The School Board took all of the information from Sunday's meeting and will continue to investigate. It was also noted in the special meeting that Superintendent Rick Reo waited as long as 4 days to disclose details of the investigation to school board members. Under Title Nine guidelines, the investigation in matters of this nature should have been disclosed to board members immediately. That seems a bit extreme to go from 'Bringing a sex toy to school' to 'War Crimes in an Iraqi Prison.' carefully constructed lesson geared toward understanding how good people can be transformed into perpetrators of immoral behavior if no one is willing to stand up for what is right.'

The district released a statement to WWMT that called the punishment a. One person asked, ' Why weren't other professionals involved in this situation,' while another said, 'If have problems or issues, what are we doing to help them? Is that video we used helping or making it worse?' And WHAT are they trying to 'restore' in this supposed 'Restorative Discipline Process?Ī special meeting was held on Sunday with the school board, and concerned parents, and members of the community, during which MANY people voiced their opinions on the matter. if there even IS a constructive way to explain to these students WHY they were told to watch this. Those kids SAW that video and watched it without other professionals involved, or in the room to help comprehend what they might be seeing in a constructive way. That still doesn't excuse the fact, though, that it DID happen. '.the details of the objectionable images included in the Ted Talk were not shared in advance with those who were not able to attend, and for that, we have reached out and apologized to the parents of the students involved.' Nonetheless, Paw Paw School District said in a statement that it was part of a 'restorative discipline process,' but then did admit that. which makes it even MORE curious as to WHY it was shown to some high school kids who just got up to shenanigans that SO many other high school students might get into. If you'd really like to see the Ted Talk, You Can see it here,but a reminder, it IS very graphic, and unsettling to see some of the images included. The facility was used by Saddam Hussein, and then the United States to hold Political Prisoners during the War in Iraq until 2014. 'The Psychology of Evil' is a particularly heavy Ted Talk put on by Philip Zimbardo, who focused on the torture and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq.

But, I'd at least hope it was somewhat relevant.Īnd what they showed is NOT relevant to the crime at all. In this case, it sounds like a 10-day suspension would have been just fine.īut if a teacher came to me, and said I could reduce my punishment by just watching a 30-minute video, OF COURSE I'd be all over it. It happens, and the punishment, when caught, should at least be somewhat relevant to the crime. 'Several students were reportedly given the opportunity to reduce their 10-day suspension by attending a meeting, after being caught with a sex toy in the high school.ĭuring the meeting, a nearly 25-minute Ted Talk called 'The Psychology of Evil' showed violent images of detainees being tortured, abused, and sexually assaulted in the Abu Ghraib Prison.'įirst of all, kids bringing a sex toy to school is just high school kids getting into things they're not supposed to.

Paw paw public schools