I know the debates are tonight and everyone has politics on their minds, but as a teacher, I can't let this go unchallenged.
It seems from this article that a student has been arrested - yes, for disorderly conduct - because of an inclass essay he wrote. It was supposed to use "poetic conventions" - seems it freaked out the teacher.
According to the article, this student is quoted as saying
"At the very last sentence, I said that this teachers [sic] method of teaching could lead to a school shooting," Lee said Wednesday. He said he'd intended the entire essay as a joke.
Creative writing can be dicey - no doubt about that. The student responsible for the VT shooting clearly wrote disturbing themes.
Where is the discretion? Where is the context for this student's actions? The truly frustrating thing as a teacher is that if I feel a student is truly troubled, I have to walk a very fine line. How many times do teachers avoid challenging the truly "scary" kids? Would the school have called the police if this weren't a straight-A, otherwise "regular acting" kid? If mental illness is involved, as was clearly true in the VT shooting, do people respond differently, more cautiously, when dealing with these students?
I can't imagine that this teacher is that out-of-touch with the students that no one could tell if this student truly poses a potential danger to himself or others. Although, if the student was writing about this particular teacher's method of teaching, maybe I'm giving the teacher too much credit.
But arrested - I dont know...