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Here I always thought the proper reaction when an adult gives up some of their free time to escort a poor lonely kid to the prom is: awww! Silly me! The way an Oregon school district sees it, the best way to reward track coach Melissa Bowerman for her magnanimous gesture is tell her she has to resign from her job.
The kid's dad, Bob Thomas, had actually OK'd the "date" between his 17-year-old son and his coach. But the district is backing down. It's just another one for the "school district usurps a parents' right to decide what's right for their own kids" file.
We've already been schooled by schools on what we're allowed to have our kids eat. But now we're being told we can't actually decide who our kids associate with? And in case you're saying, "Well, when a parent lets a kid be molested, they lose that right," hold it right there.
The sheriff in Gilliam County, Oregon, says there's no evidence that Bowerman broke any law when she told a kid who was struggling in English and feeling bad that he didn't have a date that she'd accompany him to the prom. Sooooo, she did NOT actually molest this kid. Which means she, what, was too nice to him?
OMG, call the National Guard! We have a coach who goes above and beyond for her students. That bish be crazy!
Snort.
If Bowerman hadn't specifically asked his father's permission to take his child to prom, I might be leaning more toward the school district's side here. But the request shows an obvious transparency typically lacking in cases of inappropriate student/school staff relationships. And I like to give other parents the benefit of the doubt when it comes to making decisions based on their gut.
We tend to know our kids better than the school administrators. So who is better able to judge if someone is escorting our kid to the prom to be nice or because they have some ulterior motive? You got it ... a parent. Just as we know when our kids can handle one piece of chocolate in their otherwise healthy lunchbox ...
Who's right here? The district or the dad?
Image via Dru Bloomfield At Home in Scottsdale/Flickr
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