The part that won't get mentioned much, if at all, is that the principal was apparently so astounded by the 11-year-old's science project—so baffled, so dazzled, so stunned—that he thought not only was bomb a reasonable interpretation of a motion detector but also, having cleared up his confusion after much expense and hysteria, that counseling was a reasonable suggestion for the child and his family.
Being a bureaucrat, of course, means that it's never your shortcomings that cause these problems. It's not that you're too stupid to have a basic grasp on not just electronics but human nature and current events (quick, name the number of times an eleven-year-old has blown up his school!), nor even that you should handle such a situation to delicately cover-up your ignorance.
No, take it to the mattresses every single time and insist that anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable with your ignorance is probably psychologically disturbed.
TINTD.
*Smacks head sharply three times, puts on stronger glasses, reads article again*
ReplyDeleteCounseling? Counseling?! Counseling!
*Smacks head sharply again.*
OMFG.
Well, maybe we won't be ABLE to put our kid in school again, a few years hence.
Our supervising homeschool teacher (a great guy, 100% supportive, non-intrusive, but a great resource at times [former old-school science teacher, doing this post retirement]), who happened to call just after I read this post and the linked article, had a *reaction* [ahem] that warmed the cockles of my heart. Then he said he'd vouch for us if we ever stood accused of having a Dangerously Competent Child With Subversively Eccentric Parents.
"Why, thank you," I said!
LOL.
I see in the comments over there someone has posted the following as being [part of?] the magnet school's mission statement:
ReplyDelete"All Millennial Tech Middle School students will cultivate their technology skills to enhance their motivation and curiosity to excel academically in order to become productive citizens that will drastically impact the developing information age.
All Millennial Tech Middle School students will cultivate their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills to enhance their motivation to excel academically in order to become global leaders and productive citizens in their chosen career path.
Hmmmmm.
To clarify, that comment was attached to the piece to which boingboing linked.
ReplyDeleteYeah. The counseling part is pretty typical of the authoritarian mindset.
ReplyDeleteIn Soviet Russia, they didn't throw you in an asylum for disagreeing with them, they threw you in an asylum for daring to disagree. The state is all powerful, the logic went, therefore anyone daring to challenge the state would have to be insane.
"Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia" as Instapundit noted the other day.
As for sending your kid back to school, the IAHP would say your job as a parent is to "school-proof" your kid.
Just like if you had a pool; you'd teach him to swim to make him "pool-proof".
Teach him how to read (and make sure he knows it's okay to think) and you've school-proofed him.