Monday, May 19, 2008

Frank - Former Student



Really Grand Heights, Really. I remember when I went to Grand Heights just a few years ago. Administration trying to get into our (The students) business was always a problem but not to this extent. I would try to bring Cd's to school to share with friends and teachers would take my cd and make sure its appropriate. Who are they to take my Cd. Just like, who are they to search kids lockers for suspicious behavior. I can understand searching a locker if there is threats of a bomb, but having a suspicion about some student from out of school activities has to be against some law. This reminds me of the great song, "suspicion," by Eric Hampton. " When you don't know what to do because the whole worlds against you.." Such a great tune. It all comes down to what the law is. Is it against students rights for school administration to look online at these pictures. Similar to the controversy of downloading music. Downloading music is illegal, but yet millions of people do it. Some of the things in the pictures may be against school policy, but if everyones doing it... I know that doesn't make it right, but it just leads to a lot of High School kids getting in trouble. Students need to know what their punishment might be so they won't take these pictures or do these things. For downloading music the consequence is jail. What is the consequence for Grand Heights?

13 comments:

mgartner said...

Frank,

You make a good point about not knowing what the consequences are for this kind of behavior. Our administration should figure out what the consequences are and let them be known to everyone. If the students know what the consequences are, then hopefully they will be convinced not to behave in this way.

I agree that the bad behavior is getting more severe as the years go on. I remember when you're class went through and the biggest thing we had to worry about was using cd players in class. We can only hope that that will be our biggest issue again.

Thanks,
Cecile Calibo
Guidance Councelor

Jake S said...

Frank, I feel your pain. Just like those trees feel the pain of Lumberjacks. But anyways I think the school is downright mean for searching kids lockers like suspicious. Back when I was in high school, the teachers knew what was up, and never threatened to search lockers or any of that bush league crap. But what can you do, as long as your in their school, they can search you I guess. This whole argument is dumb, and people just have to chill out, but I need to go drive this bus, and listen to some Eric Hutchinson but holler at me.

Jake S said...

Love Lloyd

ABarmore said...

Frank,

You were very weird. You do not sound like the Jock that I was in High School. You are very weird actually. I remember taking your cd's from you. You were trying to get kids to listen to inapproiate things.

As far as the privacy issue, The happenings at our high school have been a shock to us. We did not want anything of this to happen. Since these photos became public we will have to take the right actions and deal with them. I know the kids will not get off easy. I will not allow that. We are going to have a staff meeting and decide ahwat we have to do. I want the kids to get in a harsh trouble. They should have never put any of these pictures online.
Ty Longby

Brandon K. said...

I agree with your points, and feel like Grant Heights is going to the extreme with this issue. I feel like the students will be very upset, and there will be a consequence for Grant Heights. Oh well, as long as I am not involved, it doesn't really matter to me, so I am not going to worry about it that much.

This has been hapening for a while, and the school knew about drinking parties, but never did anything about it. Why now?

Brandon K. said...

Chet Ander

AlyssaV said...

Frank,

I agree that the school needs to decide on a consistent punishment for students who are found with inappropriate materials. However, I think students need to be more intelligent about the things they are doing. This isn’t new. It’s common knowledge that students are stripped of their rights as soon as they step onto the school premise. No offense, but I’ll take your CD example. I know it’s unfair that teachers can just take your CDs away, but you should have really known that. Why was it such a prerogative to bring it to school? Couldn’t you just have shown your friends outside of school? Or if you have to bring it to school, couldn’t you have shown your friends out of range of a teacher who would care about the CDs you choose to bring to school?
I think this really comes down to judgment. In some cases, while it is unfair that your ‘right to privacy’ is invaded, I think students bring it upon themselves. Did that football player really need to show those pictures online? Couldn’t he just have kept them to himself? He wanted to publicly socially rebel, so it wasn’t really like he was hiding his actions. He obviously wanted recognition in some form or another, I think he didn’t really realize that punishment might result.
Now I will refer back to my first statement. I think there needs to be a specific code of conduct for teachers and students. How far are teachers able to dig? For example, a famous Supreme Court case New Jersey v. T.L.O addresses the issue of the applicability of the fourth amendment to school officials. I think the school needs to put limits on the extent to which school staff and officials can search students. I think that unless the material is distracting learning or affecting other students and the staff can prove such, the students should be allowed to maintain their ‘privacy’.

Sincerely,

Lyla Marx

Student Body President
Grand Heights High School

Jeff T said...

Frank,
you are right on the topic you speak about kids do have there right to listen to the music they want teachers should not be allowed to do that but with this topic it is a whole new ball park students were naked drunk and clueless on what they were doing you don't seem to be able to grasp what is going on here all you can think about is your music which is fine but have fun telling that your daughter when she is the one posted online nude.

LaurenVann said...

Frank,

I do agree with you that Grand Rapids High School had gone way too far in checking students' CD's, however, it has nothing to do with what was posted online. A CD is a personal item and is not out there for the world to see. The graphic material posted online was public and therefore open for scrutiny by peers. Your actions outside of school count just as much as your actions inside of school.
Edna Quiggle

Chelseaw said...

Frank,

There are many strong points you have there. It seems you experienced a lot like this when you went to Grand Heights. I have been a bus driver at the school for many years and I know that the adminsitrators getting in students' business is getting even worse. What ever happened to privacy? The school is searching on MySpace, like they are purposely trying to get kids in trouble and it doesn't make sense. They have crossed the line.

-Herald Hounderson

E. M. Peterson said...

Dear Frank,

I am glad you feel the same way I do about the locker search. I understand it's the school's lockers but as students we feel we can place items, like Charlie's letters, that have personal matters in them. Letters aren't illegal. Diaries aren't illegal. Drugs. Alcohol. Why did they do that to him? There is no reason they had for looking at those letters. Unless it's now illegal to write down your thoughts, feelings, and your life. Charlie's past isn't good. Everyone has bumps in the road. Everyone will succumb to temptation once. Downloading illegally, porn, drugs, drinking, everything. So do they remember? Do they see what we do? These are the mistakes we need to make. This is our time. This is our chance to change.

~Isabella Ophoven

College Girl said...

Frank-
I agree that the school should stay out of the kids business. They have no right to look on line and search for kids doing wrong things. That is not their place. If anything parents should be keeping a closer eye on what their kids are posting online and punish them there. But definitely no the school.

April Shauers

Gorman said...

Frank,

It's nice to get a view from a former student, since I'm a new teacher/coach I don't really know what it was like here before I started teaching at Grand Heights. Sounds like the administration has always been a little uptight. It seems like a big divide in viewpoints as the age increases. I'm right here with you on the fact that administration needs to chill and worry a little more about what's going on inside the school, not what's going on outside. I always see kids sneaking out, and they don't get punished. But the moment they're outside it's like their being watched more closely. Weird huh?

-Danny Reynolds