Student Arrested For Writing Essay

[Dubh Aingeal]

The Chicago Tribune reports that an eighteen year old straight-A High School student was arrested for writing an essay that 'disturbed' his teacher. Even though no threats were made to a specific person, 18 year-old Allen Lee's English teacher convened a panel to discuss the work. As a result of that discussion, the police were called in. 'The youth's father said his son was not suspended or expelled but was forced to attend classes elsewhere for now. Today, Cary-Grove students rallied behind the arrested teen by organizing a petition drive to let him back in their school. They posted on walls quotes from the English teacher in which she had encouraged students to express their emotions through writing.

[Homicidalheathen]

Allen Lee, an 18-year-old straight-A student at Cary-Grove High School, was arrested Tuesday near his home and charged with disorderly conduct for an essay police described as violently disturbing but not directed toward any specific person or location.

The youth's father said his son was not suspended or expelled but was forced to attend classes elsewhere for now.

How is this disorderly conduct?

And, if he is a threat.....making him go to another school? How does that help? If he is going to do something...then he will just do it there.

I think its good to be precautios but this is going to far in light of everything that has happened lately.

[Dubh Aingeal]

Actually if he's going to do something, he is probably going to go back to his old school to do it as the added stress of new school, no friends, etc pushed him over the edge.

I'm just glad I never let anyone read any of the shit I wrote in HS. I would have been turned in for something. If not the how much I hate school or wish I was dead then the sex stories would have gotten me into some kind of trouble.

Glad I lived in those days and not these as a kid.

[Homicidalheathen]

My sister used to act nuts on purpose to piss my mom off. Well, it worked. She had to take the ink blot test lol.

(she was not nuts, just had a strange sense of humor and was a VERY creative writer.)

[sinmantyx]

Here is a free speech issue that I can get behind.

No threat: no disruption: no charge

I think a more responsible action for the school would be to contact his parents and share the essay with them and maybe have a conference with a school counselor to discuss it.

There is a balance somewhere between ignoring something and charging someone with a crime. I see this much differently than the whole "No, no all of you" Max comment.

The reaction of his classmates is also a bit telling. The article doesn't give us the essay's content: but it clearly stated that there was no threat toward any particular person, group of people, or location.

I certainly hope the charges are dropped. It seems he has reasonable representation, so I suspect that will happen soon.

[Homicidalheathen]

I think a more responsible action for the school would be to contact his parents and share the essay with them and maybe have a conference with a school counselor to discuss it.

I agree....and then if they find something is wrong said student could go to a psycologist....and that if they keep it private it would not be traumatizing.....

I think this is kinda making a big deal out of nothing...and that it could backfire.

Like it was mentioned, said kid would just go back to the old school....probably get in....and do something if they wanted to.

[n0Mad]

I wish I could read the essay so I can come up with an educated opinion.

[sinmantyx]

I wish I could read the essay so I can come up with an educated opinion.

Yeah, I can see why they are not publishing it however. It must of been pretty messed up for the teacher (and a whole GROUP of school officials) to feel the need to take this action. Considering what we DO know about the situation however, it doesn't seem like the correct action legally.

Actually, my intuition tells me that this is a "butt covering" move.

[Marblez]

Another account of the same story...

ohttp://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_117092318.html

[BrassFusion]

the reason the max karson case pissed me off so much is because it leads to shit like this. sometimes it's a tough judgment call when it comes to preserving the first amendment but it's fucking NECESSARY ALREADY. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT ALL COSTS.

and i'm incredibly worried that they only brought the hammer down on him cuz he's asian like the va tech shooter. that would be so sad.

[sinmantyx]

the reason the max karson case pissed me off so much is because it leads to shit like this. sometimes it's a tough judgment call when it comes to preserving the first amendment but it's fucking NECESSARY ALREADY. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT ALL COSTS.

and i'm incredibly worried that they only brought the hammer down on him cuz he's asian like the va tech shooter. that would be so sad.

Absolutism is unrealistic and dangerous.

The cases are different in many ways that make them legally distinct.

One did not lead to the other.

[n0Mad]

Yeah, I can see why they are not publishing it however. It must of been pretty messed up for the teacher (and a whole GROUP of school officials) to feel the need to take this action.

Being an English teacher I bet she's studied and/or taught Poe at one point in her life. Kid's essay can't be any worse than any of that stuff. Poe's work is extremely disturbing yet it's lauded as genious art (because it is). How can you teach that with one hand and punish other disturbances with the other?

[sinmantyx]

Being an English teacher I bet she's studied and/or taught Poe at one point in her life. Kid's essay can't be any worse than any of that stuff. Poe's work is extremely disturbing yet it's lauded as genious art (because it is). How can you teach that with one hand and punish other disturbances with the other?

I'm guessing that she was disturbed because the essay mentioned her directly: even though there was no threat what-so-ever. That may have upset her.

...but yeah, it surprises me that an English teacher would be sensitive to "offensive" material.

