ChatterBank0 min ago
School law
I my child is excluded from school without being asked what happend is this right or should my child have a chance to explain.
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I'm not saying this is necessarily the case in this instance but I constantly see children deny any involvement in a misdemeanour in school. It's no different when it comes to telling their parents their side of the story. Frequently the parents will complain to the school that 'My son/daughter would never do that' when they absolutely have. I often see it with my own eyes!
As someone who has worked in a secondary school for six years I can tell you with my hand on my heart that the way a great many children behave in school would shock their parents if they really knew. I do acknowledge though, that there's a small minority of teachers out there who can be a bit heavy handed (metaphorically speaking). I am not a teacher myself, I am a Lab Technician and every day I see and hear things that are questionable at best and categorically unacceptable at worst.
If your son really had only been passing when this happened there would be no grounds for suspension. Were there other children involved? Surely there must have been other children around if it wasn't your son as someone threw the snowballs. Therefore there must be someone who can testify if your son was involved or not. I would think that the school wouldn't have gone as far as suspension if they were in any doubt. However, if they couldn't say with any certainty that your boy was involved then I feel that a suspension is uncalled for.
You really need to speak to the school. Remain calm and ask any necessary questions until you are satisfied with the information. It is natural to feel defensive of your own children, it's a parents protective instinct, but it's also natural for children to not be entirely honest when they know they are in trouble, so try and be open minded when establishing the truth of the situation.
As someone who has worked in a secondary school for six years I can tell you with my hand on my heart that the way a great many children behave in school would shock their parents if they really knew. I do acknowledge though, that there's a small minority of teachers out there who can be a bit heavy handed (metaphorically speaking). I am not a teacher myself, I am a Lab Technician and every day I see and hear things that are questionable at best and categorically unacceptable at worst.
If your son really had only been passing when this happened there would be no grounds for suspension. Were there other children involved? Surely there must have been other children around if it wasn't your son as someone threw the snowballs. Therefore there must be someone who can testify if your son was involved or not. I would think that the school wouldn't have gone as far as suspension if they were in any doubt. However, if they couldn't say with any certainty that your boy was involved then I feel that a suspension is uncalled for.
You really need to speak to the school. Remain calm and ask any necessary questions until you are satisfied with the information. It is natural to feel defensive of your own children, it's a parents protective instinct, but it's also natural for children to not be entirely honest when they know they are in trouble, so try and be open minded when establishing the truth of the situation.
I just wanted to add that, as a parent who's daughter was recently accused of something at school which she vehemently denies, I do view these situations from both sides of the fence. It would appear from my daughter's point of view that she was guilty by association with the culprits.
Having discussed the matter with her teacher told my daughter that I believed her but, I allowed the school to deal with her as they saw fit. I reasoned that if she really was telling the truth it would discourage her from hanging out with the group of so-called mates who were happy for her to take the rap with them and encourage her to steer clear of any trouble in future. By the same token, if she wasn't telling the truth she got no payoff for lying to me. Despite what many parents believe, 99.9% of children tell fibs, especially when they think they are in trouble. I am under no illusions that mine would be any different.
I can only hope that I handled the situation right. In my daughter's case though, it didn't involve suspension so I'm not comparing her situation to your son's. I'm just attempting to illustrate that I'm not automatically biased towards school staff just because I am one. I am also a parent who faces life on the other side of the fence too.
I wish you luck in getting to the bottom of your son's situation.
Having discussed the matter with her teacher told my daughter that I believed her but, I allowed the school to deal with her as they saw fit. I reasoned that if she really was telling the truth it would discourage her from hanging out with the group of so-called mates who were happy for her to take the rap with them and encourage her to steer clear of any trouble in future. By the same token, if she wasn't telling the truth she got no payoff for lying to me. Despite what many parents believe, 99.9% of children tell fibs, especially when they think they are in trouble. I am under no illusions that mine would be any different.
I can only hope that I handled the situation right. In my daughter's case though, it didn't involve suspension so I'm not comparing her situation to your son's. I'm just attempting to illustrate that I'm not automatically biased towards school staff just because I am one. I am also a parent who faces life on the other side of the fence too.
I wish you luck in getting to the bottom of your son's situation.
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