“A school watchdog group is calling for Katy Independent School District to immediately begin an examination of its discipline policy after a sixth-grader was ordered to attend alternative school for four months for writing ‘I love Alex’ on a gymnasium wall,” I read in the Chronicle.
When I first read about this I was appalled that writing an “I love X” statement on the wall could result in such a severe punishment. Then I discussed it with my sister, who is a teacher. And she gave me a different perspective. Writing on the wall is graffiti, which many school districts have to treat as gang-related activity. And they really can’t differentiate what they think may be a gang message and what they think may not be one.
That might not be the reasoning behind the punishment in Katy ISD. But it did give me another perspective I wasn’t considering.
Resources:
- Katy urged to review discipline after graffiti flap; A watchdog group is urging review after girl’s writing on a wall treated as felony — Houston Chronicle
- is writing on te wall the same as a terrorist threat?, by stories from a teaching life
