The Homeschool Scuttle

You might think that the school bully is the tough kid on the playground or on the school bus. But in this case you would be dead wrong. The school bully is the school principal, Olivia McCarthy.

Tyler Stoken was a well-behaved fourth grader who enjoyed school, earned A's and B's and performed well on standardized tests.

In May 2005, he'd completed five of the six days of the Washington State Assessment of Student Learning exam, called WASL, part of the state's No Child Left Behind test.

Then Tyler came upon this question: "While looking out the window one day at school, you notice the principal flying in the air. In several paragraphs, write a story telling what happens."

The nine-year-old was afraid to answer the question about his principal, Olivia McCarthy. "I didn't want to make fun of her," he says, explaining he was taught to write the first thing that entered his mind on the state writing test.

Tyler was a well-mannered child, who enjoyed school and even liked his principal, until - he was suspended from school - for refusing to answer a test question.

This is just wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to being. The story points out that the child had been taught to put down his first thoughts on the test questions. What would be the harm in giving your answer a little thought?

Speaking of thought. What would be wrong with giving a little thought to the test questions themselves? Is this the type of question that children are "required" to answer in school? Any fourth grader knows that people don't fly - at least not on their own.

Seems to me the pricipal in question is on a huge power trip and should be ashamed of herself. She is more concerned over her position and the schools test standing than she is for one little boy's well-being. This is a sad sad day.

Everytime I think about this child, I get angry. What would I do if someone tried this with my child? Well, I'd be happy to have him expelled because he'd never go back to school. Of course this couldn't happen to my son because he's never attended a public school.

This is just one more glaring example of why children are better off being taught at home, by people who love and care for them. I hope that this principle lands herself in the unemployment line, she has no business working with children.