Conn. Student Suspended For Buying Candy In School

WCBS TV Channel 2 ^ | March 12, 2008

[Clintonfatigued]

Contraband candy has led to big trouble for an eighth-grade honors student.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

The New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a district-wide school wellness policy, said school spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo.

Shelli Sheridan, Michael's mother, said he is a top student with no previous disciplinary problems.

"It's too much. It's too unfair," she said. "He's never even had a detention."

Michael's suspension has been reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.

He said he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice that the student selling the Skittles on Feb. 26 was being secretive.

[JoJo Gunn]

Apparently the rest of the United States doesn’t either.

[JoJo Gunn]

Wow, a black market for candy in the McSkools, courtesy of the Zero Tolerance “adults”. Who would have thought such possible?

[traviskicks]

Anyone read any of the ‘great brain’ series (book for kids). This reminds me of JD and the candy store in the missionary school or whatnot. :)

[dfwgator]

What kind of Nazi school was this?

Heinrich Himmler High School.

[kidd]

Update:
Heard on the radio this morning (WTIC) that the school board has eliminated all of the punishments, and none of this will go on his record.

[pillut48]

I worked in public schools until 1998, and we *constantly* had candy fundraisers, bake sales, etc. to pay for things around the school...of course, it was a VERY big district that a lot of times didn’t seem to care very much what happened to the kids, but still...;-)

[pillut48]

Good grief, sounds like a drug sale gone bad, for goodness’ sakes!
It was SKITTLES! Puleeze!!!

I miss teaching, but not this kind of crap. ::rolls eyeballs dangerously backwards close to upper spine::

[pillut48]

If true, that’s great!
Did they also mention that all the so-called ‘adults’ involved will be resigning later today after a dramatic drive to the main district office in a black SUV? ;-)

[tioga]

contraband SKITTLES? xs, you weren't suspended were ya?

[oh8eleven]

Having done time in high school in the dazed-and-confused late 70's, I'm finding this story particularly hilarious.
Hilarious and insane:
"He said she [Sheridan Middle School principal Eleanor Turner ] warned students
repeatedly after the school experienced a rash of candy sales in the fall."

A rash I tell you, a rash!

[thulldud]

Heard on the radio this morning (WTIC) that the school board has eliminated all of the punishments, and none of this will go on his record.

The cockroaches scatter when you turn on the light.

Let's keep it blazing.

[kidd]

source: http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-13013038.apds.m0965.bc-ct--skitmar13,0,3151442.story

School Rethinks Discipline On Candy Suspension

Associated Press
March 13, 2008

NEW HAVEN - A New Haven middle school honors student, suspended for buying candy from a classmate, will have the discipline expunged from his record, the superintendent of schools said Wednesday night.

Michael Sheridan also was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles last month from a classmate.

The New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy, school spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said.

But Superintendent Reginald Mayo said in a statement Wednesday evening that he and principal Eleanor Turner met with Sheridan's parents and Turner decided to clear the boy's record and restore him to his post as student council vice president.

"I am sorry this has happened," Turner said in a statement. "My hope is that we can get back to the normal school routine, especially since we are in the middle of taking the Connecticut mastery test."

Turner said she should have reinforced in writing the verbal warnings against candy transactions.

Shelli Sheridan, Michael's mother, told the New Haven Register that her son had no previous disciplinary problems.

"It's too much. It's too unfair," she said. "He's never even had a detention."

Michael Sheridan said he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he noticed the student selling the Skittles on Feb. 26 was being secretive.

An administrator busted Michael with the candy in his pocket. His mother says the student who sold him the Skittles out of a lunch box also was suspended. School officials say his suspension also will be expunged.

A copy of the district's policy states that "no candy or junk food fundraisers will be allowed on school grounds" and that only healthy snacks will be sold in vending machines.

The policy also prohibits bake sales and other food sales during school hours. The policy does not say anything about students sharing snacks when no money is exchanged.

[ktscarlett66]

Well thank goodness. That means you can still pack a cupcake in a lunchbag! Wonder when that will be banned?

[LurkedLongEnough]

This could actually affect the student’s chance of being accepted by a competitive college.

Many competitive colleges look for nonconformity and unconventionality.

