Andrews High student arrested after paper airplane hits teacher in eye

Andrews High student arrested after paper airplane hits teacher in eye
https://www.sott.net/article/340305-Andrews-High-student-arrested-after-paper-airplane-hits-teacher-in-eye

I think it is a good thing that the student who threw the paper airplane at the teacher was arrested and booked to jail. The student intentionally threw it at the teacher's head. Eye injury is no joke and vision impairment would be serious. The student is 17 years old and not a little kid. I don't know what other consequence is better than arrest in this instance.

hlat said:

Andrews High student arrested after paper airplane hits teacher in eye
https://www.sott.net/article/340305-Andrews-High-student-arrested-after-paper-airplane-hits-teacher-in-eye

I think it is a good thing that the student who threw the paper airplane at the teacher was arrested and booked to jail. The student intentionally threw it at the teacher's head. Eye injury is no joke and vision impairment would be serious. The student is 17 years old and not a little kid. I don't know what other consequence is better than arrest in this instance.

Click to expand...

Eye injury and vision impairment is definitely not a joke, and I can understand the teacher was upset, especially since he had an ocular surgery recently. Having said that, a 17 year old is still a kid in my opinion. When I was at high school, teenagers of that age were still doing all kinds of pranks and teasing their teachers. There was a whole group of them who didn't come to class and decided to hide out in the school, practically playing hide and seek with the teacher. I'm not saying they should do these things, just that these are the things most or at least some kids and teenagers do. They test the boundaries.

When they cross the line, something has to be done. In this particular case, there is little background information on Elliott, and no information on whether his parents were asked to come over for a serious talk. And no info on other kind of measures being taken. Arrest should've been the last option on the list. Based on the info that is available, I personally think jailing him for it, is over the top... Now that he's gone to jail over this, he will probably find difficulty getting a job in the future. If he threw a cup, a knife, a stick, a phone or something else, yes I could definitely understand, but a paper airplane? Not so sure if that's really a reason to arrest someone, but then again I don't know all the details.

Charging a high school student with assault and battery for throwing a paper air-plane is a bit over the top. The school to prison pipeline has become deeply entrenched. A police record for juvenile actions will follow a kid his whole life and should be reserved for only a select few cases. Instead, it has become the rule, not the exception.

The article also stated that the teacher said if this kid, Elliot was responsible, he wanted to press charges because of past conflicts between the two, implying that if it were someone else, he would not have involved the police.

While an eye injury can be serious, a paper air-plane could only cause a small abrasion that would heal in a couple of days, regardless of recent surgery. I think the teacher does not like the kid and wants to make him suffer just because he can.

hlat said:

Andrews High student arrested after paper airplane hits teacher in eye
https://www.sott.net/article/340305-Andrews-High-student-arrested-after-paper-airplane-hits-teacher-in-eye

I think it is a good thing that the student who threw the paper airplane at the teacher was arrested and booked to jail. The student intentionally threw it at the teacher's head. Eye injury is no joke and vision impairment would be serious. The student is 17 years old and not a little kid. I don't know what other consequence is better than arrest in this instance.

Click to expand...

I think a reasoned response would be that it was an accident. The student was unlikely to have such expert control over the paper plane that he intended to hit, and succeeded in hitting, the teacher in the eye. That shows no intent to cause harm. A paper plane is not a dangerous weapon. It is not a weapon at all.

Jesus! It's not as if the student stabbed the teacher in the eye, he was goofing off and threw a paper airplane. At the most this should've ended in a detention or suspension but to embroil a child in the legal system for such a minor offense is sheer craziness. Like Lilou said, I think the teacher had it out for this kid and let things go farther than they should have just out of spite.

I agree with others. That type of punishment is way over the top in this case. They could have made him study extra hard, or even suspended him for a few days. But arrest? Come on!

Oxajil said:

hlat said:

Andrews High student arrested after paper airplane hits teacher in eye
https://www.sott.net/article/340305-Andrews-High-student-arrested-after-paper-airplane-hits-teacher-in-eye

I think it is a good thing that the student who threw the paper airplane at the teacher was arrested and booked to jail. The student intentionally threw it at the teacher's head. Eye injury is no joke and vision impairment would be serious. The student is 17 years old and not a little kid. I don't know what other consequence is better than arrest in this instance.

Click to expand...

Eye injury and vision impairment is definitely not a joke, and I can understand the teacher was upset, especially since he had an ocular surgery recently. Having said that, a 17 year old is still a kid in my opinion. When I was at high school, teenagers of that age were still doing all kinds of pranks and teasing their teachers. There was a whole group of them who didn't come to class and decided to hide out in the school, practically playing hide and seek with the teacher. I'm not saying they should do these things, just that these are the things most or at least some kids and teenagers do. They test the boundaries.

Click to expand...

Very true. Aside from having been a high school student once upon a time, I now work in the school system (in an urban district, too) and I've heard horror stories from teachers and subs of many kids who test the boundaries in ways much worse than throwing paper airplanes, especially when you're a substitute. Granted, I've never had anything thrown at me or suffered any kind of injury - the worst I've had to contend with are bad attitudes and some rude comments. But I think even if I had a paper airplane poke me in the eye I still wouldn't allow the student to be arrested over something like that.

Oxajil said:

When they cross the line, something has to be done. In this particular case, there is little background information on Elliott, and no information on whether his parents were asked to come over for a serious talk. And no info on other kind of measures being taken. Arrest should've been the last option on the list. Based on the info that is available, I personally think jailing him for it, is over the top... Now that he's gone to jail over this, he will probably find difficulty getting a job in the future. If he threw a cup, a knife, a stick, a phone or something else, yes I could definitely understand, but a paper airplane? Not so sure if that's really a reason to arrest someone, but then again I don't know all the details.

