pineda Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 (edited) Prank could earn student hefty fine, community service By: AARON SHOCK , Villager staff 09/09/2004 Max Briese, an eighth grader at Branch Crossing Junior High School, is facing criminal charges for a classroom prank, a punishment his father feels is too extreme. Edited December 4, 2010 by editor Copyright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Jeez. Why didn't the teacher just unplug the TV?I'm guessing that the student isn't being challenged enough, and this prank was done out of sheer boredom. Shows imagination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I had a Casio watch in the early 90s that doubled as a TV/VCR remote.I did this exactly same trick to my teachers. No harm, no foul, although they never found out about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I had a Casio watch in the early 90s that doubled as a TV/VCR remote.I did this exactly same trick to my teachers. No harm, no foul, although they never found out about it.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I did the same thing in high school. Oh well, at least the offense is just a class c misdemeanor. That's like a traffic ticket. If he is a juvenile, the record will be sealed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debmartin Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 i know i'm stepping out on a limb here and my ideas could possibly piss off many people, still i ask you to hear my thoughts out. i taught school back in the early 90's at the intermediate level so i have a little experience in these cases.first, i recognize that there is a time when we as parents should go to bat for our kids against the schools system. teachers must be held accountable and curriculums are expected to meet the individual needs of each students. battles must be carefully chosen, because when the dust settles the child has to show up at school every day, not the parent. my concern is that more frequently through our choice of battles such as this, the attention is drawn away from the child's improper conduct and the focus instead becomes the "harsh" punishment inflicted upon the child. for many parents it is better to see their child in the "victim" role rather than the "accused". in reality, this is two separate issues and should be addressed as such.the first issue, the "prank" was undertaken by a "child' in the eight grade. students today are often already looking into college programs as early as 9th grade, and some are preparing for driver education. today's children are for the most part maturing at an early age, thanks to the media and pop culture they so rapidly absorb. obviously this incident was impromptu and therefore should be attributed to impulsivity rather than malicious intent. adopting the "boys will be boys" attitude however is disrespectful to teachers, invalidating their entitlement to unconditional respect. other aspects must be taken into account, such as the group dynamics of the class, since a teacher is often responsible for upwards of 30 students and order must be maintained to facilitate an atmosphere conducive to optimal learning. my few experiences with class clowns were overwhelmingly precipitated by a few hecklers and/or instigators who, lacking the bravado to attempt pranks themselves had no trouble enlisting the services of students seeking approval and acceptance.the old "look before you leap" phrase comes to mind. it is imperative that we, as parents take the time to educate our children that they alone are held accountable for their actions. yes, they will make mistakes, but we should not compound them by making excuses, whining about punishments and ultimately undermining the authority of the school. this child must have realized beforehand that his fleeting entertainment was being purchased by unavoidable, unpleasant aftereffects. having considered this he chose to go ahead. a lighter punishment could hardly serve as a deterrment to others - believe me in school suspension is just a regular school day, except undertaken in isolation. sometimes a student finds ISS actually increases his/her popularity and carries very little if any negative attachment.students are supported by their parents - teachers are (or should be) supported by their administration. when a parent interferes with the delivery of punitive action they in effect blur the lines of responsibility and do their child a grave disservice. student codes of conduct are clearly spelled out and distributed at the beginning of each school year. usually students and parents are required to sign an acknowledgement and agreement. the time to take exception with any measured consequence would be at that time and not after an offense has taken place. in my experience, most students and parents simply sign and return the conduct pledge and often do not even take the time to read what they are signing.what a great opportunity to introduce our children to the concept of action and consequences, yet time and time again i read of parents challenging their districts decision to apply penalties for breaking the code of conduct. also calling attention to the punishment applied to others only diverts attention away from the issue at hand, and sends a message to our children that what's really important is not that they atone for their mistake, but that they should ensure the punishments received by others should be equal if not greater. in my opinion this type of justification only teaches our children to "pass the buck", and the lesson is lost. i've spent enough time around the juvenile courts to tell you that this attitude often leads to teens justifying acts that range from irresponsibility to reckless endangerment. so conditioned to "blaming" and so unfamiliar with taking personal responsibility for their own actions, these youths are often the very ones who think that computer "hacking" is a victimless crime, or that painting their graffiti is an act of "art" instead of the vandalism that we know it is.call it harsh, but the very people who relocate to these stellar areas such as kingwood, conroe, woodlands and katy often chose to do so for the quality of schools. like anything else they buy into, the policies and protocols of the schools (which are readily available for review) should be considered before parents decide that it's the correct learning environment for their child. it sounds like this boy is good at heart and simply made a mistake. it would be so much easier to mediate a situation like this had the parents formed an association earlier to explore these potential areas of concern. regardless of the perceived rigidity of the district, the old "strength in numbers" principle still applies. many progressive districts routinely refer these infractions to "peer review", further empowering students to learn from mistakes by effectively placing them on both sides of the disagreement. debmartin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 Very well thought out post, deb! Thanks for the comments "from the other side". It is hard as parents sometimes not to see our children as "victims", because all we ever hear is their side of the story. We're not at school all day with them, so we really don't know what's going on. It does help to build early contacts with your kids teachers and to remain in close communication with them. There are always two sides to every story, and it helps to know both sides. On a side note, though, this kid Max reminds me a lot of Ferris Bueller, and I'll bet he is now, if not before, one of the most popular kids at that school today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debmartin Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 i'm with you, pineda, about the ferris bueller part. before things like kids going postal and shooting up schools high stepping jinks like this would be no big deal, like detention. this is primarily why i left the education field and turned to writing, so the only "bullets" i have to dodge will be on paper. my fourteen year old son goes to school with a "family code word" and a cell phone. hisd now allows phones as long as they're turned off during classes. this ruling came into play after 911 when most parents went crazy trying to locate their children and gather their families at home. i guess what i'm trying to say is that "things have changed" which sound like a cliche' but nontheless is a sad reflections of the times.my parents used to tell me stories of their pranks back in the 50's - apparently my dad and some other of his honorable st. thomas high pals used to routinely go around putting laundry soap in local fountains. today that could probably get a kid committed to the texas youth commission for some environmental protection law. looking back over my long winded post from last night, it looks as if i've lost my sense of humor and that's something i never want to do. i see my own children with laptops, cellphones, expensive digital camera equiptment and i tell them to enjoy the technology. i tell them about how in the 70's i grew up with a record player, without mtv and my friends and i could walk down the street and flip someone off without getting shot. they laugh and tell me it's "ancient" history and they cannot imagine being that "bored". by the way, ferris bueller is one thing i have passed down to my kids - it's a family favorite!debmartin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Briese Posted May 6, 2005 Share Posted May 6, 2005 Sorry for bringing up such an old thread; I was just bored and typed my name in Google and this came up. Just wanted to say thanks for the nice comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Sorry for bringing up such an old thread; I was just bored and typed my name in Google and this came up. Just wanted to say thanks for the nice comments! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> MidtownCoog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.