The Cellar - School sends poor students home.

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School sends poor students home.

What do you think about this?

http://www.annarbor.com/news/pioneer...er-book-fines/

Quote:

When Ellisha Champine set out for the first day at Pioneer High School on Sept. 6, she didn’t think her day would last just 20 minutes.

But the high school junior said she didn’t make it past registration before she was told to leave school until she paid a $35 book fine, money she said she wouldn’t have until her father was paid at the end of the week.

Ellisha said she was referred to Principal Michael White when she tried to register and pick up her books on the first day of school.

When she explained her story to White, Ellisha said, he told her to go home until she paid her fine for the two books she had lost, including “The Grapes of Wrath.”

She left, taking the AATA bus to her home at Hikone public housing.

White has said he did not send students home from school for outstanding “obligations,” the district’s term for unpaid fines on unreturned books, equipment, calculators and more, said Liz Margolis, director of communications for the district.

She said there will be further investigation of what unfolded, and that it is not acceptable and not district policy to send students with unpaid fines home.

It goes on, but I find myself thinking that the whole story isn't being told. She says the principal sent her home, he says he didn't. The news reporting seems somewhat biased....

Normally I'd feel a knee-jerk reaction to be on the side of the student. Like some of my facebook friends. But I think I'm in agreement with the majority of the commenters. It's not about being poor. She had plenty of time to fix this before school started in ways that didn't involve money. Sending kids home is extreme, but I've often found that what we say and what kids hear are not one and the same. I don't think she should have been sent home (if she was), but neither should she or other students get a free pass because they are poor. She's playing a victim card to get out of her responsibilities.

What do you think? Am I being unfair?

I don't know the full story but I'm sure there are other options that could have been taken, assuming this wasn't just a miscommunication. Make her "volunteer" five hours of her time to do something productive for the school. Sending her home doesn't make any sense.

It's a little odd that the principal's side is just that he says he didn't send them home for unpaid fines. Did he not send them home, or did he send them home for some other reason? It's hard to say whether it's bad reporting or a non-denial denial.

I could see sending poor kids home if they are so poor they can't even pay attention. That makes sense.

Sir, the peasants are revolting!

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And then he fainted.

You said it, They stink on ice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45 (Post 757026)

Community service is the other option. In the case of the girl highlighted, one of the books is over a year "overdue". plenty of time to remedy the situation but then again, how did she register last year? Is there a two book threshhold? I just don't find myslef having a whole lot of sympathy and then i feel bad about that. For a start, registration is two weeks before class starts. Why didn't she register and find out the problem then? maybe parents' inattention to school procedures and communication, but at that age, they really should be starting to take some responsibility for themselve, shouldn't they?

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster

For a start, registration is two weeks before class starts.

That gives her even more credit than I did--registration here happens before the end of the previous school year, and anyone with an issue like that would certainly have it brought to their attention.

Oh it would have/should have been brought to her attention on a regular basis. But it doesn't stop you until registration the next year as far as I can tell.

The news story is clearly incomplete.

I also think your thread title is unfair.

(1) Student, not students.
(2) Was not sent home for being poor, but for some other reason.

How about "School upholds society's standards of returning borrowed stuff"?

Nevertheless, while some kind of sanction is appropriate, I'd consider exclulsion from education to be a very serious punishment to be used as a last resort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster (Post 757068)

My guess is that someone was paying attention to book fines this year at registration while no one did last year. Seems like miscommunication across the board.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum

(1) Student, not students.

Students. Around ten were sent home.

Quote:

Doughty said when she went to pay Ellisha’s fine later that day, Pioneer staff told her about 10 students were sent home on the first day because of outstanding obligations.

I doubt if that news story is actually what happened. I don't know how big that school is, but I bet more than 10 kids had library fines of one sort or an another. Why send home only 10 of them? They would ALL have had to go home or call Mom and Dad for the money.

At my high school if you had fines or you lost a book, your library privileges would be taken away until you cleared the matter up.

As a matter of fact, in grade school, if we turned out text books in at the end of the year with too much damage, we had to pay for them. So everybody made these funky covers for their books out of brown paper bags.

I agree the kids should be taught responsibility. Let 'em do some work around the school to make up the fine if they can't pay it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45 (Post 757093)

Students. Around ten were sent home.

Missed that, thanks. :blush:

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamIam (Post 757094)

I think they are not library books but loaned books from the depository. there aren't fines here for school library books, as long as you return them eventually I think the school is in the region of 2,000. The books Hebe got from her school were in a disgusting state. They'd better not charge for that damage.

it's interesting to note that not one parent is featured in the article. It's a social worker/whatever making all the noise.

Either they really really don't care, or they know they had plenty of time to deal with it and should've done something/helped their child do something about it.

It sounds a tad heavy handed, but we have no idea what led up to this. For all we know there've been half a dozen letters sent to the parents. This could be the culmination of a long-standing problem.