14 y/o Muslim student arrested for bringing "bomb" to school[It was a Clock]

[Tiberius]

Even if it had nothing to do with racism, it's entirely the wrong way to handle the situation.

[Neo-Scholastic]

It's a judgement call. That's why I got the opinion of three middle school teachers. They all rendered the same judgment. FWIW

[Minimalist]

This whole saga is the result of overreaching "zero tolerance" policies. Since when did zero tolerance mean all context is thrown out the window.

Bringing an actual gun to school is something that should actually be punished. Pointing your fingers in the shape of a gun, or biting a pop tart into the shape of a gun, of bringing a clock into school should not be.

You're right of course, Tibs, but the whole point of zero tolerance is to remove any pretext for judgement.  School administrators have jumped on it with the zeal of a hungry squirrel  on the last acorn on earth because if they just say "zero tolerance" they cannot be criticized.... although you'd think by now that they'd realize that they get criticized anyway.

Nonetheless.....

http://gawker.com/7-kids-not-named-moham...1730999866

7 Kids Not Named Mohamed Who Brought Homemade Clocks to School And Didn't Get Arrested

[Tiberius]

It's a judgement call. That's why I got the opinion of three middle school teachers. They all rendered the same judgment. FWIW

Says more about the judgement of middle school teachers than anything IMO.

[Minimalist]

How about another example of "zero tolerance" in action?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/18...tail=email

11-year-old gifted student suspended 1 year for having a pot leaf that wasn't a pot leaf

Remember, the 'adults' are supposed to be in charge.

[Catholic_Lady]

Not a fan of this guy, but definitely something to think about here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGit-XltUB4

[Crossless2.0]

<Deleted post because I leaped before I looked>

[Tiberius]

Not a fan of this guy, but definitely something to think about here:

Which bit do we need to think about?

Maher says it looked "exactly like a fucking bomb". No, it really doesn't. It's a small, mostly empty pencil case, with a large display, some circuitry, wires, and a mains power cable. Where on earth is the explosive material in this so-called bomb?

Maher says it's one culture that for years has been blowing stuff up, and that's why Ahmed's clock was suspicious and why the teacher reacted properly. This is true, but the problem is that Ahmed isn't part of this culture...he's an American! Also, the fact that he is a Muslim should not be grounds for automatic suspicion.

Maher says you can see why they "aired on the side of caution", but that's not what they did at all. Airing on the side of caution would have been to remove the device from class, and determine whether it was a threat. When it becomes obvious (perhaps by looking at the device, and listening to what the student is saying..."it's a clock") that the device is not a threat, not a bomb, not even a hoax bomb, then life can go on as per usual. Calling the police and having them interrogate the student for 90 minutes without allowing him to call his parents, all the while whilst he sits there insisting it's a clock, is not airing on the side of caution by any definition of the word "caution".

[TheRocketSurgeon]

No one disagrees that it was an over-reaction, and I wouldn't even been mad at the school if they had simply assumed it was a bomb (after all, Maher is right-- we can't assume that a teenaged Muslim was not recruited by ISIS, as we have seen happen repeatedly), right off the bat, and evacuated the school. We could all have had a good laugh about it when the bombsquad guys came back and said "Nope, it's really a clock."

But from the details Cuban gave in the Maher interview, it seems to me that what really happened is a teacher demanded obedience, didn't get it (a rebellious teenager, whaaat?), and decided to show the little brown boy what submission looks like. It happens all the time, in the South. Again, if the school had been evacuated or they had in any way treated it as if it were a potential explosive device, I'd be more willing to believe their cover story.

[Neo-Scholastic]

If the backpack was discovered unattended the school most certainly would have been evacuated. Having the owner around made a difference. .