School Chief Sticks By 'Zero Tolerance' Ruling for Eagle Scout

FOXNEWS.com ^ | October 16, 2009 | Joseph Abrams

[broken_arrow1]

Call him Mr. Zero Tolerance.

The upstate New York school superintendent who suspended an Eagle Scout for 20 days for keeping a 2-inch utility knife locked in his car is unwilling to speak to the teen's family or bend in his ruling.

Lansingburgh Central School District Superintendent George J. Goodwin, 55, said in a written statement that his district "has an established policy of zero tolerance with respect to the possession of weapons of any kind on school property or in school buildings."

But nowhere in the school district's rule book, which is published online, is there any mention of a "zero tolerance" policy, leading some to question whether Goodwin, in fact, was compelled to suspend the youth.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Whalen, a senior at Lansingburgh High School in Troy, N.Y., says he got in trouble over a survival kit he keeps in his car that includes a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal and the small pocketknife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a police chief in a nearby town.

[Uri’el-2012]

Mr. Goodwin is prime evidence that the possession of multiple degrees and lengthy education is NO indication of any brains or common sense.

My dad told me a long time ago
"common sense" is not uniformly distributed.

[Talisker]

However, Col. Deborah McDonald, the head of admissions at the military academy, said in a recent Fox News interview that her concern would be how a 20-day suspension would impact the student’s academic standing — something that has also been a concern for his family.

Sounds like West Point is establishing a political CYA position, so they can still reject him for academic standing reasons over this incident. As if a 20 day suspension could possibly affect his many years of establishing his qualifications.

[Don W]

Just FYI, Troybilt is no longer independent, but owned by MTD. The “Horse” tillers are still the best ever built, but the rest of the product line is typical MTD.

[lurk]

At age 13, my nephew planned to go hunting with his Marine Master Gunnery Sgt father after school. He put his hunting knife in his backpack so he would be ready.

Busted. Expelled forever with no possibility of re-admission. He home-schooled until graduation.

The young miscreant is now running the nuclear power plant on a missile sub. He and his parents are very grateful for the eviction from the failing school.

[ridesthemiles]

Who issued a search warrant to get into the kid’s car?

Something is fishy here.

[ConservativeWarrior]

In the meanwhile, why sacrifice your child’s getting a good education accompanied by your values vs. a mediocre education and the tearing down of your own family values? It is hardly cowering to educate your kids at home. The easy thing is to send your kids to public school and leave the job to others.

I attended public school in upstate NY not 50 miles from Troy, NY, the locale of this incident.

I have 3 kids in public school, ages 9 throught 14. They are each doing exceptionally well.

In the 8 years our kids have attended public schools, I have called no fewer than 6 parent-teacher or parent-teacher-principal conferences. Topics ranged from how the 2nd amendment was being taught to why my son would not be completing his "black history month" assignement on Colon Powell. (the teacher was made to re-teach the 2nd amendment lesson using facts alone, and my son made a report on Lincoln and the Civil War instead of Powell.)

I exchanged a dozen emails with the superintendent regarding 0's Sept address to students. The district went from fully participating in the speech and lesson plan, to required viewing of the speech with no lesson plan, to optional particpation in viewing the speech.

Sending your kids to public school isn't a fire-and-forget proposition. You don't relinquish your parental rights or responsibilities when you choose public school. In fact, you take on more responsibility, because now you have to keep tabs on what's being taught, what materials are being used, etc...

So why not just home school? Because if you don't stand up to liberals in the public schools, they will be free to churn out mindless, indoctrinated socialists. They would like nothing more than for all conservative parents to pull their kids out of the public schools. Then they'll carry out their indoctrination unopposed.

I firmly believe that homeschooling can produce well-educated conservatives. The problem is that when these well-educated conservatives reach voting age, they'll find themselves outnumbered 3 to 1 at the ballot box by indoctrinated socialists. Conservative viewpoints must be heard in public schools. Vouchers can help, and in some areas, homeschooling is the only true option. But in schools like this Troy district, it's time to fight.

So, no, sending my kids to public school isn't the easy decision. As much as I'd like to raise them to adulthood in the bubble of my own home, I know that in the long run it will do them more harm than good. I'm raising conservative warriors.

[maine-iac7]

What prompted these gov’t school morons to want to look in his trunk in the first place?

Maybe =

Honor Student/Eagle Scout

Awarded honor for saving a life

Planning on West Point

Dad in Military

Granddad - police chief.

A real anathema to Socialists/Marxists>

Had he been wearing Che T's - no problemo

I've noticed there seems to be a pattern in the type of students targeted for this across the country - be something for an good investigative reporter to check out.

