Principals deal with a lot unique situations and they may not always be graceful handling each situations. But with everything that has been going on lately with the protests and police shootings you would hope that a high school principal would have some kind cultural sensitivity when a student is put in an uncomfortable situation involving race. “People don’t care about how much you know, they care about how much you care.

”

So you can imagine how eleventh grader, Robert Lee, felt when his principal gave him an in school suspension for posting a picture on Facebook from a classmate’s phone that was using racial slurs to describe him. How exactly did Robert get in trouble? Robert was reprimanded because: “Robert or another student went through another student’s phone when that student was not present at the table. Robert or the other student came across a text that was about Robert, at which point Robert took a picture of the screen. When the girl returned to her seat, the phone was turned off in the same location that it was in before she left.” The Principal explained to Robert and his mother that he received an in school suspension because he (or another student) went through a student’s phone without their consent.

The young lady that referred to Robert as a “nigger” in her text message was vindicated because Robert (or another student) went through her phone. Granted you can’t go through a person’s property without their consent but the principal clearly states, in writing, that he doesn’t know for sure if it was Robert who went through her phone. By the way, no other students were punished. I think that’s convenient and bias. Way wasn’t the “other student” punished and why didn’t the racist classmate, at the very least, have to participate in cultural sensitivity workshops or do community service with minority children. Did the principal talk to her parents about her racist and derogatory statements?

We live in a time were we have to start fighting for justice in every aspect of our lives. If you punish one, you punish them all. What the principal should have done was use this as a teachable moment to let Robert know it was wrong for him to go through another student’s personal belongings (if in fact he did) but to also empathize with him.

He could have told Robert he is not happy with the young lady for using racial slurs and let Robert know that he would talk the student about her action as well but it’s hard to show you care when you don’t.

I am disgusted with the way Jesse Carson High School (China Grove, NC) handled this situation. Instead of working to bridge the cultural gap, teaching their students to respect each other, and teaching their students that racism with not be tolerated, they chose to isolate a student and make him feel as though he doesn’t matter. Great Job Jesse Carson High School, hopefully we can shine a huge spotlight on Jesse Carson High School and the administration to get this situation resolved in a productive and effective manner since they couldn’t do it on their own.