Then again, I had an art teacher whose idea of "art" was oil paintings of Mallard Ducks and "happy trees". There was a photograph in one of the books at school that included several Asian women, topless, wearing suspenders and work clothes and full of grime; as if they were steal workers or miners. Some of them were smoking cigarettes. I mentioned the photo and explain how I thought it was a great juxtaposition of femininity and masculinity: going on to explain how Asian women (in particular) are thought of as subservient and demure; and showing these models in a situation that we associated with white males was very powerful. My art teacher's reaction: "It's disgusting."

Just saying: we really can't many any assumptions about the teacher just because she's an English teacher.

[BrassFusion]

absolutism in the case of freedom of speech rocks your face. that is all.

[sass_in_the_pants]

Being an English teacher I bet she's studied and/or taught Poe at one point in her life. Kid's essay can't be any worse than any of that stuff. Poe's work is extremely disturbing yet it's lauded as genious art (because it is). How can you teach that with one hand and punish other disturbances with the other?

Maybe that was the problem - maybe the kid's essay wasn't worse than Poe's, but only as bad as. Poe was a drug user, alcoholic, and has at least one confirmed suicide attempt. And though they don't really know how he died, one of the three things mentioned above may very well have been the cause. So maybe his work reminded the teacher of Poe and that set up a flag.

[Homicidalheathen]

Personally I think most of my favoret writters had 'issues'.

[sinmantyx]

absolutism in the case of freedom of speech rocks your face. that is all.

Go yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater!

[BrassFusion]

Go yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater!

i shouldn't necessarily be free to yell that, but i should be free to speak it. or sing "fire" by jimi hendrix. it's all context

[sinmantyx]

i shouldn't necessarily be free to yell that, but i should be free to speak it. or sing "fire" by jimi hendrix. it's all context

context? really?

That doesn't sound very absolutist of you.

[BrassFusion]

context? really?

That doesn't sound very absolutist of you.

i'm not an absolutist in every sense, only when it concerns free speech that doesn't abuse the rights of other people. screaming outside someone's apartment all hours of the day and preventing their ability to sleep doesn't fall under the banner of free speech, for example, because it restricts the renter's right to sanity.

standing outside that same apartment and quietly muttering about the jewish masonic gay agenda and how they're trying to control the world impedes no one's rights. muttering about killing all the gay jew masons could be construed as a threat, depending on the audience, so that's more like a gray area.

at any rate, if a guy were preaching violent hatred about gay jew masons, what good is arresting him or fining him going to do? if anything it would fuel his misplaced rage against our gay jew mason overlords, even if it forces him to stop talking about it

[Steven]

Being an English teacher I bet she's studied and/or taught Poe at one point in her life. Kid's essay can't be any worse than any of that stuff. Poe's work is extremely disturbing yet it's lauded as genious art (because it is). How can you teach that with one hand and punish other disturbances with the other?

I would assume because nobody was getting shot on the playground in Poe's heyday (its a different world we live in now)

by the way I think this one was an over reaction if it did not directly point toward any person or groups in particular. Free speech, yes. Freedom to defend oneself and take proactive steps....also yes. But this one does seem to have crossed the line if it was indeed vague in term's of its intended recipients......

[Onyx]

I truly hope they will look at the whole picture when they make the final decision.

The kid was not a troublemaker, got straight A's, not a loner, no history of psych problems, and his fellow students defended him, which says a lot in itself.

It's a complex issue and looking at everything in both those articles, it does seem to be a huge over-reaction.

[sinmantyx]

i'm not an absolutist in every sense, only when it concerns free speech that doesn't abuse the rights of other people. screaming outside someone's apartment all hours of the day and preventing their ability to sleep doesn't fall under the banner of free speech, for example, because it restricts the renter's right to sanity.

standing outside that same apartment and quietly muttering about the jewish masonic gay agenda and how they're trying to control the world impedes no one's rights. muttering about killing all the gay jew masons could be construed as a threat, depending on the audience, so that's more like a gray area.

at any rate, if a guy were preaching violent hatred about gay jew masons, what good is arresting him or fining him going to do? if anything it would fuel his misplaced rage against our gay jew mason overlords, even if it forces him to stop talking about it

Yeah, I agree with you. This kid: did not threaten anyone and create an environment that impeded others from going about their normal business.

Max did.

Therefore, the two situations are different.

One is protected. One is not.

[BrassFusion]

i really don't believe max did that, from the information i've read. classrooms are about learning, and being outside your comfort zone is an integral part of the learning process. in most cases, it's the process in its entirety

[sinmantyx]

i really don't believe max did that, from the information i've read. classrooms are about learning, and being outside your comfort zone is an integral part of the learning process. in most cases, it's the process in its entirety

"Out of comfort zone" should not include being frightened to go to class and feeling the neccesity of placing a security guard outside of your classroom. If that were the case: LOTS of great learning is happening in Iraq. In fact, all those women and girls being taught underground in Afganistan under the Taliban were learning better back then than they are now that they can go to class without fear.

Discomfort may be part of learning: but discomfort in-and-of itself is not productive learning. If that were so, we'd just torture students - which would be much easier than engaging them intellectually.

"The process in its entirety" -- are you sure you are meaning what you are saying? -- because that's not even close to defensible.

Discomfort is part of cognitive dissonance: part of the process of integrating or rejecting new ideas that conflict with previously held ideas. That is definitely part of learning. JUST making someone uncomfortable does not equal learning.