If I were his parent, I'd urge him and a few buddies / parents to challenge his school administration to debate this silly policy publicly.

[Caramelgal]

I learned what public schools were all about in the First Grade. It’s not about education but it’s all about “conformity”.

We were learning to read using the “phonics” method and were give a hand out with words with the vowel “a” and told to indicate whether the vowel sound was “short” or “long; “Cat” being “short” and “Apple” being “long”. Then we were told to color the pictures above the words.

I got all the vowel sounds correct and colored all the pictures except for one. The word was “water” and the picture was of a glass half full.

I sort of knew that I was probably expected to color the liquid in the glass “blue”, but then I started to think it might be a trick question.

My dad was really into science and earth sciences and the space program and we spent much time together watching science programs on TV, the Moon landings and reading National Geographic together and such.

So I made the decision to follow my gut and my understanding of (even as a 6 year old) the nature of drinking water and to leave the picture of the glass uncolored and turned it in.

The teacher looked it over and immediately handed it back saying it was incomplete!

I very politely and very respectfully (as my parents had always taught me to be very polite and respectful to my elders) explained to my teacher that I had purposely left the picture of the water uncolored because water in its purest state is colorless. And I went on further to explain that while water might appear blue or blue-green that’s because of algae and light refraction and that the water in our commode was blue, but then we didn’t drink that.

So what happened? I was berated and belittled by this teacher in front of the entire class and told I was “stupid and insolent”. When the rest of the class got to go out for recess, I was kept in as a punishment. I took my punishment and bravely held back my tears.

But when I got home, I was crying and told my father what had happened. And he, a very wise man with less than an high school education, responded thusly; “You leaned a very important lesson today. You learned that just because a person is in a position of “authority”, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have any real knowledge or that they are always right. You also learned that just because you have the correct answer, that doesn’t mean you will be rewarded for it and in fact sometimes, you will actually be punished for being right”.

Then my father gently wiped away my tears and told me to never back down from what believe in and what I know is right regardless of the consequences.

So in the First Grade I learned pretty much everything I ever need to know about life and probably explains why I am so much an anti-authoritarian and conservative leaning libertarian.

[BlackElk]

The decision of the New Haven School Board to distribute condoms (with or without parental permission) to fifth graders drew a rare organized religious response organized by Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Peter Rosazza (a verrrry liberal bishop BTW) who recruited many non-Catholic clergy to keep the hearings going for weeks. Bishop Rosazza told the school board members that their (proposed and then enacted) policy proved that the school board regarded the children as nothing more than meat without souls; that the school board’s priority was to keep the kids out of people’s faces and out of people’s hair for an extra several hours per day since the kids would still want some privacy during sex; and that such attitudes might well have lked to the pathetic academic performance of New Haven public schools.

[traviskicks]

distrust of authority and independent thought is the path to all good things, IMO. I recall some simliar such story in my own childhood, I think I called a ‘lizard’ an ‘iguana’ and got it wrong or some such thing.

I’m not a fan of public schools, despite being a product of them, I’d like to do some form of private/homeschool mix or something with my (future) kids someday. :)

[NewRomeTacitus]

Our #1 contraband back in the mid ‘80s was dealing in “Now and Later’s” and cinnamon-dipped toothpicks. Why we thought of those as delicacies, I have no idea...

Cinnamon toothpicks are always great. Got to tell you that we of Tennessee Preparatory School were a stoic bunch that took those paddlings as the price of doing business. Corporal punishment was laughable to the majority of kids who ended up there...often for the sins of parents who dished out far worse.

TIS/TPS was more a blessing than a curse or now-perceived embarrassment to a "politically correct" regime that allows continued abuse for the sake of the idea that those kids are "always better off in a family situation". Homilies do not replace or appease real situations that call for a refuge from abuse.

And you forgot to mention the pre-crack era attraction of Pixie Stix. Sugar burst right to the brain.

[bigdcaldavis]

Careful about calling them Nazis, dude. Since CSPI’s executive director is Jewish, the left-wing media wouldn’t hesitate in calling you an anti-Semite. :-p

[Vaquero]

I would also call the ACLU nazis...but I dont suspect any of them are jewish(sarc).

hey they can call me anything they want....