DADvocate

Two items involving high school students caught my eye today. The first involved two girls passing out anti-gay fliers at school.

The fliers show two men kissing — one of them apparently "a male classmate[,] and neighbor of one of the girls[,] with whom they had been feuding" — coupled with the words "God hates fags."

One of the girls is facing a hate crime charge.

(Hat tip to Instapundit.)

The second incident involves a male student secretly video taping his teacher in class.

Kent School District lawyer Charles Lind says the suspension had nothing to do with online criticism of the teacher. Rather, it was punishment for the disruption created by the students secreting a video camera into Joyce Mong's class and dancing in a mocking, disrespectful manner while her back was turned.

Having seen the video (you can see it at the link above), I can tell you that "mocking, disrespectful manner" means simulating having sex with the teacher, i.e. humping. The student wants his suspension from school lifted.

It was a sophomoric online video criticizing the hygiene of a teacher that was at issue in U.S. District Court on Monday, when Gregory Requa, a senior at Kentridge High School, asked a judge to order the lifting of his 40-day school suspension for his supposed involvement in producing and posting the video.

I have one big question. Where are the parents of these kids and what are they doing? I agree with that the girls actions don't rise to the level of criminal and are most likely protected by free speech. The student in the video taping incident is not facing criminal charges, so this isn't an issue for him.

Both incidents do deserve suspension from school, however. It should be abundantly obvious to all students and parents that unrestricted freedom of speech does not exist in schools (or in work places). A student who gets up behind his teacher and pretends to be sexually violating her should expect to be suspended if caught. His parents should be telling him, "You did the crime, now do the time."

The teacher, Joyce Mong, provides the only bright spot in this story.

Mong said Monday that that she never realized she had been videotaped. She called the video's criticism of her hygiene "totally fictitious."

Mong, now retired, said: "When I heard about this, it just made me sick because they don't represent the wonderful kids at the school."

Sounds like a sweet lady.

How in the world the two girls thought passing out anti-gay flies at school would be acceptable baffles me. Once again, the idiocy of this should be abundantly obvious. Wouldn't bother me if they were expelled. But, how did this get this far without their parents stepping in to stop them? Or, did the parents think this was OK? I keep my computer in the family room where I can monitor my children's activities in real time. Sometimes I will install tracking software if I think illicit activities are occurring. Plus, I'm a semi-geek and, unlike many parents, can out smart my kids on the computer.

Yes, kids sometimes do things that go completely against what their parents teach them. But, sometimes I wonder how diligent parents are being in keeping up with what their children are doing.