Click to expand...

I concur. Calling the police seems like an overreaction. The administrators handled this all wrong. You make a good point, too, about how having this on his record could effect his future in a way totally disproportionate to what he actually did. If anything, being arrested and locked up has a better chance of leading to or exacerbating delinquent behavior rather than improving him as a person.

I agree that this reaction is WAAAAAY over the top. I think I would like to see an incident like this that causes physical harm result in a school assignment as a gofer in the emergency room for a few evenings. When kids finally become aware of how really fragile human bodies are, their whole attitude toward others and life can change.

This incident is over the top, too. By the short video, it looks like the visiting school dentist pulled three permanent teeth during a suppose "routine cleaning"? No medication was offered for pain after the procedure, which makes me wonder if anything was applied or given during the tooth extraction? To add insult to injury, the poor 9 year old missed the bus and had to walk a mile home? So far, the Mother hasn't gotten any answers, other them stating "she signed a form" but the Mother took it to be for a routine check up. If this was my 9 year old, I would be all over this! The school still should have contacted the Parents before a procedure like this.

Mom Outraged, School Dental Program Removes Child’s Teeth Without Her Knowing (Video - 1:56 min. )
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/01/20/mom-outraged-school-dental-program-removes-childs-teeth-without-her-knowing/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

Friday January 20, 2017 - BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A mother is outraged after her third grader came home from school with three of his teeth missing. She says his elementary school performed a dental procedure she never knew about.

A Baltimore City mom is looking for answers: Why did the school allow serious dental work — without making a single phone call to parents.

9-year-old Michael is still brought to tears by the pain. He’s now missing three teeth — pulled out by a dental program visiting his school. His mother, Shanda Flemming, tells WJZ she never was notified that the procedure was happening.

“And then two on this side. One top and one bottom,” says Flemming.

Baltimore City Schools says Flemming signed a permission slip, but Flemming thought it was for routine cleanings.

“I’m angry about this. I don’t think that it should have happened like that,” says Flemming.

She says she was blindsided when Michael came home with a swollen mouth.

“They just said they was gonna clean my teeth,” says Michael.

But there’s more — the procedure caused Michael to miss the bus, meaning he had to walk almost a full mile to get back home.

“He walked home alone after having three teeth extracted from his mouth.

These school dental programs became more common after Prince George’s County boy died from an infected tooth in 2007. Baltimore Public Schools, declined WJZ’s request to comment still has not answered some major questions:
Why didn’t the school alert the mother? Why was Michael allowed to walk home alone? And why wasn’t he given medication after the procedure?

“I just don’t understand how a school or a company can take it in their hands to do something like this to a child,” says Flemming.

A 3rd grader now healing up and this Baltimore mom, on the mission for answers. Again, Baltimore City Schools declined WJZ’s request for comment — citing HIPPA and privacy concerns. Flemming says her son was already scheduled to see a family dentist on Monday.

Odyssey said:

Jesus! It's not as if the student stabbed the teacher in the eye, he was goofing off and threw a paper airplane. At the most this should've ended in a detention or suspension but to embroil a child in the legal system for such a minor offense is sheer craziness. Like Lilou said, I think the teacher had it out for this kid and let things go farther than they should have just out of spite.

Click to expand...

I agree. It is a sad state of affairs when a school decides to bring in the police rather than deal with 'a prank' themselves. What sort of world have we degenerated into? But then, when we have police presence in schools what else can be expected.

The dental story should go on sott, not in this thread.

I am totally saddened and disgusted that they can do this to a child, without even discussing it with the parents. Plus very drastic when there could have been alternatives. Poor child now lost teeth permanently. What a sicko world for sure.

When I was in school, I did far worse than this. The punishment should fit the crime, and clearly in this instance it does not. Anyone who has thrown a paper airplane knows that once it goes more than a few feet, its direction is pretty much at the mercy of the prevailing wind. Believe me, I've tried to aim one many times and failed.

My punishment for the things I did as a knuckleheaded teenager, things that were much worse than what this poor kid did, was detention or suspension. That is what should have been done here. I cannot fathom how anyone who isn't hysterical would think that being arrested and charged with a criminal act is just punishment for what happened.

Beau said:

When I was in school, I did far worse than this. The punishment should fit the crime, and clearly in this instance it does not. Anyone who has thrown a paper airplane knows that once it goes more than a few feet, its direction is pretty much at the mercy of the prevailing wind. Believe me, I've tried to aim one many times and failed.

My punishment for the things I did as a knuckleheaded teenager, things that were much worse than what this poor kid did, was detention or suspension. That is what should have been done here. I cannot fathom how anyone who isn't hysterical would think that being arrested and charged with a criminal act is just punishment for what happened.

Click to expand...

Yup! I totally agree! Arresting children for doing things children do is ludicrous and has become too much of a common occurrence. To my mind, anyone who would support something like this is, in fact, supporting a police state.

Nienna said:

Yup! I totally agree! Arresting children for doing things children do is ludicrous and has become too much of a common occurrence. To my mind, anyone who would support something like this is, in fact, supporting a police state.

Click to expand...

It's almost like people who feel this way have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. Children going through adolescence do a lot of things they'll later regret, but remembering what we were like at the age should temper our reactions to their behavior and understand that most of the time it is not a sign of pathology. It's just a child going through the bumpy teenage years, as we all have.