[NonValueAdded]

It’s in the hands of the good townsfolk. I suggest tar, feathers, and a rail but I suppose giving him a pink slip will suffice.

[khnyny]

just a little bureaucrat with power. this is so typical to be almost laughable. He's the frustrated little clerk who has only the ability to say, "no".



(Jeremy Piven as Dean Gordon Pritchard in "Old School")

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

If his bug out” bag was locked in his trunk, how did the school personnel become aware of it's presence? I've heard of "locker inspections" but trunk inspection?

Regards,
GtG

[AppyPappy]

He told them about it

[GOP Poet]

This situation is the biggest bunch of BS and is very concerning. It is probably just as well this excellent young man (the eagle scout) is not my son. I would be raising all sorts of hell. This is so provocative and out of any sensical realm I am wondering who instigated this situation. This whole incident is so WRONG and the school and the superintendent’s office needs to be held to account. IMHO.

[sthguard]

“As much as I’d like to raise them to adulthood in the bubble of my own home, I know that in the long run it will do them more harm than good.”

Speaking as a graduate of the homeschooling “bubble” at age 17, and incidentally as a magna cum laude graduate of one Tier 1 university and a PhD student at another, I have to take issue with your characterization of homeschooling. You argue that public school parents are more involved because they must “keep tabs on what’s being taught, what materials are being used, etc.” Granted this is not an easy process and I applaud your willingness to get and stay involved in your kids’ education. However, you’re ignoring the fact that careful attention to curriculum, attitudes, lesson plans, etc is a central part of homeschooling, whether a parent does the majority of the teaching or uses co-ops, tutors, community colleges, etc to supplement the child’s education. Can you honestly say that all or even the majority of your fellow public schooling parents give that much attention to how their kids are taught?

“So why not just home school? Because if you don’t stand up to liberals in the public schools, they will be free to churn out mindless, indoctrinated socialists. They would like nothing more than for all conservative parents to pull their kids out of the public schools. Then they’ll carry out their indoctrination unopposed.”

And what makes you so sure that exposing your children to that indoctrination for 12+ years will not outweigh the potential benefits of “standing up to the liberals” in the first place? I’ve got news for you: real conservatives are outnumbered a lot more than 3-1 in the public schools, and the ratio only gets worse as you move into high school (I note that your oldest is only 14) and college. So yes, keep fighting for a more Constitutional approach to education (which in my view would mean dismantling the NEA, among other things), and keep supplementing your kids’ political and moral education. But don’t be misled: we’re not going to win back the public schools by being the occasional voice of dissent (assuming that voice isn’t bullied into submission by teachers, principals, et al), but rather by demonstrating that children both learn better and become better citizens when removed from government control.

[thefactor]

no warrant. they asked the kid and the kid obliged and let them into his car. legal, but stupid on the kid’s part from what i gather.

[combat_boots]

Every teacher has scissors, pens, a ruler, a big tape dispenser, etc. etc.

To suspend someone for 20 school days is enough to trash his school year and ruin his grades—and his future.

The Super has a hard on for this fellow. Who else was questioned about weapons at this school and why? What are the circumstances exactly?

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

He told them about it

Not the brightest bulb in the box is he?

Regards,
GtG

[Tony in Hawaii]

For that matter, how ‘bout the car itself? After all, cars kill a heck of a lot more people a year than do lawfully-owned firearms and knives.

[EDINVA]

Perhaps our perceptions of and experiences with home schooling differ. In this area, home schooled kids are not at all ‘raised in a bubble.’ Au contraire.

There are networks of home schooling famiies who get together for field trips and share work among themselves, benefitting from each other’s expertise. I.e., if one home-schooling dad is an engineer with NASA, he will take over lesson plans for several home-schooled families and oversee the kids’ education in the math/science areas where he has expertise. That works out better than a state certified teacher whose own math/science education may have ended at the 10th or 12th grade level. And, it is usually far more practical than normal science fair projects.

Presenting one’s conservative case to a teacher, principal or superintendent does little more than get your kid or kids out of otherwise required programs in the school. It also confers on him/her/them an unspoken ‘reputation’ among the powers-that-be who dictate about 1/3 of his/her/their lives. That reputation is telegraphed to other students throughout their school years, rendering their expression of conservatiave viewpoints virtually worthless. It is a perverse form of bullying, done by adults in authority. It is far more pervasive than most people either see or are willing to acknowledge.

[lucias_clay]

When I was in school we, for recreation, went shooting on school property with *gasp* real guns with faculty behind the auto shop.

[JimRed]

A scout knife is not a weapon; it is a TOOL. These so-called educators are not bright enough to figure that out for themselves!