13 YO Boy suspended for carrying a purse

[Mela99]

13 year old boy suspended from school for wearing a Vera Bradley purse. School will not lift suspension till he gets rid of it.

kctv5.com/story/23899790/boy-13-suspended-for-carrying-vera-bradley-purse

[louisa05]

As always, I have to wonder if we have the whole story here. Since schools are bound by privacy laws to not give information to the public regarding a student, these stories are always completely one-sided.

Long ago, early in my teaching career, a parent came into my classroom to get homework for a sick student and proceeded to launch into a rant about a colleague who had given her other daughter a detention "just for putting a couple of pieces of paper on the floor" during a study hall.

When I asked the colleague what had really happened, I learned that the girl had "put" the paper on the floor by wadding it up and throwing it at a classmate. Four pieces of paper to be exact, three after being told not to do that.

There are two sides to every story and one side might not have all the pertinent details. Having taught in 6-12 schools for 16 years, I would first like to know what he had in the bag and what he was doing with it that caused a problem.

[paganhomeschooler]

Our local schools don't allow bags at all between classes. No purses, backpacks, messenger bags, etc. Only if you are handicapped/injured and have a physician's note that you need one. School safety and keeping out the guns and all that....because of course if someone wants to blow away the school, they'll observe the no backpacks in the hallway rule.

[Buzzard]

Our local schools don't allow bags at all between classes. No purses, backpacks, messenger bags, etc. Only if you are handicapped/injured and have a physician's note that you need one. School safety and keeping out the guns and all that....because of course if someone wants to blow away the school, they'll observe the no backpacks in the hallway rule.

We can have bags but they have to be clear and you cant wear them during class. They have to go under your chair.

[julie paradox]

Our local schools don't allow bags at all between classes. No purses, backpacks, messenger bags, etc. Only if you are handicapped/injured and have a physician's note that you need one. School safety and keeping out the guns and all that....because of course if someone wants to blow away the school, they'll observe the no backpacks in the hallway rule.

So do you use stuff from the classroom all the time?

Text books? Exercise books? Calculators? Pens and pencils? Folders for fancy work? What do you do about homework?

I'm genuinely confused here.

[louisa05]

So do you use stuff from the classroom all the time?

Text books? Exercise books? Calculators? Pens and pencils? Folders for fancy work? What do you do about homework?

I'm genuinely confused here.

My students weren't allowed to carry bags to class, either. Most kids used Trapper Keepers for folders, notebooks, pens, etc...and stacked books on top of them and carried them in their hands. It isn't that difficult. I sub in two different high schools and even in the one where bags are allowed, the majority of students do not carry them to class. And no one is carrying every single textbook at once, they have lockers. Additionally, at one middle school I sub at, they are implementing iPads and many texts and assignments are on the iPad so they only need to carry that to some classes. Within a few years, all secondary students in the district will be using them.

[paganhomeschooler]

So do you use stuff from the classroom all the time?

Text books? Exercise books? Calculators? Pens and pencils? Folders for fancy work? What do you do about homework?

I'm genuinely confused here.

The kids go to their lockers between classes. My daughter is in middle school, and all of her classes are in one wing for her grade level, so it's not far. Her worst ones are band and gym because they are on the other sides of the school. She only has gym for half a year, though, and they have lockers for their gym clothes and shoes. You just carry your books with you. Most of the kids have trapper keepers with pencil cases and folders inside. They can wear backpacks to and from school, but they have to stay in their lockers during the day.

We did the same thing when I was in high school. We weren't allowed to have backpacks, either. I seem to remember purses being okay. It's a bit hazy....my 15th reunion was this year! lol I went to a different district, though. They were fairly lenient. That was also before 9/11 and Columbine didn't happen until the year after I graduated. We could bring our bags with us if we were running late in the morning or if we had bags coming back from gym/lunch period and not be in trouble. My high school was pretty small, and again, the only time people might be cutting it close was band/choir/gym/art which were on the other side of the school from the main classrooms. Sometimes we'd have to carry 2 classes' worth of books at a time, depending on our schedules. It wasn't a big deal, though.

[Mama Mia]

Wow, what a pain in the ass ! I'm glad my kids were able to take purses and back packs instead of running to their locker for every little thing. Ugg.

