Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Bob, Arizona on November 17, 2008:

This case is very similar to the military shrinks reply to the military instructors when I was in the Air Force in the 60's. During training for crypto equipment, one of my students was caught doodling during a extremely boring part of the class. The instructor took great offense when he saw a swastika, or in other native American cultures a sign good spirits.

The instructor sent the airman down to see the big man that was in charge and after following all of the protocol, the airman was sent to see the base shrink for a mental and psychological evaluation.

The airman was sent back too class with the note and results from the evaluation. "This airman is no crazier than the fools that sent him for an evaluation."

Zero tolerance is an oxymoron. Zero is nothing and nothing can be tolerated.

Posted by Cristy-Oregon on November 17, 2008:

Put the picture in context as I am sure the very smart (for once) cops on the subject of ZT. If the child had drawn this in February, I could see that there may have been some reason for concern. This is for Halloween for crying out loud. Halloween!!! Let common sense prevail!

Posted by Allan, Rancho Cucamonga on November 17, 2008:

Randy, I have agreed 100% with the sentiment you display whenever you publish a ZT story... until now. This story just doesn't fit the usual ZT mold, unless there are some significant details that you have left out.

Jordan drew a picture. His homeroom teacher, Melissa Pevey, found it "disturbing" so she called the assistant principal and the police. Jordan wasn't expelled, jailed, or even spanked. Neither he nor his parents have to pay any fines. He was given a psychological evaluation; when he passed, he returned to class.

Did Lloyd Harold, the art teacher, explain to Ms. Pevey what the assignment was BEFORE Ms. Pevey made the calls? Your story doesn't say. It certainly seems that Ms. Pevey over-reacted, but other than that, it seems to me that everyone did exactly what they should have done. If I was working in a school where a homeroom teacher was worried about the mental health and stability of one of her children, I would hope that the worries would be taken seriously. I would also hope that the child would not be punished merely on the basis of those worries. It seems to me that asking a psychologist to evaluate the child, and then following the psychologist's recommendations, is EXACTLY THE RIGHT balance to take.

On one extreme, we sometimes have schoolchildren giving relatively obvious clues of mental imbalance, hinting that they have access to a gun and plan to use it, with teachers ignoring these signs until it is far too late. At the other extreme, we have your much-more-typical ZT stories: someone getting arrested and expelled from school for drawing a picture of a man with a gun. This story seems far between these two extremes: a teacher feeling that she has cause for concern, and then people acting rationally to find out if there really is a problem. This is what we WANT them to do, isn't it?

Randy, you've sometimes said that one of the purposes of TRUE is to make people think. Well, I think - based only on your own summation of the events - that this does NOT fall in the ZT zone. You wrote: "Where Zero Tolerance reigns, common sense is forgotten." But it seems to me that in this particular case, common sense was followed, and the right result emerged!

Looking through comments that others have already left, it seems like I'm only the second person (after "Pete, Toms River, NJ" and "Dustin in Lawrence") suggesting that this is not a typical ZT story, or that the school was not crazy-out-of-control... I find that surprising.

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I don't know if the art teacher was consulted or not, since the story didn't say (definitely a failing of the reporter). Certainly, he should have been. The issue isn't whether the teacher was worried, but rather how reasonable that worry was. When one considers the kid acted at the direction of, and under the supervision of, a teacher (and a specialist in the field at that), the worry is certainly not reasonable.

That said, I lay out the information and let people make up their own minds -- that's where "thinking" comes in. You thought about it, and I won't criticize you for coming up with a different conclusion. Yes, as you saw most readers are finding this story disturbing, if not outrageous. That should indeed tell you something, but reasonable people can differ, since we all come from different backgrounds. -rc

Posted by Phil in NH on November 17, 2008:

Idiotic behavior by 'professionals' like Pevey and the assistant principal is one of the main reasons my wife and I homeschool our two children. My twenty-year-old daughter got 1100 on her SATs and is currently maintaining a 3.92 GPA in college. Her main teacher was my wife, who 'only' has a high-school diploma and is thus 'unqualified' to teach anybody. My eleven-year-old son is also being homeschooled, and will hopefully do as well as his sister. I suspect that he has a far better chance of doing well by being homeschooled than by being processed by the State.

My wife and I recently had a contractor work on the ceilings in our kitchen and living room. He came when he said he would come, he did the work for the price he said he would charge, and did an excellent job finished in a timely manner. His work was the epitome of professionalism. Holding a certificate may mean that one 'has a profession,' but it certainly does not mean that the holder has a professional attitude. Why is anybody surprised when a State-controlled industry, ignoring feedback from the market and only grudgingly letting 'customers' opt out, repeatedly fails to deliver and goes to extremes?

