Hernando student in hijab wouldn’t stand for the flag
As a teacher, I never forced a student to stand for the pledge. I prefer to know which students are expressing love of country or respect for the flag because they feel it and which ones don’t give a flying fuck.
But that’s just me: I heart transparency.
Besides, the idea of compulsory pledging goes against what this country stands for in the first place.
An excerpt from my earlier post on the subject:
“I never make my students stand up,” I said. “I encourage them to do so, but if they don’t, well, that’s okay, too.”
My friend and fellow teacher just stared at me.
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked.
“Nope,” I said, smiling meekly.
“Katie!” she said, half-laughing. “They should stand up. It’s a sign of respect!”
“I agree,” I said. “But forcing students to stand seems to go against what our flag stands for in the first place. I don’t think we should make it compulsory. We’re going to give kids detention for this?”
“Our forefathers fought for and soldiers today are dying for our freedom…”
“Right,” I said. “The freedom not to stand.”
“Okay,” she said, trying a different approach. “Standing up, at the very least, is a way to show that you love your country and honor and respect what the flag stands for.”
“In a way, I agree. And I ask the kids to get up. However, there are other ways to show patriotism, maybe more effective ways even, than standing up for less than a minute. Especially if they don’t want to. How is forcing them to stand encouraging love of country? I’m afraid it might even have the opposite effect. What makes this country great is that we allow for dissent. We don’t force people to go along with the majority in cases like this. It makes us stronger than other forms of government. Let the kid be an ass. He’ll get over it one day and be thankful he lives in a society that allows him to be himself.”
My awesome co-worker jokingly told me to f*ck off.
“You still love me though,” I said.
“No!” she laughed. “No I don’t!”
“I have your number programmed into my cell phone and your email address at home. You’re stuck with me.”
She just smiled and shook her head.
Recently a student in a hijab at Springstead High School, in Hernando County, refused to stand for the pledge. I still abide by my earlier sentiments. What’s good for those in Confederate Flag belt buckles must also be good for those with oppressive religious beliefs.
But let’s pause and think about this for a moment. You’ve got to admire a young person who dares to wear something ethic and slightly controversial in a community where free thought goes to die.
Then this same girl sits on her ass during the Pledge of Allegiance, most certainly surrounded by people who believe her to be a terrorist.
Again, you’ve got to admire her or shake your head and mumble, “You can’t argue with crazy.”
Fellow student Heather Lawrence disapproved of the girl’s inaction and told her so. The student with the hijab went to class while Heather got suspended.
So, the Muslim girl – allowed to be herself; Heather – not so much.
Principal Susan Duval missed a golden opportunity. Has she learned nothing from our Commander-in-Chief? While Duval might not be able to host a beer summit with two teenage girls (although it *is* Hernando County…), she could have held an informative and open-minded meeting where one young girl could talk about her religion and how it has nothing to do with her refusal to stand for the pledge.
(The Koran does not forbid it and local Muslim leaders believe she should have stood during the pledge to show respect for this country.)
Such a conference could also have involved Heather Lawrence and given her the opportunity to discuss a different point of view.
Both sides would have been able to learn from each other and the rest of the school would benefit as a result.
Education, understanding, tolerance, and acceptance – wouldn’t it be nice for some real life lessons to take place in our high schools? Instead of just more of the same?
Oh well. You can’t argue with crazy.
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It was a teachable moment, and Heather was the one who was taught – that it’s not OK to insult and bully someone for being or thinking different. Come to think of it, wouldn’t this be a lesson for everyone in the school?
Now, I wasn’t there, but there was a teacher there who recounted the “conversation” to the administration and they took action.
Now, I assume that the suspension was based on school policy and it seems a bit extreme, so, maybe they should go back and look at it. I have no idea if the suspended girl has other incidences like this in her jacket, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.
So, I think it’s unfair to castigate the principal based on incomplete knowledge.
Now, as far as the whole standing up for the flag issue, one isn’t necessarily an “ass” for not standing up for the flag.
The flag is a symbol, and symbols mean different things to different people. To some people, it’s a symbol to respect, because it represents what “our forefathers fought for and soldiers today are dying for.” To others it might represent the military-industrial complex, colonialism, slavery, the killing of innocents and sending young people off to die for profit or oil. To stand or not to stand could look like the action of an ass, depending on what the symbol means to you.
