That's So Brokeback
One of my administrators gave me the scoop on a nearby high school that made the Richmond Times-Dispatch today:
Their inappropriate cheer that went unreported in the T-D? Some Freeman students singled out a Godwin player and refered to him as "Brokeback Bobby" all night. The school was concerned about proper public decorum, sexual harassment lawsuits, and general sportsmanship.
Um, especially that part about the lawsuits.
Well, that's a pretty cheery assessment. I suspect most students won't see it that way. I suspect most students will feel that Dr. Pruden is an overreactionary jerk who punishes the whole school for the behavior of a few. I suspect they will think him power-mad.
I really, honestly understand his motivation, but I really don't think this was the proper response to the situation. The primary concern for every educator must be to educate. What lesson can we honestly expect Freeman students to take from this event?
But it's not just an issue at high schools, as fans of the Gonzaga basketball team have been in the news lately for the exact same thing. The response there?
There is no ban of the entire student body. There is open discussion on campus of what is appropriate and what is not. High school students are not too young to be treated the same way. As one of my openly gay students noted to me today, teenagers are more offended about not being treated as mature individuals, and having the entire student body punished for the actions of a few, than by the chanting of words that are used as slang throughout the school anyway.
"That principal is so... brokeback!" he said with an ironic smile as he swept out of the room.
These kids know what is right and what is wrong. It is just that they sometimes need to be reminded of it, and told that wrong behavior will not be tolerated. They don't need to be summarily barred from a school event just so the administration can cover their butts.
(This article now cross-posted at AtlasBlogged)
Parents and other interested spectators will have to do the cheering for the Douglas Freeman boys basketball team at tonight's Colonial District basketball tournament quarterfinal.
Freeman's principal, Dr. Edward Pruden Jr., has banned all students from the Rebels' game against visiting Maggie Walker Governor's School. The Rebels won the district regular-season title and are the top seeds in the tournament. The ban doesn't affect Maggie Walker students...
The ban is punishment for an inappropriate cheer during last Friday's home game against archrival Mills Godwin.
Their inappropriate cheer that went unreported in the T-D? Some Freeman students singled out a Godwin player and refered to him as "Brokeback Bobby" all night. The school was concerned about proper public decorum, sexual harassment lawsuits, and general sportsmanship.
Um, especially that part about the lawsuits.
Pruden has expressed in the past that he wants the students to cheer for Freeman and not against the opposition, and especially not to single out an individual player.
"We were shocked he banned students from a home game," said Laura Rothenberg, a senior who has been a part of the cheering section for four years. "It has made us step back and see that Dr. Pruden took it to heart and was offended. Once everyone cools down, we can accept the fact that it was inappropriate and come around and start with new momentum."
Well, that's a pretty cheery assessment. I suspect most students won't see it that way. I suspect most students will feel that Dr. Pruden is an overreactionary jerk who punishes the whole school for the behavior of a few. I suspect they will think him power-mad.
I really, honestly understand his motivation, but I really don't think this was the proper response to the situation. The primary concern for every educator must be to educate. What lesson can we honestly expect Freeman students to take from this event?
The ban covers one game. The district tournament continues at Douglas Freeman with the semifinals tomorrow night and the final Friday. Freeman, as the district champion, already has earned a berth in next week's Central Region tournament and will have a home game Feb. 21.
But it's not just an issue at high schools, as fans of the Gonzaga basketball team have been in the news lately for the exact same thing. The response there?
...the faculty advisers for the Kennel Club booster group urged students to avoid "inappropriate chants"...
There is no ban of the entire student body. There is open discussion on campus of what is appropriate and what is not. High school students are not too young to be treated the same way. As one of my openly gay students noted to me today, teenagers are more offended about not being treated as mature individuals, and having the entire student body punished for the actions of a few, than by the chanting of words that are used as slang throughout the school anyway.
"That principal is so... brokeback!" he said with an ironic smile as he swept out of the room.
These kids know what is right and what is wrong. It is just that they sometimes need to be reminded of it, and told that wrong behavior will not be tolerated. They don't need to be summarily barred from a school event just so the administration can cover their butts.
(This article now cross-posted at AtlasBlogged)
posted by Wulf at
8:36 PM
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