Story Archive

No Tolerance for the Right Thing

Denise Davies bought a backpack for her son, Tyler, 12, at a Goodwill second-hand store. The boy loaded it up with his books and papers and headed to Legg Middle School in Coldwater, Mich. Once there, he found something in the backpack that wasn’t his, and presumably was in the backpack when his mom bought it: a pocket knife in a leather case. Tyler, a seventh-grader, immediately turned it in to his counselor, who was nearby. The reward for Tyler doing the right thing? For “possessing” a “weapon” he was suspended from school — for a year. After reviewing the case, the school reduced the punishment: to 30 school days — at least six weeks. Denise says she doesn’t want Tyler to go back to the district at all. “You are punishing him for doing what’s right,” she fumed. “So what is that teaching these kids?” (RC/WWMT Grand Rapids) ...That 1) thinking really, really matters, and 2) a lot of highly paid adults don’t know how to do it.