I had previously avoiding blogging this story, simply because I thought it was so appalling:
The Dallas Independent School District is investigating two students caught having oral sex in the middle of a classroom full of other students and an adult monitor.
District officials say a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were performing the sex act in the back of a science laboratory at Robert T. Hill middle school. Four witnesses say the girl was performing the act on the boy.
Donny Claxton with the DISD said the teacher was in a meeting, and the adult monitor on duty was apparently unaware of what was going on in the science class. Claxton said the fact that the students were having sex while under supervision of school personnel is very disturbing.
I think I'd have chosen a more extreme word than "disturbing," and a more extreme modifier than "very." This version of the story contains an even worse quote from Claxton:
"It's even more disturbing in society that a 12-year-old youngster is cognizant of such activity," [Claxton] said. "The fact that it happened in a classroom while an adult was present is almost inexcusable."
As Best of the Web puts it, "Almost? One wonders if there is anything that our public schools would consider just plain unacceptable." What on earth made Claxton put that word "almost" in there at the last minute? What was the reason for hedging his statements about an act this heinous?
As I said, I wasn't going to blog the story. But then today there's this follow-up:
Two students at a Dallas middle school won't face charges for engaging in a sex act during a science class recently.
Police tell the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that October 28th act between the 12-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy at Robert T. Hill Middle School was consensual. They also say the children's parents have asked that no charges be filed.
The adult who was monitoring the class when the act happened is reportedly on administrative leave.
School officials say the two students have been disciplined but won't comment on the nature of the discipline.
Apparently, this school doesn't have a set of those notorious zero-tolerance policies for minor offenses. You know, the policies that require expulsion when a 14-year-old commits the non-crime of writing in a private journal about a dream that involves violence , or that require criminal charges be filed when a 16-year-old shares his inhaler because he believes someone else's life is in danger.
Why isn't this school publicizing the punishment that these promiscuous students are receiving? Does the school have something to hide? Do the school administrators feel at least partially at fault? (They should.) I assume the parents want no charges filed because they want to protect the privacy of their children, but I bet the school has less compassionate motives in refusing to admit what disciplinary steps they've taken. My guess is that they have no idea of how to deal with this.
And "administrative leave"? Get real. That "adult monitor" should be fired.
Posted by kswygert at November 4, 2003 02:05 PM