PLN #8

For my eighth PLN I read an articled titled "Sharpie Boy, 8, Suspended" telling how an eight year old boy continuously sniffed the fumes of a sharpie marker. The principal of Harris Park Elementary school originally gave a three day suspension but was recently lowered to one after re-assessing the situation. The principal, Chris Benisch said the suspension was given because the eight year old boy repeatedly kept sniffing the sharpie marker. John Harris, the boys father said school officials assumed the boy has huffing or inhaling fumes from the marker during a writing class. Deb Haviland, a school district spokesmen stated that the marker was "enormous" and that after this incident the district may have to re-think their current guidelines concerning the kinds of writing utensils allowed to students.

What Matters: I think what matters from this article is that a student like this could be so stupid to think it is O.K. to inhale or smell the very dangerous fumes of a large sharpie marker and then for his father to stand up for him. To me, that makes no sense and if it were my kid he would be getting punished. In my opinion the school was just trying to protect the kid and teach him a lesson, as well as teaching the rest of the students a lesson. It was also just a one day suspension, bid deal. All in all I think the suspension helped the kid as well as the rest of the children attending the school.

How this Affects Me: I think situations like this affect me as well as the entire kid population. It is little situations like this that define how kids are going to react to being offered drugs in the future so why not take a great opportunity like this and set an example to all of the kids attending the elementary school? If I were in the same shoes as the principal I would have done the exact same thing, if not given a harsher punishment.