James Tate, a senior at Shelton High School in Shelton, CT, is a hero. James became famous this week for being suspended and banned from attending the school's Senior Prom. When you think of his punishment, keep in mind that this is a a day and age when schools have increased violence, cheating, bullying and a decrease in learning, standardized scores and graduation.
What was James Tate's crime? See for yourself:
That's right. James and some of his friends came up with a creative way to ask a young woman to the Senior Prom. They cut out letters with cardboard and affixed it on the side of the school. The young woman (you can see her name above) was amused and accepted his invite. The school's officials had other ideas. They suspended James (and the friends who helped him stick the letters to the wall) and banned him from the senior prom.
Overreacting? I think so. In this day and age, we need to have priorities. I think in this matter, the school officials who suspended James and banned him from the prom have skewed priorities. They could focus they time on students with drug problems, students who harm other students, or even students who need extra help learning. Here, the school has made punishing a student for a victimless prank a top priority.
While James won't be going to the Senior Prom, the attention his prank (and subsequent suspension) have garnered has worked in his favor. Multiple facebook pages have been set up in his support. He was a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel show, and newspapers around the world have picked up the story. Not too shabby for a high school senior...
Thoughts?
Does James deserve to go to the prom?
Is James Tate the prom king?
Feel free to share any funny stories from your days in high school.
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