Now, if one is invited to your home or house of worship, not being respectful of another’s customs in those locations would be ass-worthy. But a school is a (or should be) public, secular institution. The flag isn’t a religious idol or artifact, it’s a piece of cloth that represents different things for different people. Period.
While I am on a rant, just because one Muslim says there is no tenant that a Muslim shouldn’t stand up for the flag, doesn’t mean anything. No faith is without different interpretations. To the young woman, her faith tells her not to stand up for the flag. End of story.
You know, I’m kinda surprised at your take on this, given what you have written in the past on bullying. What gives? Have you been too long in redneck territory?
Here’s the Hernando County Anti-bullying and Harassment policy.
Within this definition, Mark, precisely how was Heather’s speech “bullying” or harassing?
Was it eloquent? No, but there was no threat directly implied to the student. In fact, the suspension seems to be wholly predicated not on what Heather even said to the student, but on what Heather later said to an instructor. It wasn’t the student who was offended, or at least that’s all we can infer as the student failed to report the incident themselves, but the teacher. Was Heather bullying or harassing the teacher?
Certainly, had Heather said to the student, “Look, you, either take that thing off during the pledge or I’ll take it off for you,” or if she had a long history of taunting the student as they passed in the halls, there would be bullying and/or harassment, but even if Heather later said what she did, she didn’t say it to the student and she didn’t threaten the student directly nor is there any reason to believe that Heather has been mounting a slur campaign against the student in particular or strict Islamic students in general.
Heather’s only demonstrable action here seems to have been responding to a teacher in a way that offended that particular teacher’s sensibilities and so the teacher and the principal “creatively interpreted” their policy to get her.
Maybe Heather should have been suspended for….um…something, but saying that she was suspended for violating district bullying policy would still be incorrect and the teachable moment has only taught that laws/policies/ordinances are less about justice and more about manipulation.
Heather has a right to say her peace about the behavior of others, even directly to their faces, otherwise there simply is no free speech.
“I have no idea if the suspended girl has other incidences like this in her jacket, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.”
Nice bit of profiling there, particularly since you go on later to say that it’s unfair to castigate the principal based on incomplete knowledge, yet that’s exactly what you’re doing.
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
“She told her she should stand for the pledge. And, according to Lawrence’s own account and a school referral on the incident, said, “Take that thing off your head and act like you’re proud to be an American.”
“After the incident, Lawrence was asked by a school staffer why she confronted the girl. “She began to rant that she was enlisting and was going to Iraq and that basically because the girl looks Middle Eastern, that makes her an enemy because all Iraqis are Middle Eastern,” according to the referral signed by assistant principal Stephen Crognale.”
(b) Harassment – “Harassment” means any threatening, insulting, or
dehumanizing gesture, use of data or computer software, or written, verbal
or physical conduct directed against a student or employee that:
(i) Places a student or employee in reasonable fear of harm to his or
her person or damage to his or her property;
(ii) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s
educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; or
(iii) Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of a
school or workplace.
**********
Now, as I said before, it’s not entirely clear what happened, the referral wasn’t published in its entirety and the physicality, gestures, and tone of voice, all which would have been observed by the teacher in the hallway, weren’t addressed clearly.
But I can see it falling within the district’s anti-bullying/harassment policy. In the definition of harassment, it doesn’t say that it has to be a repeated incident. It just has to happen once.
Free speech doesn’t come without guidelines or limits and, certainly speech in a school is, and should be, more limited than on the street. For example, on the street, you could call Kate a *kike* or she could call you *Quakerhomo* and not face any legal repercussions, but if you said those things in school, there would, rightly, be sanctions involved.
It’s ironic that you accuse me of profiling when it is apparent, from what is excerpted from the referral, that Ms. Lawrence was profiling the other girl based on her nationality and religious beliefs.
