Temple Shalom in North Naples, called the situation “alarming.”
“I can tell you this: I haven’t seen anything like it in my 17 years in Naples. No child deserves this kind of treatment,” he wrote in an e-mail Monday. “Their parents are understandably outraged. So far it seems that the school system has taken appropriate measures and we applaud their efforts. At this point, teaching sensitive awareness is more important than punishing anyone.”
Perman said how the situation is handled is of concern to those at the Temple because it involves children.
“Beyond that, there are critical issues for the entire Jewish community and beyond. ... These are not new issues for us here in Naples,” he wrote. “These 10 kids did not invent anti-Semitism. They found a sympathetic response that was already there on some level.”
He said the Temple is ready to help.
The Collier County School District has a policy on bullying and harassment. It defines bullying as “systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees.”
Harassment is defined as “any threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture, use of data or computer software, or written, verbal or physical conduct directed against a student or school employee that places a student or school employee in reasonable fear of harm to his/her person or damage to his/her property,” among other things.
The students were disciplined in accordance with the bullying and harassment policy, which can range from “positive behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct,” according to the district’s policy.
Never Again is ringing hollow, IMO. We have anti-Semites in the White House, in his Administration, and in the Congress. Add Rev Wright to that list as well. The Hussein/Reid/Pelosi Mengele/DeathCare is another example of getting rid of people via denying care. Big Brother will pick and choose. Sound like 1933 Germany to you?
This incident is far more sinister than kids kicking a Jew. Wake up America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalP2eUADTQ
Absolutely horrible.
There is an awful lot of bulling going on now in our schools.
What the kind of punishment is in school suspension for one day ?
This wasn’t a couple of kids having a spat or an argument. It was out an out bulling and harassment.
They should have been expelled and made a good example out of or at least suspended for much longer.
The Jew kickers care not a whit whether the Jews in question are religious or not. Why, then, is this kind of hate being voted for by Jews to this day?
Let it be known that shorts will be dusted and the acting out will diminish.
(A 'Ginger' is a fair-skinned, red-haired kid).
Dumbass parenting, they should have kicked some muslims. I may have some minor reservations with Jews just as equal with any other culture but when it comes to followers of Islam I care not what culture they are.
First time in my life I am embracing being a bigotist, and I think its totally called for.
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.—Gen 12:3
Just see all the phoney outrage! Then imagine what the outrage would be like if this had been a “kick a death cult member” day. It would be all over the news, 24/7. Ambassadors from death cult countries would be jumping up and down yelling through their dirty beards. Death cult leaders would be issuing fat-was.
Every Day
They’re only Jews. No need to change the “hate crime” laws to include Jews.
< / bitter sarcasm>
what is genesis of this “ kick a _____ day?”
If size didn’t matter there would be no weight classes.
Krav Maga has a huge cheerleading section, but here is the reality.
Knowing in theory how to disable someone with strikes, joint manipulation, etc doesn’t translate into being able to do it to an unwilling partner. KM practitioners defend their lack of actual sparring/wrestling/BJJ sessions by saying that their “moves are too deadly to practice with” so you can only do it half speed. This is BS, IMO. And if they were actually sparring, which is the essence of any combat training, they would just be using Kickboxing/MT/Boxing/wrestling techniques...so what you would have is parts of the various fighting disciplines that are watered down, mixed in with eye pokes and groin strikes. This is pointless, because any boxer/kickboxer/wrestler/BJJ knows plenty of ways to really hurt you, if that’s what they want to do.
That is like buying a 5,000 dollar custom precision rifle and only pantomiming the shot...while making “pewwww pewwwww” sounds for every shot, and never actually firing a live round until you need it..but believing that you will make the shot every time. Do you think that will translate into actual marksmanship skills? Dry firing is a very helpful part of marksmanship training...but it is only a part. You also have to know how to read the wind, account for mirage effects, bullet drop, etc...a myriad number of little things that add up to being a great shot. This is the analogue to hand fighting...putting rounds down range is equivalent to sparring. Without either you’ll never be anything more than a well practiced mime, without the ability to use your skills in a real life dynamic situation.
The proof that KM is a marketing campaign is that there are no actual videos of it being used/demonstrated/sparring session etc. EVERY video you can find will be some goofy choreographed hype video. I personally wouldn’t buy a product that was unable to be demonstrated, even if it was with just two of your students wearing throat protectors and athletic cups, showing your deadly moves that you basically stole from all the other fighting arts.
Now I’m not great at any fighting art but I am a mediocre boxer and have a smattering of wrestling/bjj mixed in. I’m also a fat guy with a thick core of muscle. I built my monument to gluttony on a solid foundation.
So what would have really helped these kids is either A: buy me a pizza and snacks all day so I’m around to kick ass if needed or preferably, for their own sakes, B: go to a real fighting gym and learn to really fight. One of the most important parts of learning how to defend yourself is developing the mindset and the ability to receive pain. Pretending to fight for a year in a McDojo and suddenly receiving your first real blow from behind one day isn’t a recipe for success. But if you’ve spent a year sparring, except for the “from behind” part it is nothing new and you know exactly how to respond. Krav Maga is the Jeet Kune Do of the 21st century.
Somehow, in that longwinded diatribe I forgot to mention that of course I realize there are bad ass KM practitioners in the World. The Israeli military no doubt has its share. But they’re all high speed types that would be bad ass at slap fighting. But I can gaurantee you that they actually spar.
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