So the 16-year-old kid who went to Iraq might get a detention

[RagingInMiami]

He's a very good student, and he's always been in good standing with us,'' (school principal) Cowgill said. ``I imagine there will be some discipline situation, but right now we're trying to figure out what to do with that.''


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13517212.htm

[LuCifer]

1. Must be a righwing principle

Or something.

This kid went to Iraq and had a plan to GET OUT OF IRAQ. That's more than we can say about these assholes in DC...

Lu

[LuCifer]

2. I almost forgot: DU the CNN.COM poll!!!!!!

http://www.cnn.com
Poll on lower right side.

What grade would you give the journalism student who skipped school to travel to Iraq?
A for adventurous 34% 37775 votes
F for foolhardy 66% 72803 votes
Total: 110578 votes

TO YOU 72,000+ MORONS WHO VOTED F: F U!

[rman]

4. that poll needs DU love

kick

[1monster]

6. Why? If my son did that, he would be grounded for the rest of his LIFE..

if he managed to keep hold of it long enough to get home.

If my son just set off to go to the next city without letting me know BEFORE he left, I would not be a happy camper.

I'm sure you would be singing a different tune if it were YOUR sixteen year old kid.

Are you aware of just how stupidly sixteen year olds (especially boys) behave? Have you been around enough sixteen year old boys to understand that their reasonsing faculties are not anywhere near developed enough yet to make these kinds of decisions?

Why do you think military recruiters target kids fifteen through eighteen so aggressively rather than college aged young men? Because they KNOW that those kids will be caught up in the emotion of the idea rather than think through the pros, cons, rights, wrongs, and possible consequences.

The kid stayed alive either through divine intervention (god protects children and fools: he qualifies on both counts) or sheer dumb luck (to quote Professor McGonigal in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS).

He's not a hero. He's a kid who got very lucky.

[seabeyond]

12. the teen had dads permission. he went behind the schools back

not the parents back.

[Garbo 2004]

34. His mom says he didn't tell his family of his intentions or have their

permission. I saw a couple interviews with her. Looks like the brother's right, his dad is trying to cover for him with the school district.

"Skipping a week of school, he left the country on Dec. 11, telling only two high school friends of his plans. His travels took him to Kuwait and Lebanon before he arrived in Iraq on Christmas Day. He left without telling his family and sent an e-mail after his departure, Atiya said." http://abcnews.go.com/International/print?id=1456255

[seabeyond]

35. then he gets in trouble from the parents.

you have more info than i did from the article.

[Midlodemocrat]

21. I completely agree with you. He got very lucky.

He is a foolhardy teenager with morans for parents.

There are plenty of opportunities here in the US to provide a helping hand, or 'see things (NOLA, perchance) for yourself'. I think that celebrating this child's adventure is ridiculous.

[txindy]

44. I agree with you 100%.

Sheer dumb luck saved that boy. His mother has said he'll never leave the house, again. 'F' for Foolhardy doesn't begin to cover it.

It was interesting to note he belongs to a repub group at his school. He must have thought he'd get into a spirited discussion with the locals and prevail upon them to embrace 'freedom'. :eyes: Teenage hormones and money are never a good combination. Add curiousity and a passport to that mix and bad things will happen.

[Caoimhe]

9. Well, he's more courageous than Chimpy, gotta give him that

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Done

A for adventurous


35%

45536 votes
F for foolhardy


65%

85066 votes
Total: 130602 votes at 2:22pm est

[txindy]

46. I have no problem giving him an F

The kid's an idiot - albeit a misinformed, idealistic one - with money. Years ago in NYC there was a boy who broke into a zoo at night and climbed into the polar bear habitat to "play with the bears." He thought they looked "cuddly and fun." His friends said he often talked about playing with them one day. Was he adventurous, too? He's not anything anymore. The polar bears tore him to pieces.

That Farris kid is lucky to be alive. I'm sure his friends and classmates will be as impressed as he wanted them to be.

