The Unfair Reality of School
11 DECEMBER 2024 / Written by Flay Ming-Akori
11 DECEMBER 2024 / Written by Flay Ming-Akori
School: Inside and Out
School: Inside and Out
When you’re caught assaulting someone inside of school, you’re given detention. Thirty minutes of your life writing a 2 page apology. If you do the same outside the school, you’re sentenced to three months in jail with a whopping 100k bail. What are these double standards? Some people (you know who you are) don’t even go to detention and in some cases (you know who you are) you brag about it to people, and (you know who you are) even do it in professional school settings. Like the journalism radio (I’m talking about you, Neon). No meetings with SLT, no consequences, no nothing. Meanwhile KPD is out here tracking down your location because someone tattled about you hitting her.
How come this issue isn’t addressed? Laws apply inside of school, don’t they?
How come this issue isn’t addressed? Laws apply inside of school, don’t they?
Laws: Do you know ‘em?
Laws: Do you know ‘em?
Double Standards - Assault and Attempted Murder
Double Standards - Assault and Attempted Murder
Situation A:There is a report that two individuals are fighting. Two staff members are called to the scene of the crime: a caretaker and a teacher. The teacher checks the two for knuckle bruises while the two students explain what happened. One of the students does indeed have a bruise! Assault, clearly. However, the caretaker checks CCTV, just in case. The student that assaulted is given detention, they are to stay 30 minutes to 2 hours after school to complete a 2 page apology. The student is told “good job on your task, you may go home!” and let out without further action. But what if they didn’t attend detention? Nothing happens, SLT are too busy anyways, they just let it go. No one gets suspended anymore.
Assault in school means either: 1 hour of schoolwork or absolutely nothing!
Situation B: There is a report by phone call that two individuals are fighting. Two officers are called to the scene of the crime. One officer checks the knuckles of the individuals while the two people explain what happened. One of the people does indeed have a bruise! Assault, clearly. However, the second officer checks CCTV, just in case. The person that assaulted the other is put in cuffs and brought to the jail. Patted down, took some mugshots, asked “guilty or innocent?” (if you say innocent, you have to pay 25k for a lawyer), and is given an ugly jumpsuit to wear. Three months or hoping someone cares about you enough (and is rich) to bail you out for 100k.
In both situations, the action was the EXACT same, however one punishment is a ton worse than the other. Because of this double standard, everyone learns to fight during school, not outside of it.
I’d like to add that attempted murder is the same thing! Do it at school? Get a warning or detention. Do it outside? Still no consequences. But at least there is a chance for jail time.
Winter is here, and the pool is Titanic levels of cold. Hypothermia is an issue, basically near death, and people still push each other in. That is attempted murder. That is also detention, no jail time required. The system is messed up.
Double Standards - The Other Stuff
Double Standards - The Other Stuff
Harassment: You can throw snowballs at faculty, you can shoot them with water from your water gun, and you can follow them, taunt them, and mock them. What do they do? Make you write a 2 page apology to whoever is standing in the front of detention. What happens when you do it outside of school? They grant a restraining order or kick you out of their place of work.
Write your name on the wall or make it so you’re never allowed to come close to them ever, and if you do, jail time. If you’re going to harass someone, might as well do it at school.
Contraband: When you bring weapons or alcohol to school, what do they do? Take them away and issue detention if caught. What happens outside of school? For weapons it’s confiscation AND jail time. If it’s alcohol (for people under 20), it’s confiscation AND a fine. If you’re going to carry a weapon or alcohol, might as well do it in school.
Why?
Why?
Why is it the way it is? I wish I knew. If you do, let me know. I really need to know.
There’s no cops or guards at school except faculty which only cares about their subject areas, like math, science, cleaning, and sitting at the front desk like a potato. People may argue about cops making the school feel like a prison, but people are breaking laws, might as well treat it like one. The place is full of criminals that learn that crimes are best committed at school. It would be so much easier for staff if laws are enforced, not just school rules. Give people more reasons to not do what they’re doing.
Could be a funding issue, however KPD can just take it out of their funding instead of the schools.
Could just be that way “because I said so,” y’know, the thing all the adults say at some point.
There’s no cops or guards at school except faculty which only cares about their subject areas, like math, science, cleaning, and sitting at the front desk like a potato. People may argue about cops making the school feel like a prison, but people are breaking laws, might as well treat it like one. The place is full of criminals that learn that crimes are best committed at school. It would be so much easier for staff if laws are enforced, not just school rules. Give people more reasons to not do what they’re doing.
Could be a funding issue, however KPD can just take it out of their funding instead of the schools.
Could just be that way “because I said so,” y’know, the thing all the adults say at some point.
What If?
What If?
What if instead of being more strict at schools, we are less strict outside of school? This would be a lot better, because punching someone once shouldn’t be jail time. KPD should relax a bit and enforce rules for attempted murders, not simple quarrels between friends.
Faculty aren't trained to handle fights, but if the assaulters could do it after school with the same level of consequences, they would wait. Imagine being able to be brought to the KPD office and write an apology letter. That would make more sense than being treated like garbage and being fed sloppy mystery mush.
Faculty aren't trained to handle fights, but if the assaulters could do it after school with the same level of consequences, they would wait. Imagine being able to be brought to the KPD office and write an apology letter. That would make more sense than being treated like garbage and being fed sloppy mystery mush.
Next Steps
Next Steps
Heighten school consequences. More suspensions, mainly. More yelling and parent meetings, more disappointed glares. Take away field trips and reward stickers, take away break times and make them work. Give them bad lunches and give them double portions of steamed vegetables.
Lower out-of-school consequences. Less jail time and more community service, like shoveling snow and cleaning public parks. Less jail time and more apology letter writing, more freedom to express yourself. Like they say, actions speak louder than words.
Lower out-of-school consequences. Less jail time and more community service, like shoveling snow and cleaning public parks. Less jail time and more apology letter writing, more freedom to express yourself. Like they say, actions speak louder than words.