If you read the whole paragraph where you call me on “profiling”, I said that I thought a five day suspension was a bit extreme, but that it could be a repeat offense. The only reason I added that “I wouldn’t be surprised” was because Ms. Lawrence certainly is no shrinking violet and seems to have problems with people who don’t fit in with the way she sees the world. This sort of thing doesn’t usually just manifest itself spontaneously at age 16 in a school hallway.
Here’s something else to think about: In less than two years, if Ms. Lawrence has her way, she could be in the Middle East with guns and grenades, in the middle of millions of people who look and act like the girl in the hijab. Teaching her about respect and tolerance would be doing her a favor, even if it means 5 days away from school.
“For example, on the street, you could call Kate a *kike* or she could call you *Quakerhomo* and not face any legal repercussions, but if you said those things in school, there would, rightly, be sanctions involved.”
Certainly, but again, Heather did none of these things nor did she explicitly threaten the student or the teacher. If we’re going to pin this on the “insult” clause, then Heather was clearly insulted by the student’s refusal to stand, so why is the student also not being reprimanded? If it’s clause 3, again, we don’t know exactly what was said. What we do know was that the student in question did not respond to Heather or report the incident and Heather didn’t press the issue, that was the work of the instructor. So, that begs the question: What was the instructor’s purpose? If it was to provide a teachable moment, then that moment was obviously an utter failure. If it was an honest inquiry, it seems unlikely that Heather would have reacted as quoted (not impossible, but given her demeanor, unlikely). This leaves the possibility that the instructor, for whatever reason, was looking to punish Heather for exercising the same freedoms that the student exercised in not standing for the pledge.
The issue is not what Heather did or said to the student directly, but what she ostensibly did or said to a teacher after the fact. You are right in that we do not know the exact nature of these comments or actions, however given the other examples of Heather’s speech, including what she said directly to the student, it seems an odd departure that Heather would so completely lose her shit in front of an authority figure, whom as an ROTC member, she’s taught to respect at all times.
The only reason I added that “I wouldn’t be surprised” was because Ms. Lawrence certainly is no shrinking violet and seems to have problems with people who don’t fit in with the way she sees the world.
A fault you yourself seem to be only too eager to display in your rush to paint Heather as the one who’s in need of a “teachable moment” in this issue. This leads me to believe that instead of judging this situation on the basis of the actions of the participants, you are instead applying your own agenda-perceptions and assuming that the non-standing student was in the right and Heather, because of some supposed possibility of specific school policy in the past, was incorrect in the voicing of her opinion. I call this a clear double standard and, again, say the only thing that has been “taught” here is that rules are for manipulation, not protection.
“In less than two years, if Ms. Lawrence has her way, she could be in the Middle East with guns and grenades, in the middle of millions of people who look and act like the girl in the hijab. Teaching her about respect and tolerance would be doing her a favor, even if it means 5 days away from school.”
I’m amused that you seem to compare our high school hallways to war zones. I’m also confused by the false dichotomy that Heather lacks respect and tolerance because she holds views that are different and is not afraid of stating them. Had she run down the hallway, threw the student to the ground, and beat her up while screaming racial and religious epithets at her, perhaps you would have a point. As she did none of these things, you are once again assuming to suit your agenda rather than examining this specifics of the situation.
Last comment on this. As someone who themselves doesn’t stand for the pledge out of religious principle, I’ve certainly had my share of confrontation regarding that choice. Sometimes I try and explain, sometimes, like the student in question, I walk on. Regardless, those who question have a right to do so and I have to acknowledge that because freedoms enjoyed at the expense of the freedoms of others are inherently false. The fact that I have a right to exercise my conscience means they do as well and, so long as no criminal activity occurs, to prevent them from doing so or punish them after the fact is unacceptable.
Heather Lawrence lied about seeing the other young lady, Check out the news artical in sptimes.com
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/muslim-girl-stood-for-pledge-of-allegiance-springstead-high-principal-says/1032716
Ok, Quaker, so you want to believe the girl, I choose to believe the two teachers and one administrator.
I don’t think the three of them are conspiring against the girl. Why would they be out to get her?
An easy lie by the girl to mitigate her guilt.
They are kids. Let’s not forget this. It really isn’t an issue of who was wrong or right, it’s that it happened. There should have been some sort of discussion, not just “Hey kid, you’re on a 5 day vacation”.