By Susan Duclos
A junior High School teacher, Karen Deverell, at Genoa-Kingston Middle School in a small town in northeast Illinois, threatened a 14-year-old student with suspension for wearing a a shirt supportive of the United states Marines.
School officials claim the teacher misinterpreted their school dress code and say they would have overruled her had they known.
Via Daily Caller: (H/T @thomassfl)
“My son is very proud of the Marines, and, in fact, of all the services,” the elder McIntyre told Fox News. “So he wears it with pride. There are two rifles crossed underneath the word ‘Marines’ on the shirt, but to me that should be overlooked. It’s more about the Marines instead of the rifles.”
Daniel McIntyre added that his son was upset about the situation.
“He couldn’t understand why a teacher would make him do that,” he said.
According to a local newspaper, school officials (beyond the teacher) had not been aware of the kerfuffle until Fox News — which had the story nationally — notified administrators late Monday.
Superintendent Joe Burgess told the DeKalb Daily Chronicle that Deverell’s superiors would have immediately overruled the teacher’s interpretation of the school district’s dress code had they known about it.The child's father wants the dress code policy at the school changed so that teachers cannot misinterpret the code and threaten children as Karen Deverell did.
“Very simply, it’s not a violation,” Burgess told the Daily Chronicle. “It’s a very common symbol for the U.S. Marines. Had we had an opportunity to discuss it, we could have straightened out the situation.”
Burgess added that teachers in his district who aren’t sure about dress code violations should send students to the principal’s office for a second opinion — and a final determination.
Via Breitbart we learn the school has decided not to speak to reporters directly, offering a statement on the school Facebook page instead.
The school administration claims they have not been given the chance to weigh in on the incident as it happened, insisting that they "support of our military" and regularly encourage students and staff to write letters to the troops and attend patriotic ceremonies for veterans.
We very much support the armed forces and were disheartened to learn of this matter through the media. The administration and school handbook agree that this shirt is not a violation of the dress code. We also take school safety very earnestly and it needs to be recognized that is a topic that we also take very seriously and support our students and staff in providing a safe environment to learn, teach and work in on a daily basis. We thank everyone for their continued support of our school and our school district.
Teachers and school officials need to learn to apply rules with a little common sense, anyone who has seen the Marine Rifles understand that they are not promoting violence in the school, but are a symbol used not just on shirts and clothing, but are used on uniforms in the Marine Corps. (Via The Patriot Perspective)