[danvillebelle]

The high school I went to is a huge, sprawling thing with only two floors, divided into four major sections (North, South, East, West). The students were divided up alphabetically between the sections, and your locker was in your section. My locker was in South, but I never had one class in that section in four years. We only had 6 minutes between classes. With 2500 students roaming the halls, it was literally physically impossible to get from say, the far corner of North, to my locker, then back to another class in North in that amount of time. No way. I'm glad I had a backpack (actually I only used my locker my freshman year), and I'm wondering what they do there now.

As for the boy carrying the purse, the article said he's been carrying it since August and they're only now saying he can't. I think the person who suspended him sounds like an asshat and if girls can carry purses, there is no reason why he can't also.

[louisa05]

The high school I went to is a huge, sprawling thing with only two floors, divided into four major sections (North, South, East, West). The students were divided up alphabetically between the sections, and your locker was in your section. My locker was in South, but I never had one class in that section in four years. We only had 6 minutes between classes. With 2500 students roaming the halls, it was literally physically impossible to get from say, the far corner of North, to my locker, then back to another class in North in that amount of time. No way. I'm glad I had a backpack (actually I only used my locker my freshman year), and I'm wondering what they do there now.

As for the boy carrying the purse, the article said he's been carrying it since August and they're only now saying he can't. I think the person who suspended him sounds like an asshat and if girls can carry purses, there is no reason why he can't also.

Newer buildings have better designs. And a lot of schools have begun to arrange in wings and have clusters for classes. The middle schools I sub in have clusters and teams so that students' core classes are all in one immediate area and their lockers are assigned in its center. Additionally, many schools are increasingly using tablets, eReaders, and online submissions for homework so that kids are carrying fewer books. My nephew only had physical textbooks for two classes his senior year (just last year)--and he had a full academic load. The rest were on the school issued iPad. I subbed at his alma mater last week and the science students had to do an assignment accessed via their online textbook and submit it electronically to the absent teacher. That means they only needed to carry the iPad to class.

Believe it or not, the way we do school is rapidly changing.

As to this suspension, I will reiterate. We don't have the whole story. The issue is likely what he was doing with or carrying in that purse, not the purse itself. And that may have been a new development at the time he was told he could no longer carry it. But, of course, the school is not allowed to defend or explain their side publicly.

[SoybeanQueen]

This story is local to me. You're right that the school can't say much because it would violate the student's privacy rights. Apparently someone took the opportunity to spin the story to sound like it's all about the purse.

That student isn't even the only one who wears stuff that is typically associated with the opposite sex. I highly doubt the "girliness" of the purse was an issue at all.

But, of course, if the media just reported that a student was suspended for refusing to follow a rule and subsequently cursing at a school employee, that wouldn't be very dramatic, huh?

My kids are in the same district, and I can say with certainty that students who violate the dress code or handbook rules *are* asked to change, so I don't buy their story that all of the girls are wandering around in ho clothes while the admins pounce on a guy with a purse.

[SoybeanQueen]

Newer buildings have better designs. And a lot of schools have begun to arrange in wings and have clusters for classes.

Yup. This school as a whole is small. I could walk every hall in the place in less than 5 minutes and I'm not particularly speedy. The junior high is clustered into one area, though I'm sure they venture oh-so-far to the band room or art, etc. It's maybe 5 school bus lengths at best.

Unless some detail comes out that supports the story that it was just the purse, I'm going to be really pissed if the district has to spend money on a lawsuit over a Vera Bradley bag. This is not a wealthy district.

[danvillebelle]

I am an old fogey (who really hated school) and didn't think about the ipads and better building design. You're absolutely right.

Never mind (in best Emily Latella voice). :)

[Rescinded and Mended]

So do you use stuff from the classroom all the time?

Text books? Exercise books? Calculators? Pens and pencils? Folders for fancy work? What do you do about homework?

I'm genuinely confused here.

At my son's school, each student is issued a complete set of textbooks to keep at home. When the kids go to class, there are books waiting for them. That way, they don't have to carry the books around. As for backpacks, they aren't allowed, but some kids have been able to skirt the rule by carrying around huge binders that also have zippered compartments which hold school supplies. The binder is so big that it actually comes with a strap and can be carried like a bag, but for some reason it isn't considered against the rules to have one.

[Jana814]

I carried a backpack around everyday from 7th till 12th grade. I graduated in 98. I'm not sure what my old schools policy is on backpacks now but when I was in school they were a must.

