www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall C'mon, now... maybe a li'l common sense here?

O.K... I gotta share this one...

I'm sitting here during lunch reading yesterday's Chicago Tribune (seems I'm always a day behind!) when I come across this article about a female student who was expelled from a Chicago Roman Catholic School for "inappropriate behavior," apparently after exposing her chest to a male student...

Here's the kicker... she's 5 years old! The school is a preschool!

The gist of the article says that the girl, Maia, was working on a team project with a boy in her class to apparently collect eggs into a basket. Rather than help collect eggs, the boy allegedly (...allegedly?? Sheesh - I'm starting to sound like a lawyer! Mea culpa! ) ignored his teamwork duties and, instead, went to "tattle" on Maia for something or other, leaving her, literally, "holding the basket." Apparently out of frustration at his lack of assistance on the project and his "tattletale" nature, Maia lifted her shirt at the boy (my guess would be much the same as if she had stuck out her tongue at him).

The poor working mother of this 5-year-old is now faced with the task of finding somewhere for her daughter to finish the remaining three weeks of the preschool year - this, after forking out $8,000 a year for a Catholic education for her daughter.

The principal of the school was quoted as saying, "I have no comment."

Inappropriate behavior... c'mon, now... you gotta wonder if a 5-year-old even knows what the word "inappropriate" means. Sure, 5-years-old is certainly old enough to have an appreciation for what's proper and what's not, but gimmee a break!! Shouldn't the punishment fit the "crime?"

a pilgrim... who grows more and more concerned daily with the image our Holy Church presents to the world...

Unfortunately, this knee-jerk, overreaction is quite common these days everywhere, not just in this Roman Catholic Pre-school.

So ridiculous.

Everybody calm down.

There is probably a lot more to this story than was in one article.

Maybe the girl was a persistent behavior problem. Maybe she was on her last warning.

You never know.

My father and brother both work in schools--my father as an assistant principal at an inner-city HS in NYC, and my brother as a teacher at a middle school in VA. Granted 5 year olds are different--but I have heard enough stories from them about controversies, expulsions, etc., to know that there is ALWAYS the other side of the story on a seemingly "outrageous" expulsion or other disciplinary action.

Just my two cents.

In Christ,

LT

Thank you, LT, for serving as a calming, "voice of reason." I learned of this incident by reading of it in the newspaper - a medium which relies, to some degree, on sensationalism for its very existence. Surely what I read was the side of the story that was most apt to sell papers! I should have known better... DOH!!

That said, I think what I found most troubling in this story was the emphasis on the Catholic connection. Perhaps the paper recognized this connection as a "hot button," especially in today's climate! I obviously fell right into their trap!

Certainly a lesson for me here!

a pilgrim

This happened in a big city too. In small towns kids are allowed to be kids and everything is not so politically correct. However, I agree there maybe more to the story than these words.

Pani Rose

Dear Pani Rose,

I remember a few months ago you posted someone's memoirs of their childhood. Perhaps you could post it again. I think it would fit in well here.

Hritzko

Reason 109382098538947343

that my wife and I decided to homeschool.

John Gibson