[seabeyond]

3. wtf.... who is the parent. wow. principle doesn't have a say in it

as long as the kid doesn't go over so many days absent, really has nothing to do with school. a parent calling in kids absence is what decides if it is excused

this school, principle or anyone else has no business in this. this is a parents decision

[jackster]

7. however, aren't there only certain circumstances

under which you can be "absent?" For instance if the parents call in and say a student is sick and it's later discovered that the student wasn't sick but playing hooky with friends and the parents lied - what then?

I think the kid was definitely foolhardy - he used extremely poor judgement - but he's a kid and a pretty brave one at that. Considering what he's been through he may have been punished enough.

[seabeyond]

10. i think he is a courageous and impassioned "kid" who feels

strongly enough about his world that he would want to get first hand knowledge of something pretty huge happening in our world and his future. i dont know what steps they have made for safety, so i dont know how smart they were in it. i haven't heard the boys words, so i dont know why this was so important to him. all of this will be interesting to hear from him and learn from his first hand experience. we are willing to send our same kids over there to kill, just two years older. that isn't a lot in the scheme of things.

and no, i the parent will make these decisions. there are times in the school year the boys have worked their ass off, they have straight a's, they go above and beyond and i will willfully give them a day off. i dare any school official to challenge me. we take a week off in spring, whether it falls in spring break or not, for family gathering. again, it is my decision to make, not govt...... kids are getting straight a's and are well behaved. no, i dont want such a structured or rule enforced world for my children. and i do not hand over my parental responsibility to teacher, principle, the system, cops or the govt. i think i can do a better job than all of them

i will wait to see what we learn about this. i am at this point pretty impressed with this "kid".

[Ms. Toad]

36. Unfortunately for responsible parents,

schools/the state have the ultimate authority over what is excused and what is not - regardless of parents' decisions.

We take our daughter out of school a couple of days a year for a conference that never falls during vacation. So far, as long as she makes her work up ahead of time, it is marked as an excused absence. If they wanted to be a pain - and I expect they would if it were more than a day or two here or there, they could declare it unexcused and all her work due during the period of absence would receive a grade of 0%.

As a parent, I find it intrusive.

As a former teacher, who dealt with classes with 30%-50% absenteeism in a couple of my classes every day, the school does have a legitimate (and mandatory) concern regarding attendance. Without introducing a lot of potential for subjective favoritism, I'm not sure how the school can distinguish between responsible parents whose children are absent for non-illness reasons a dozen days a year and irresponsible parents whose children are absent for similar periods.

[seabeyond]

38. i have yet to run into a problem

with any of my boys schools. i give plenty of warning and expect a butt load of work for the boys. and they get it done, better than in class. but i have never had a problem pulling kids out for a trip a year. and they can distinguish between there being a problem, or not being a problem. i have seen schools do this for years. i just have more faith, i guess.

but.....

i have read more of the story since we received this little bit, and really the whole story has changed from what we got from this article. so all pretty irrelevant in argument now.

[Ms. Toad]

43. Unfortunately,

In the school I grew up in "being a problem" included being involved in the civil rights or anti-war movement. Even as an "A" student I was denied excused absences for the few requests my parents made - when kids on the opposite end of the political spectrum, or footbal stars, with lower grades were given excused absences at the drop of a hat.

It doesn't seem to be a problem in my daughter's school (a good thing - since two moms would probably make her an easy target) - but experience tells me that if the school has rules (which they are generally required to have) letting the principal enforce or waive them subjectively can be troublesome.

[LWolf]

5. It's not the school's job, or place, to discipline him.

He had permission from his dad. He doesn't have to ask his school's permission to travel. He should have, of course, let them know ahead of time and done whatever they do in Florida to request independent study for that time; that would have been the responsible thing to do.

His teachers can hold him accountable for the work he missed, which will affect his grades. Unless his one week puts him into the # of absences that are turned over to an attendance disciplinary board, the school doesn't have any other jurisdiction as far as "discipline" goes.