[SoybeanQueen]

The superintendent issued a statement this evening that no student in the junior high is to carry bags or purses to class with them. It's not in the handbook but is a known rule that has been enforced before.

Because it's a small town/county, there's a lot of talk about this, of course. Those who have kids at the school have said that he was asked to not wear the purse in class. He refused. Then when he went to the principal's office, he yelled and cursed, and therefore was suspended. Not for the purse. For the yelling/cursing.

One news station had a small blurb saying that they asked one of the admins about whether or not the student had worn the bag since August with no issues. The news writer said the admin disagreed with that version of the story.

I won't post any more hearsay (and omg, there is plenty!), but to me it sounds like the problem is not that he is gay and has a purse - the problem is that he's a bit of a trouble maker.

[SoybeanQueen]

The rumor mill is churning! Allegedly this young man's brothers, including the one quoted about the suspension, have been beating up other kids and videotaping it. I do not have direct knowledge of that, hence the allegedly, but I heard it directly from someone who did see a beating on video with her own eyes. The stories from multiple people match up, but again, I haven't seen proof myself.

The student has already been suspended this year for 5 days, per his own FB.

[louisa05]

The rumor mill is churning! Allegedly this young man's brothers, including the one quoted about the suspension, have been beating up other kids and videotaping it. I do not have direct knowledge of that, hence the allegedly, but I heard it directly from someone who did see a beating on video with her own eyes. The stories from multiple people match up, but again, I haven't seen proof myself.

The student has already been suspended this year for 5 days, per his own FB.

With parents who run to the press when their kid gets in trouble at school, what can we expect?

I swear, 98% of the time when a story like this hits the media, there is so much more to it. But so many people are ready to believe the worst of schools and teachers, that no one wants to question anything like this.

[Stephanie66]

The school has a rule about no purses or backpacks in core classes. He brings a purse into a core class. He is asked not to, causes a scene, and is sent to the Principal's office, where he cusses and yells.

He gets suspended.

The end.

[JenniferJuniper]

On a related note, I don't understand why men haven't started carrying handbags. Couldn't live without mine. And cell phones are getting bigger by the minute.

[Conuly]

You guys are all lucky. Schools in NYC, by and large, don't have lockers - and of the schools I've been in that do, they were in classrooms and thus you couldn't get to one during the day.

[louisa05]

In the high schools my nephew attended in Alabama, students had to pay to rent a locker. He was shocked that he just got assigned one when he moved here to live with his dad.

Of course, in Alabama, he also had no textbooks so there was nothing to worry about carrying around. His last school there simply did not use any. No online or electronic alternatives, either.

They work hard to stay in the bottom five of education rankings.

[Khan]

@Louisa05, I'm actually shocked. How do they teach without books? Lecture style only?

[Mama Mia]

What are the students supposed to do about personal supplies, like a brush or tampons or money ?

[AnywhereButHere]

In my son's school all bags and personal items stay in the lockers. They have 4 minutes between classes, so he has to strategize about what binders he'll have to carry for his classes before he passes by his locker again. Both last year and this year he had decent schedules where things like art, lunch and gym (no books required) were interspersed evenly, and he passed by his locker enroute to class enough that he never had to carry around materials for too many other subjects at once. There's a set of text books that he leaves at home, and then copies in the classroom for class work, so he isn't carting books around with him, just the binders (and maybe whatever paperback they're reading in english class). Pens/pencils/calculators/etc. all go in a plastic pouch in the binder or just stuck into that front flap thing they have. My son isn't the best at planning ahead, so I was concerned that he'd be forgetting things all over the place, but he's learned (or learning anyway :) ) to be more organized. It's good for him.

For personal items, the school's thinking is that you shouldn't be needing them throughout the day. If you feel the need to brush your hair, your going to have to wait until you do a pass by of your locker, or wait until lunch. There really shouldn't be a need for money until lunch or free periods anyway, although you could probably just stuff it in your pockets and no one would know the difference. I mean, how much are they really carrying? Cell phones must stay in lockers. Tampons and pads I can see being an issue not having them with you, but the school isn't going to make a rule that only girls can carry bags to class, so they're in lockers as well. My husband went to this school 30 years ago, and bags were allowed (in my school as well), but it's been this curernt way for years, and the kids all make it work.