Posted by Des, Australia on November 17, 2008:

I see the sickening adoption of ZT in all sorts of places, but question also the latitude given to other more "disturbing" things children are exposed to. A particular peeve of mine is the way various groups are permitted to expose their beliefs and "values/judgements" without being subjected to similar revulsion - I saw the PETA "comics" which were distributed to schoolkids, and would be disgusted to think that was permitted (or even invited) in a ZT school, yet a kid drawing soldiers would be expelled. I see a lot of people see ZT as "Zero Thought", but then see and hear accounts of extremist thought being promoted in the same schools. What do they (not us) want the next 2 generations to be if they grow up?

I subscribe to This is true (free and premium) since I like to think, and laugh - but find myself increasingly concerned about how many people believe thinking is "optional" in their development as human beings.

Posted by Chris -- Roy, WA on November 17, 2008:

Allan lays out a very thoughtful response to this story, defending the reactions of the various personnel involved once the teacher raised a concern. It's true that the police officer and psychologist reacted appropriately. The problem is that they should never have been involved. Based on the evidence, the teacher grossly over-reacted, and the assistant principal failed to apply any common sense to the situation (yes, there is still common sense in schools, although the constant ZT stories make me fear that it's a dwindling commodity).

As a veteran teacher (of ten-year-old students, no less!), I've seen countless pictures more or less similar to this one. Did any of those pictures indicate gang ties, mental health issues, or an impending crisis? Nope. What they indicated is that ten-year-old boys are heavily into (what they perceive as) shock value. They like vampires, ghosts, monsters, and anything else likely to gross out ten-year-old girls. If it also shocks the teacher, so much the better. The fact that this picture was produced in response to an assignment just makes the teacher's reaction that much more inexcusable.

Having once been a ten-year-old boy myself, I've never worried about students producing pictures like this, nor do I worry much if there's a little violence in their writing (I have a 'PG-13' policy for stories -- battles are fine and characters can die, but you don't need a bunch of blood and gore. This is in direct opposition to many teachers I've worked with, but it's always worked well for me and I've always had luck getting boys to read and write in my class).

If I see something that does raise a concern, I **TALK** to the student about it, a step I'm virtually certain wasn't taken in this case. Had the teacher simply asked Jordan about the picture, her fears would probably have been eased, and the whole farce avoided. Because she jumped to a conclusion -- and the assistant principal didn't have the sense to stop this in its tracks -- Jordan was put through an entirely unnecessary and ridiculous ordeal. I hope that she's simply a new teacher who made a stupid move and will learn from her mistake.

At any rate, thanks to Randy for continuing to bring ZT insanity to light -- just don't forget that there are still people in my profession who actually use and apply common sense!

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And I'm thankful for it, Chris! Keep it up. -rc

Posted by Cam, Pikesville, Md. on November 18, 2008:

This (as most ZT Stories) would be hysterical -- a ten year old is more mature than his home room teacher. However, it isn't funny that the result was carried so far. I think the school should be held liable to pay for the cost of any examination, the parent's time required to take the child for examination, and anything else we could dream up. That way we could not only have this story, but also one for the stupid lawsuits newsletter -- not that you are having a lot of trouble finding those.

Posted by Curt in New Jersey on November 18, 2008:

I guess I'm the prude in the crowd; while this image doesn't truly upset me, neither do I think that it's a healthy sort of thing for a 10 year old boy to draw.

I think what we see and hear makes a difference and has meaning, that it is worrisome that our children are becoming numb to images of violence. I think that the school was right to look into it, and if it was my 6 or 9 year-old I wouldn't be pleased with it. Of course, if the child ever did later have an incident, the school (i.e. taxpayers) would be sued for millions for having missed this obvious clue.

I understand that I'm probably in the minority here, but I think all would draw the line somewhere...this isn't over the line, but it's getting there.

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Read the comment from the teacher, Chris, just two comments above yours. Children are certainly not "becoming numb to images of violence," we've been numb to it for generations. This sort of silly image is common, and dare I say normal. The idea is to shock, and real violence, not this cartoony stuff, is a concern. Monsters, vampires and such are how we learn to deal with fear of the unknown, and is healthy. Stop your kids from doing it will increase damage to them, not lessen it! -rc

Posted by Maurice, Cupertino CA on November 18, 2008:

Why would anyone get upset over a picture drawn by a 10-year-old? That is with or without a teacher's help?

I lived in Japan, by far the worlds safest country, and children there produce and are exposed to the most hideous, violent and bloody art, stories, swordplay and TV available anywhere. And with what results? I said it before; there were no muggings, stickups or violence against others such as seen in Western nations that I saw.

And there was a level of honesty that was unbelievable -- a lost wallet always beat the loser back to the ship, or to the police, and. get this; with the money intact! Maybe Japanese are only violent when engaged in a foreign war. And perhaps we should do better studies of the effects on the young of depictions of violence in all media.

Posted by john, Donegal, Ireland on November 19, 2008:

I would advise the home teacher not to watch Tom and Jerry or she will go into psychotic shock. As for the cartoons on the Simpsons.The mind boggles. I bet she has no children of her own or maybe she is training to be a School Principal. He/She must be as nuts as the teacher.