I've had students who had 30+ absences in a year; as long as their work was turned in and they passed tests, they passed. While the district may have been breathing down their neck with threatening letters and meetings, the only real consequence is to retain them and have them repeat the grade. That doesn't happen when they can prove with work and scores (classroom tests, not standardized tests), that they learned the material.

Of course, there may be states and districts that operate differently from the 2 states I've taught in, and have some sort of law on the books, but in the two states I've taught in the last 23 years, there are no district or other "enforcers" out there rounding up truants in any systematic way. There were when I went to school myself, but it's been a generation since I've seen any locally. It's considered the parents' responsibility to make sure the kid shows up to school.

[johnnypneumatic]

8. save Farris

that principal is out to get him

[FreedomAngel82]

11. How could a sixteen year old get to Iraq?

I thought you had to be at least seventeen with parents/guardian permission?

[The Flaming Red Head]

18. Didn't you watch Home Alone Two ?

Kevin in New York. Well in this one he went to Baghdad.

[Carni]

27. Additionally can just anyone fly there currently?

Maybe I am out of the loop but I sort of thought you would have to have some kind of security clearance to just fly off into a war zone?

I don't understand how the kid pulled this off by himself.

[davepc]

28. Their are regular daily flights in and out.

You can fly Royal Jordanian Airways or Iraqi Airways.

[Carni]

32. OK I didn't know that--

Personally I would have to pass on it as a destination!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

39. According to a Yahoo article...

he flew to Kuwait City and called his parents ("surprise, I'm in the Middle East!). He bagged getting into Iraq because of especially tight security/danger surrounding the 12/15 parliamentary elections. His father contacted family friends in Beirut and he spent 10 days there. These friends then arranged his flight to Baghdad and his stay at some "international hotel."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051229/ap_on_re_mi_ea/journey_to_iraq

And for those who question how he afforded this, Daddy is a doctor and Mommy is a psychologist.

He's getting quite a bit of flak for this, but he sounds like a young Kevin Sites to me!

[txindy]

45. Only the other Yahoo article includes an interesting fact

Atiya said her son is studious, works on the school newspaper and is on the debate team. He is a member of a Republican Party club at school and spends his time reading rather than socializing, his mother said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051231/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_american_teen

He went to see the great 'victory' of democracy in action. He didn't think it would be dangerous. :eyes: It appears Farris needs to expand his reading material to include what's happening in reality and not his fantasy world of the troops being given candy and flowers from the grateful Iraqis. I'm sure he'll make a valuable addition to the repub party in the future.

It is a good thing, however, that he spends little time socializing - he won't miss his friends when he's grounded for life.

[bleedingheart]

14. Extended unexcused absences for any reason are typically punished

so kids who are purposely tardy for school, and those who miss school a lot end up with detention or like at our local high school...they have to attend special classes. Edit : Kids with excuses (doctor or otherwise)...aren't punished but planned absences require an excuse up front...(like taking a vacation to Disney during the school year)...

I think this has nothing to do with his "courageous journalistic efforts" and more to do with school policies....

In our state if kids are tardy or absent, the schools are punished by the state in regards to funding. So if the school has a really bad absentee rate...they lose money, so you can imagine there is a big focus on making sure that kids attend school and that they are on time.

The article states the father may just be covering for him so that he doesn't get in trouble...so I am not going to assume anything either way. However I tend to believe that in reality his father would not have wanted him to risk his life in such a manner.

As a mother I would ground him for at a very long time...

[RagingInMiami]

15. I just think that in the whole scheme of things

After what this kid experienced, a detention is something he will probably laugh at.

[NuttyFluffers]

23. thank you. a reminder of this fact is well needed, apparently.

i know that if i played hookey, for whatever reason, i would have been punished by the school if they found out. and i wouldn't be surprised by the punishment. you play, you pay. i'm sure he knew that ahead of time and yet did it anyway. so then whatever disciplinary action that comes from skipping classes should come as no surprise, nor with any protest.

that said, as a principal i'd be more inclined to a more creative form of discipline, considering i'd be rather glad that the student came back alive. i'd probably give him a few detentions in length working with the parent's job schedule, so that some guardian is keeping an eye on his actions, at least for awhile. also probably a report on the dangers of unprepared travel, how the constitution does not follow you when you travel, and the rates of danger/crime/state imprisonment/etc in the region he so blindly traveled to.

[Catherine Vincent]

16. The only people who should discipline, if any, should be his parents.

Although he did cut school a few days early.

[951-Riverside]

17. How did he afford the trips?

I notice the news (atleast the newscast I watched) never asked this question.

[RagingInMiami]

20. He comes from a rich family

[Ms. Toad]

37. One of the articles I read said he bought the tickets

with $900 he had been given previously.

It also noted that he spend several hundred dollars on taxi fares once he was on the ground.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

41. Dad is a doctor and Mom a psychologist... (n/t)

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

19. I'd take the detentions!

his little adventure will get him into just about any college he wants if keeps a solid GPA and does well on his SAT's. The detention is worth it!

[davepc]

22. He shouldn't of skipped so much school if he wasn't willing to face

the consequences of doing so.

:)

[RagingInMiami]

24. Yes, this mistake will put him behind all his peers

And won't be able to get into college and his whole will be ruined.

[davepc]

26. It'll be on his permanent record!

[RagingInMiami]

29. It probably will

Under this administration. He probably already has a CIA file. He might even be listed as an "enemy combatant".

[seabeyond]

30. OMG....... ...... .......eeeeeKsssss, lol n/t

[progressivebydesign]

25. Oh.. he ditched a week of school... I see.

At first I couldn't figure out why he'd be punished. You can't skip a week of school. Sooo.. if he skipped a week of school, then his parents had to know that he went somewhere, right? Did they call the police right away?

I think what the kid did was really cool and brave. I know, it was probably stupid, in the eyes of most comfort-loving Americans. But.. you have to hand it to a kid to put his money where his mouth is and go there. Bet he'll do the tv show rounds soon. Daily Show perhaps??

[seabeyond]

31. hope it was well planned out, and that all will be fine

but in the scheme of things.............. yes you are right. this guy wants to know what is up. i know my ass wouldnt go over there. i am going to be very interested in what he has to say when he comes back. and good to see someone at that age so concerned adn aware that facts are more important than what we are being fed

[Bluesplayer]

33. Amsterdam?

I think he went to Iraq as cover for his trip to Amsterdam!

[riderinthestorm]

40. On NPR, for whatever it's worth....

The story as reported tonight on NPR was that the family gave the kid $2000 to go travel around Turkey. This is where I have my first problem: a 16 year old kid travelling abroad alone.

The kid booked his trip from Jordan after making his way there from Turkey. He would NOT have gotten clearance to go to Iraq from the US, FYI, but flights occur more regularly and without scrutiny from Jordan. This is where I have my second problem: so the US isn't scrutinizing passenger lists from Jordan to Iraq?? This seems fucked up.

The kid went to a hotel outside of the Green Zone and tried to get a newspaper reporter to hire him (this reporter was the one who was on NPR for the story by the way so he had firsthand knowledge of the situation). Problem #3: Nobody at the airport questioned an American, non-Arabic speaking kid, alone, at the airport? And then they allowed him to get in any kind of taxi and take a trip to anywhere outside the Green Zone? This also just seems fucked up based upon everything I've read about the security situation there, or the supposed security situation there. I mean, it's pretty obvious from the kids name that he's of ME origin but still.... The guy doesn't even speak Arabic!

This has major alarm bells written all over it. Both at the family end, as well as the security end in Iraq. That kid should never have even been allowed in a taxi for the perilous 15k (or so) journey from the airport to Baghdad if ya ask me....

[ddeclue]

42. Shouldn't he be sharing a jail cell with Johnnie Walker?

What do you expect when you name your kid after cheap liquor...

Actually if a 20 year old California kid with no obvious skills can learn Arabic and infiltrate al Qaeda to the point he actually gets to meet Osama, then why the hell can't the CIA?

Food for thought..

Doug D.